Heaven in a Cupcake Wrapper!

I'm going to gloat! These are seriously amazing!!! I couldn't even resist them once I started to take them out of the pan to cool! I got this recipe from my mother in law's recipe collection. This is the best thing I've baked in a while to be honest and I can't see them lasting long in my house lol!  Make sure that you put the 2 T. of cream cheese filling in so that it doesn't cave in like mine. Regardless, the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips are an amazing secret ingredient that takes these above the cream cheese muffins you normally have.

Cream Cheese Chocolate Muffins

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg
1/8 t. salt
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c. peanut butter chips

Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in sugar, egg, and salt until smooth.
Fold in chocolate and peanut butter chips; set aside.

Muffin dough:
1 c. sugar
1 c. water
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 T. white vinegar
1 t. vanilla extract

Combine. Then add:

1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Mix together, and spoon into paper-lined muffin cups till about half full. Top with about 2 T. cream cheese mixture. (This seems like a lot but you need it, I didn't and mine sort of cave in). Bake at 350* for 25 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in pan, and then remove them and place them on wire racks to cool completely.
* Spray the inside of the cupcake wrappers with non-stick spray to have moist outsides.

Stuffins!

I got this recipe before Thanksgiving from www.dealseekingmama.com, she has everything from online deals (I've used many of these) to freebies, contests, recipes, and grocery game coupons. The thing is I didn't want to try them for Thanksgiving since it was a new recipe. I rarely want to try something new for a holiday that I have to make everything for. I always try it out before, just in case. One bad recipe will make you do that!

Anyways, this recipe is pretty close to my stuffing recipe, but I did make alterations such as more and different spices and less onion (thank goodness I cut down on that! There was too much already). This recipe is good, it does come out as stuffing muffins, however, here is my complaint. I like my stuffing pretty moist. I seemed to have forgotten what muffins taste like and how the outsides cook to be a bit drier. Now mine weren't really dry, but I didn't like the outside of the muffin. However, I'm betting that if I, or you, tweak and play with this recipe there is a way to get them to perfection. The base recipe is good, I'm thinking I needed to spray more non-stick spray in my muffin cups, and add a bit more stock. However, with that being said, they are delicious and wonderful with a bit of gravy on top :)

Stuffins

Before baked

3 stalks of celery, chopped thin

1/2-1 medium onion, chopped (depends on how much you like onion)

1 T. butter

1 loaf of bread (I used cheap white, but use whatever you like)

3 medium eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 c. of milk

3 T. parsley

2 T. sage

1 1/2 T. thyme

3 c. chicken stock (I used about a cup on mine)

salt & pepper

Saute the celery and onion in the butter over medium heat until they turn translucent and caramelize. It pays to take your time with this step, because this is what really makes for a flavorful stuffing.

Meanwhile, toast each piece of bread in the full loaf. 

Chop the toasted bread into cubes (I just ripped it into small pieces-much faster).

Add the celery and onion mixture and dried parsley, sage and thyme.

Salt and pepper the mixture well. Lightly beat the eggs and milk together, and pour over the top.

Pour some of the chicken stock over the top, and start to mix everything together.

Keep adding stock until everything is moistened (wet but no soupy). 

You may not need to use all of the stock.

Give you muffin pans a through coating of non-stick spray, and fill each cup up with stuffing.

Bake at 350* F for about 30-45 minutes (check them and make sure the outsides don't burn).

If you prefer a stuffing that's a little more moist, cover with aluminum foil. 

Yields about 18 stuffins.

*You can also pour a little stock over each muffin after you put the stuffing into the muffin tin for softer stuffins.