Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Tender Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins are modeled after a seasonal coffeeshop favorite — but easy enough to make at home.

Over the summer, I thought I found the house — the one that would house my family for the next decade. It would be our own canvas for memories and dreams. But things didn’t work out.

That feels a bit like 2020 in a nutshell.

But life isn’t always like that. And it won’t always be like this. Sure, sometimes things don’t work out. But other times they do — so well. Like moving to Maine in the first place: that was something that really, really worked out. I have to believe there will be much more that works out as it should — not just in terms of a house, but in terms of life as well.

Plus, moving to Maine brought me an appreciation for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, so that’s pretty good too.

When we moved to Maine, I was introduced to the Tim Horton’s chain of coffee shops. It’s a Canadian favorite that’s made its way south into the United States — and with it has come a seasonal favorite: Pumpkin muffins.

I can’t remember what it was that attracted me to the pumpkin muffins first. Was it seeing them on a sign? Watching one of my writers eat one daily? Whatever it was, when I tried one, I was hooked.

Pumpkin muffins are filled with a sweet cream cheese filling and then topped with pepitos — shelled, roasted, salted pumpkin seeds — before baking. It’s the perfect combination of sweet, savory and seasonal.

And that, my friends, was the inspiration behind these muffins. I loved them so much, I decided to make my own Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins.

These are easy to make too. You will need three bowls, but aside from the extra dishes, you can whip these up in less than 45 minutes. And they are great hot from the oven or at room temperature.

You’ll need pumpkin puree, of course, and that’s been in short supply lately. Fortunately, it’s easy to make your own pumpkin puree (and it tastes great too!). You could even make a big batch and freeze some for other delightful pumpkin dishes like pumpkin pecan bars or pumpkin cookies.

Things might not be ideal right now. There are challenges at every level of life — from how we work to how we school to how we celebrate holidays. But things will get better eventually. They have to. And in the meantime, make the most of where you are, who you’re with and what you’re doing. Maybe you could even use this as a canvas for those memories, making muffins together.