Perfect Pumpkin Muffins

It is not quite fall, yet....but, I hate the summer and am ready to usher it in. I love the scent of pumpkins, fresh and baked, it makes me feel like a kid. The scents of fall leave me feeling so very happy that I could not wait one more day to bring them about. I decided to make pumpkin muffins, striped through the center with cream cheese. Yummy! These delightful muffins even look like fall to me and do not need any icing for decor, they are that good.
As I said before I love to share my goodies with others, but there is no one around this week to take these off my hands. I guess I'll just have to suffer though it. If you decide to try these and after a day or two there still some left try cutting them in half, buttering them and toasting them, butter side down, in a pan on the stove top. Yuuuummm!
My taste tester is in Mexico this weekend, P- I hope your having fun! Maybe by the time she gets back here it will be fall...yeah I know, I live in Texas...summer goes on and on and on...and on. It has to end some time....in my house it is today.
Welcome fall!

Pumpkin Muffins

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup butter
2/3 cup buttermilk
3 cups evaporated cane sugar
1 teaspoon molasses
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Filling:

8 oz. Cream Cheese
¼ Cup Evaporated Sugar Cane
1/8 Tsp salt
½ Tsp Lemon juice
1 Egg

Cream together the cream cheese, sugar, salt and lemon juice. Mix in one egg until smooth. Whisk in the flour until smoothly combined and place in pastry piping bag; promptly refrigerate to firm up the mixture. This can be done ahead of time.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line two muffin/cup cake pans; spray with flour and oil or just oil (which ever you have).

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, butter, oil, buttermilk, molasses and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.

Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended.

Pour about 2 tablespoons of the batter into each muffin cup. Pipe about 1 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture into the center of the prepared cups. Spoon another 1 1/2 -2 tablespoons of the batter on top of the cream cheese, just enough to cover the cheese mixture, it must not be showing when the pans go into the oven. Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar, if you want to, this is not necessary-just tasty.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes in the preheated oven. Muffins are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.