Gingerbread Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

Streusel Topped Gingerbread Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

I love gingerbread! It smells like the holidays when it is baking and it tastes sweet, spicy, and rich.  I knew I wanted to create a muffin with a cream cheese filling in the middle but it was more challenging than I anticipated.  The filling was cooking right into the muffin instead of making a distinct center.  After a bit of research, I came across a method that worked very well.  The filling was placed in the freezer for 1 hour. When the semi frozen filling was scooped into the muffin tin, it really held its shape during baking.  The second challenge was getting enough ginger flavor.  In addition to ground ginger, I used 1 teaspoon of freshly grated ginger.  It really upped the flavor.  The streusel adds a buttery, sweet topping.

_________________________________________________________________________________

yield: ~12 muffins prep time: ~1  hour   difficulty: easy

Ingredients:

• 6 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 lb butter, melted
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/3 cup hot water

Streusel

1/4 cup butter (browned)

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

_________________________________________________________________________________

Procedure:

Combine the powdered sugar, cream cheese , egg and vanilla.  Place in freezer for at least 1 hour

Preheat oven to 350F. 

Cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the molasses, vanilla, and egg and mix to combine. Mix in the baking soda, spices, and salt. Add in the flour and hot water and mix to combine.

For the streusel, cook the butter until it is a deep chestnut color.  Cool slightly.  Mix into flout/sugar until it is moist and crumbly.

Place about 2 Tbsp batter into the bottom of muffin tins. Place a rounded tablespoon of the frozen sweetened cream cheese on top of the batter. Cover with another 2 Tbsp batter and  sprinkle streusel over the top.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.