Brown Butter Sweet Potato Cream Cheese Muffins

Ingredients

Brown Butter Sweet Potato Muffins:

• 1 3/4 cups (210g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp (8g) baking powder
• 1/2 tsp (3g) baking soda
• 2 tsp (4g) cinnamon
• Optional: 1 tsp (2g) pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp (3g) salt
• 1/2 cup (113g) salted butter
• 3/4 cup (180g) brown sugar, light or dark
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups (320g) sweet potato purée (see notes section below for homemade version); substitution: pumpkin purée
• 1/3 cup (80g) Greek yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
• 1 tsp (4g) vanilla bean paste or extract

Cream Cheese Filling:

• 8oz (1 block; 250g) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup (55g) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp (4g) vanilla bean paste or extract
• Pinch of salt

Brown Sugar Pecan Streusel:

• 1/2 cup (55g) chopped pecans
• 5 tbsp (72g) brown sugar, light or dark
• 1 tsp (2g) cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp (1g) salt
• 3 tbsp (42g) salted butter, softened

InstructionsFahrenheitCelsius

Preheat the oven and prepare the pan:

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with 6 muffin liners (you can use two muffin pans if desired), meaning you’ll only fill every other muffin well with batter (this prevents overcrowding and helps create the classic muffin top). OR line a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan with 3 liners (again, you can use two muffin pans if desired). This isn’t completely necessary, but I love how the muffins turn out like this! If you only have one pan and want to stick to one round of baking, line all of the muffin wells with liners. Set aside.

Brown the butter for the muffins:

1. Add the butter to a saucepan over medium-high heat. Allow to melt and brown, while stirring continuously (~5-8 minutes). As the butter continues to cook, you’ll notice that it starts to foam up across the surface (after about 2 minutes). Stir frequently to prevent the milk solids from burning. Continue cooking, stirring with a spatula, until the milk solids begin to brown (the brown specks at the bottom of the pan) and the color starts to deepen. Once the brown butter reaches a deep golden amber color and smells nutty, remove from the heat and immediately pour into a large bowl. Set aside to cool slightly (about 15-20 minutes).

Prepare the cream cheese filling and streusel:

1. While the brown butter is cooling, prepare the cream cheese filling. In a medium bowl, use a handheld electric mixer to beat the cream cheese to smooth. Then beat in sugar, vanilla, and salt for about 2 minutes, until very smooth and creamy. Transfer the cream cheese filling to a piping bag or a large ziplock bag. Set aside.
2. Prepare the brown sugar pecan streusel. In a medium bowl, mix together the pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Then add in the softened butter, and use your hands or a fork to mash together until it forms a crumble. Set aside.

Continue preparing the muffin batter:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice (if using), and salt. Set aside.
2. To the bowl with the cooled brown butter, add the brown sugar, eggs, sweet potato purée, Greek yogurt or sour cream, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined and smooth.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and use a wooden spoon or spatula to fold until just combined and there are no flour streaks. It’s okay if the batter is a little lumpy. Cover the bowl and allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes; do not skip this!

Assemble, bake, and serve:

1. After 15 minutes, scoop and divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling them to the rim.
2. Snip the tip off of the piping bag with the cream cheese filling (or the corner of the ziplock bag), and place it into the center of the batter for each muffin, pushing it about halfway down. Press down to squeeze, pulling up slowly in a circular motion to make a little swirl at the top to fill out a small circle at the surface of the batter, so the cream cheese is exposed. All of the filling should be used!
3. Then, sprinkle the cinnamon pecan streusel on top of the muffins, placing it around the cream cheese, not over it.
4. For regular-sized muffins: bake at 425F for 5 minutes. Then turn the oven temperature down to 350F and bake for another 15-18 minutes, until they feel firm when pressed and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
5. For jumbo muffins: bake at 425F for 5 minutes. Then turn the oven temperature down to 350F and bake for another 25-28 minutes, until they feel firm when pressed and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
6. Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then remove them from the pan and transfer to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
7. Serve the muffins warm with a hot cup of coffee.
8. Enjoy!

Notes

Sweet Potato Puree:

• Peel 3 medium sweet potatoes and cut into 1/2″ thick coins. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the sliced sweet potatoes to the boiling water and cover. Cook for 12-15 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender. Remove the sweet potatoes from the water, and place into an ice bath to cool. Once cooled, add the sweet potatoes to a food processor or blender, and blend/puree until smooth. Measure out and use as needed in the recipe! You can store leftover puree in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 week.
• Other method: Peel your sweet potatoes and cut them into 1-2 inch cubes. Try to keep the size uniform so they cook evenly. Add a steamer basked to a pot filled with 2 inches of water. Add in the sweet potato, cover and bring the pot up to a simmer. Once the steam is visible, cook for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Then, transfer the potatoes to a food processor. Process until the potatoes are completely broken down, and a smooth puree forms. Measure out and use as needed in the recipe!
• Roasting method: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Gently scrub or wipe the sweet potatoes, if necessary, then prick holes all over the skin using a fork or knife. Place sweet potatoes on sheet pan then into oven to roast for about 45 minutes or until skin is wrinkled and flesh is tender. Allow the sweet potatoes to cool briefly until safe to handle. Then peel and place them into a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth, pausing and scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed. To make the puree by hand, use spatula, potato masher or a kitchen spoon to press and mash the sweet potatoes to your desired texture.