Falling for Culinary Cozies with Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

 

I’ve have always contended that there are four core mystery genres: the classic Whodunit, Hard-boiled, Police Procedural, and the Cozy. Within that cozy world lies a delicious sub-genre that’s had me hooked since I cracked open Virginia Rich’s The Nantucket Diet Murders back in 1985—before it was even called a culinary cozy. (You can read more about Virginia here.) I tend to be a sucker for a catchy title and a vibrant cover, but finding recipes on the end pages? That’s what sealed the deal for me. Since then, I’ve been on a mission to devour every culinary cozy mystery out there, from Michael Bond to Diane Mott Davidson, Joanne Fluke, Ellen Hart, Joanne Pence, and fresh voices like Krista Davis, Avery Aames, and Livia J. Washburn. Keeping up with them all? Not a piece of cake!

 

I rarely make the recipes tucked into these books, until now. I’m turning over a new leaf, vowing to not only read these mysteries but also bake at least one recipe from each. Kicking things off is a seasonal stunner from Livia J. Washburn’s The Pumpkin Muffin Murders. This book had me itching to preheat the oven from page one; I swear I could smell the pumpkin spice wafting through the pages. So, this morning, I gave her Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins a whirl, and let me tell you, they were a fall breakfast dream.

I used a jumbo muffin pan, so instead of the suggested one tablespoon of cream cheese filling, I went big with a two-tablespoon cookie scoop that turned out to be the perfect choice. Next time, I might carve out an even deeper well for extra creamy goodness. I’m also a raisin-in-pumpkin-muffin fanatic (especially when they’re plumped up with a splash of rum—two tablespoons, to be exact), so I’ll toss those in next round. These muffins were a hit, and I’m already excited to bake them again. Here’s the recipe with my tweaks in parentheses. 

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Slightly adapted from The Pumpkin Muffin Murders by Livia J. Washburn

 Filling:

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 large egg

3 T. brown sugar

1 t. vanilla extract

Topping:

4½ T. all-purpose flour

3 T. brown sugar

½ t. ground cinnamon

¼ t. ground ginger

3 T. chopped pecans

3 T. butter

 Muffin:

2½ c. all-purpose flour

2 c. white sugar

2 t. baking powder

1 T. pumpkin pie spice

½ t. salt

2 eggs

1-1/3 c. pumpkin puree

1/3 c. vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease and flour 18 muffin cups or use paper liners (I sprayed with PAM for easy release). Fill empty muffin cups with water for even baking.

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add egg, brown sugar, and vanilla; beat until combined. Pop in the freezer to set while prepping the rest.

 Mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and pecans. Cut in butter with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.

 In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Make a well in the center; add eggs, pumpkin, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed.

 Fill muffin cups halfway with batter. Remove cream cheese mixture from freezer and add 1 Tbsp. (or 2 Tbsp. for jumbo muffins) to the center of each. Sprinkle with streusel topping.

 Bake for 20–25 minutes (longer for jumbo pans; check with a toothpick). Run a knife around each muffin’s edge, cool in pan for 10 minutes, then gently pry out and cool completely on a wire rack.

 Note: Save leftover pumpkin for pumpkin pie cocoa!

These muffins are a cozy mystery lover’s dream and a fall breakfast win. What’s your favorite culinary cozy recipe?As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Maple Bourbon Glaze

 

Generally speaking, I get a craving for pumpkin in mid-August, which is why you’ll find a lot of pumpkin recipes here on the blog during that time. I got the same craving this past August, bought quite a few cans of pumpkin purée, and then I never got around to using them. That changed last weekend when I was a whirling dervish in the kitchen. Over the course of three days, I spent about 24 hours on my feet in the kitchen experimenting with recipes. This one is delish! It’s good at breakfast, brunch, as a dessert at dinner, or any old time of the day. I found that it tasted better the second day, so that makes it wonderfully make ahead.Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Maple Bourbon Glaze

1¾ c. flour

1 t. baking soda

2 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. pumpkin pie spice

1/8 t. ground cloves

½ t. kosher salt

½ c. vegetable oil

½ c. sugar

½ c. packed dark brown sugar

1 15-oz. can pumpkin puree

2 large eggs, room temperature

¼ c. milk, room temperature

Crumb Topping

¾ c. flour

¼ c. sugar

¼ c. packed brown sugar

1 t. pumpkin pie spice

6 T. unsalted butter, melted

Maple Icing

1½ c. confectioners’ sugar

2 T. pure maple syrup

2 T. bourbon

 Preheat oven to 425°F. Line  an 8” x 8” pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2” overhang on two sides; spray with nonstick spray. .

 For the cake: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, cloves, and salt together until combined. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs and milk together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then fold everything together gently just until combined and no flour pockets remain.

 Pour into prepared pan.

 For the topping: Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice together until combined. Stir in melted butter with a fork until crumbs form.

Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F and then reduce the temperature to 350°F. Bake for an additional 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 30-40 minutes.

Lift cake from pan using parchment paper overhang and place on serving plate. Slide the parchment out from beneath the cake and drizzle on glaze.

 Make the glaze: Whisk glaze ingredients together until combined and smooth. Cover tightly and store at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. I think this tastes better on Day Two.

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Slow Cooker Pumpkin Bread Pudding

More than once I have said that I tend to run a holiday behind when it comes to trying new seasonal recipes. In this case, I am three holidays behind because it was only just yesterday that I unearthed a can of pumpkin from the pantry, and remembered that I'd wanted to try a recipe for pumpkin bread pudding made in the crockpot.

With a dusting of snow on the ground, French toast is often called for, so I made a loaf of challah, made French toast for breakfast the following day, then cubed and bagged what remained of the challah, and assembled the ingredients for the bread pudding.

I loved the ease of making this in the crockpot, not to mention the spicy aroma that penetrated the house. I also really liked this version that, topped with ice cream and a drizzle of Melissa’s Cinnamon Dessert Sauce made me swoon. Mr. O-P, not a fan of pumpkin, thought the bread pudding tasted like his mother's Apple Brown Betty...except for the lack of the apples...and “weird taste of pumpkin.” Okay, you can't please everybody, but I liked it. A lot.

I found the recipe on the Simply Suzanne blog and the sauce, of course, is a part of a quartet of them (all delicious) from Melissa's Produce. 

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Slightly adapted from Simply Suzanne

8 cups day-old bread cubes (I used homemade challah)

4 eggs (I used extra-large)

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 1/2 cups half–n-half

½ cup brown sugar, packed

½ cup butter, melted

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups Caramel Bits

½ cup toasted pecans, chopped

Cut slices of day old bread into cubes.

Put the cubed bread into a buttered Crock Pot (3.5 - 4 quart size) along with caramel bits and chopped pecans.

Whisk together eggs, pumpkin, half-n-half, brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Pour over the cubed bread and gently fold bread cubes to coat, evenly distributing the caramel and nuts in the process.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm topped with vanilla ice cream and your favorite topping.

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This post is linked to:

Tasty Tuesday

Dream, Create, Inspire Tuesday

Inspire Me Tuesday

Tuesdays At Our Home

Tweak it Tuesday

Tickle my Tastebuds
Two Cup Tuesday

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Tutorials and Tips Tuesday

Homemaking Party Tuesday

Pumpkin Spice Latte Caramel Sauce

I know that a lot of you slip into “pumpkin mode” once September arrives; for me, it takes a bit longer. I don't really jump onto the pumpkin bandwagon until early October. With it looming near week's end, and a number of farmers’ market and pumpkin patch visits in my immediate future, the smell of pumpkin-y baked goods is beginning to waft through the house.

If you're like me, you probably have stacks of pumpkin recipes just waiting to be tried, and enjoy reading them while sipping a pumpkin spice latte. I was doing just that when the idea for this sauce popped into my head. The caramel/pumpkin combination is one that hasn't been explored nearly enough, I don't think, and I'll be making pumpkin ice cream again this year to try with incredible this sauce. I am already swooning at the thought.

One caveat when it comes to making caramel, well, two, actually. First of all, do not be afraid. Second, know that the color “amber” is subjective. When I made caramel for the first time, it was heaven in a bowl. When Mr. O-P tried it, and he cooked it to what he considered to be “amber” (and what looked more to me like “copper”) his caramel sauce was bitter from overcooking. Don't let this keep you from trying this wonderful sauce, just be mindful and, if necessary, err on the lighter rather than darker side of amber.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Caramel Sauce

 1 cup granulated sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced into tablespoons

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1/3 cup solid pack pumpkin (like Libby’s)

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 - 1 teaspoon espresso powder, to taste

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place sugar in a heavy-bottomed medium/large sauce pan. The mixture gets pretty rowdy when you add the cream so be sure to pick one with high sides.

Cook over medium-low heat stirring often. Be patient, it takes a while for the sugar to turn into a light amber liquid, about 7-12 minutes. Do not leave it unattended, it will burn quickly.

Once the liquid turns amber, add the butter and stir until it’s melted. Add the heavy whipping cream in a slow stream. It will bubble up as you add it to the mixture.

Turn off the heat and then stir in the pumpkin, spice, espresso powder, and vanilla. Stir until smooth.

Cover and store in the refrigerator. Keeps for about 2 weeks, if it lasts that long, and may require a slight warming in the microwave prior to using.