I adapted this recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything. The main change was the switch from regular to gluten-free flour. For this recipe, I tried out the newer Robin Hood GF mix which I found has a pretty good texture for baking and acts as a nice substitute. You can still definitely taste the difference, but not so much that it would be off-putting.

Ingredients

Makes 24 muffins

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar

• 3 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups pumpkin puree (see Note)
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5 tbsp. all-purpose gluten-free flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Method

For the filling:

Mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until smooth and no lumps remain. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, then put in the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, about 2 hours. The mixture should be firm enough to cut with a knife.

For the muffins:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an stand mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until smooth. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. Do not overmix.

For the topping:

Mix the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and mix with your hands until it is coarse and crumbly, so that it looks like the texture of wet sand. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill until ready to use.

Assembly:

Fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. You want to put the cream cheese lower than you think because it will rise a lot during the baking process. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.