Cheesecake-filled Pumpkin Cupcakes.. A fall favorite!

These are my favorite cupcakes thus far and I am not even a big fan of cheesecake! The melding of cupcake and cheesecake is perfect. The cupcakes came out super moist with a beautiful orange color and are super easy to make. I used the mixer only for the cheesecake and whisked the pumpkin cupcake with a hand whisk. This recipe does not require butter.

Try this recipe with Brown Sugar Meringue Frosting (here)!

Cheesecake-Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 large eggs, plus 1 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking liners. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar for 3 minutes. Beat in 1 egg white and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
   

2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. In another bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, 2 eggs, granulated sugar, oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture.
   

3. Layer each muffin cup with some of the pumpkin batter, then the cream cheese mixture, then more of the batter. Bake until springy to the touch, 25 minutes. Let cool.

Let cream cheese cool to room temperature (the fastest way to do this is slice into pieces)

Mix cream cheese and 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Beat in 1 egg and 1/2 tsp vanilla

Whisk pumpkin puree, 2 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup oil and 1 tsp vanilla

Whisk in flour mixture (2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 1/2 cups flour)

Fill cupcake liners with pumpkin batter 1/2 full then layer cream cheese then more pumpkin batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes until springy.

Frosted with Brown Sugar Meringue Frosting! It was delicious and the perfect compliment to the cupcakes! The Cheesecake-Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes are also wonderful without any frosting.

Side Note: I used the EZ Cracker Egg Cracker to break the eggs and to also separate the whites from the yolks. I thought this thing was a gimmick but it is awesome! It cracks open eggs perfectly!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes with a Gingersnap Cookie Crust

Tips:

• Use aluminum foil cupcake liners for cheesecake cupcakes so your cheesecake does not soak through the paper liner and make a mess.

I have officially been bitten by the "Fall" bug! Last weekend we went apple picking. The leaves were turning and the apples were bright and delicious. It was so exciting to pick apples fresh from the trees and see an actual real pumpkin patch! So exciting in fact, I wanted to carry over the fall theme to my kitchen with Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes! These were delicious, although I undercooked them a bit.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cheesecake:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp pumpkin spice

For the crust:

2 cups finely ground gingersnap cookies
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Combine gingersnap cookies and sugar in bowl; add melted butter and mix until combined. Press crust mixture onto bottom of each cupcake liner, about 1 tbsp. Set aside.

2. In a stand mixer with a flat beater, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time.

3. Add pumpkin and pumpkin spice to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Fill the cupcake liners almost full. Bake in preheated oven for 22-25 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.


Make sure you don't forget anything by gathering up all of your ingredients beforehand!














I used the Magic Bullet to finally ground the gingersnaps as I do not have a blender. A blender is preferable but the Magic Bullet will work in a pinch. To get 2 cups of crumbs, I filled the Magic Bullet roughly 2 1/2 times with whole cookies.


I should have mixed the brown sugar and gingersnaps together before adding the melted butter but instead I melted the butter, then added the brown sugar to the hot butter while I continued to grind the gingersnaps. I ended up with caramelized sugar. It may sound great but the crust was a bit too chewy!









































































Use aluminum foil liners when baking cheesecake cupcakes. The moisture will seep through paper liners as seen in the corner cupcake holder. I baked all the cupcakes in foil liners except the corner one and I was left with a bit of a mess when I took the cupcake with the wrapper out.