Pumpkin Muffins with Toasted Pecans and Cream Cheese

It's the Great Pumpkin Muffin, Charlie Brown! Pumpkin Banana Muffins with Toasted Pecans and Cream Cheese Filling to be exact!

This wonderful recipe is adapted from one shared by The 'Best of' Inn Cuisine. A site which is now gone, sadly. I had some adorable orange and yellow muffin cups and also wanted to try adding a cream cheese filling to the muffins so I decided to make this Banana Pumpkin Bread recipe into Banana Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese.

Let me tell you, whether you make this as a bread or as muffins, just make it because this is a delicious recipe! The flavor of banana and pumpkin together with the toasted pecans and cream cheese were absolutely delicious.  I don't think you have to love pumpkin pie to enjoy these either because the pumpkin flavor is very subtle

The next time I make these I think I'll be a little more generous with the cream cheese filling.  It was so tasty with each bite of muffin.

So, if you need a treat for yourself or your little pumpkins this season, give this recipe a try. It's no trick!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Banana Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese

Adapted from Rachel's Incredible Banana Pumpkin Bread

Printable Recipe

See the link to The Best of Inn Cuisine above for the original recipe and instructions for making banana pumpkin bread. The following is my adaptation.

2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup butter, brought to room temperature
2 large, ripe bananas
2/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
2/3 cup yogurt (I had French Vanilla organic yogurt on hand)
3-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup toasted pecans

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/8 cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Toast pecans lightly about 7 minutes. Allow to cool and chop coarsely.

Cream the first 3 ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time and mix well. Place the pumpkin puree in a medium bowl. Puree the bananas in a food processor and mix into the pumpkin puree. Add to the creamed mixture. Stir in the yogurt. Slowly add the remaining ingredients, mixing until evenly blended. Mix the cream cheese and sugar together until blended.

Place paper muffin cups inside of a muffin pan and fill each cup 1/3 full with batter. Add a dollop (about a tablespoon) of cream cheese mixture. Top with batter to fill the cups about 2/3 full. Bake in the center of a 350 degree F oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.

Yields about 18-24 muffins, depending on the size.

Note:  I froze half of these and refrigerated the rest, wrapped in plastic wrap.