Thanksgiving is only a couple of days away, and I have so much to be thankful for! I started a new job at an incredible company, we purchased the house of our dreams, we are all in good health, and of course I started this blog!!

However, Thanksgiving marks the end of Pumpkin Season, and that means that my obsession with pumpkin goes from being acceptable to unhealthy…so I had to sneak in one more pumpkin recipe.

These cupcakes have a surprise bite of cream cheese in the middle!! Yum…

In order to ensure you don’t have overflowing cupcakes, I recommend filling the liner just under 1/2 way with the pumpkin batter. Then topping the liner with a healthy dollop of the cream cheese mixture (about 2 tablespoons), and then add just enough of the pumpkin batter to cover the cream cheese mixture.

They bake beautifully! Some cream cheese might peek through, but that is okay since you will be topping these with frosting.

Since the filling already includes cream cheese, I opted not to do a cream cheese frosting on these. Instead, I topped them with a Pumpkin Spice Buttercream, it is truly the perfect pairing for these cupcakes! This frosting is so thick and creamy, it pipes on perfectly!

So we have the pumpkin, the cream cheese, the delicious creamy frosting, the only thing missing is graham crackers!! The graham cracker crust of cheesecake is one of my favorite parts! So I sprinkled graham cracker crumbs on top of these cupcakes, this tasty garnish puts these cupcakes over the top!!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes

Pumpkin Cupcake Batter

• 1/2 brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup oil (can use olive, canola, vegetable, or grapeseed)
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t cloves
• 1/2 t all spice
• 1/2 nutmeg
• 1/4 t ginger

Cream Cheese Filling

• 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 t pumpkin pie spice

Yields 12 cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Begin by preparing the pumpkin batter, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, mix sugars and oil until well incorporated. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing after each. Add pumpkin and vanilla, mix until just combined.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, combine cream cheese, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice for 1-2 minutes until light and fluffy.
5. Line muffin pan with paper liners, spoon pumpkin batter into liners until less than half full, top with a dollop (about 2 tablespoons) of cream cheese mixture, and top with just enough pumpkin batter to cover the cream cheese. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Adapted From Chow Hound

Pumpkin Spice Buttercream Frosting

• 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, room temperature
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 t of pure vanilla extract
• 1 t pumpkin pie spice
• Pinch of salt
• Graham Cracker Crumbs (for garnish)

1. Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes). It will get lighter in color.
2. Add in powdered sugar, mix slowly at first. Then add in heavy cream, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice. Once incorporated, mix on high for 3-4 minutes, or until the frosting is fluffy. You can add heavy cream or powdered sugar to get your desired consistency. If the frosting is too sweet, add pinch of salt.
3. Sprinkle cupcakes liberally with graham cracker crumbs.

Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction