Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a muffin tray with liners
In a bowl combine all of the dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, combine the (wet ingredients) pumpkin, melted butter, vanilla extract, and eggs.
Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just combined.
Fill muffin liners with batter about 3/4 full using an ice cream scooper.

cream cheese filling:
Place ingredients into a bowl and mix well.
Use a piping bag or Ziploc bag with corner tip cut off and squeeze out even amounts into the center of the muffins.
It will sink a little and that’s okay.
Add pumpkin seeds, slivered almonds or chopped walnuts for added texture around the top of the muffin avoiding the cream cheese dollop. (you can omit the nuts, and seeds if you prefer)
Place muffin tray into the preheated oven to bake for about 18-20 minutes.