Pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese filling

 FALL HAS ARRIVED!!! This is one of my favorite seasons because it's not too hot and it's not too cold. It's the best time of year for produce because you still have a lot of the summer seasonal veggies and fruits available, but the heartier items are available now as well. Pumpkin is one of my favorite fall squashes, but it's not a flavor everyone loves. These pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese filling are perfection. You could put the cream cheese on top as a frosting, but I personally love having it as a center. I took these to work and one of my coworkers recommended adding pecans to the filling. I think I will try those next!

8oz block lowfat cream cheese, softened
1/4cu sugar
1tsp vanilla

1. Blend all ingredients together and allow to chill overnight.


1 box spice cake mix
1 small can pure pumpkin puree

1. Preheat the oven to 350* and line cupcake pan with liners.

2. Blend all ingredients together until well combined. This will be a very dry dough and not what you're used to when you think cupcake dough.

3. Fill 1/3 of the cupcake liner with dough and create a small indention. Add a small amount of cream cheese and cover with more dough so the liner is only about 2/3 full. I used my cookie scoop for the cream cheese and put half a scoop into each cupcake.

4. Place into oven and bake about 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the side comes out clean of dough. Don't overbake as these cupcakes can get dry quickly.