Jamie's Food Ventures: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins with a Cinnamon Streusel

I am an avid fan of anything pumpkin. I also happen to really like cinnamon and cream cheese. I try not to let anything I buy go to waste so I tend to look for recipes where I can use all the ingredients I already have. I decided to make these as a treat for myself for getting through school! One step closer to becoming a certified Phlebotomist! These are light and delicious with a bit of a crunch on top due to the cream cheese and streusel topping. Do not try to put the cream cheese in the middle as a filling! I did this the first time around and it did nothing for the muffins. They taste so much better as a topping! Happy baking!

Yields: 18 - 24 muffins

Ingredients:

Cream Cheese Topping

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 cup light brown sugar

Streusel Topping

4 ½ tbsp. all-purpose flour

3 tbsp. white sugar

2 tbsp. light brown sugar

¾ tsp. ground cinnamon

3 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. chopped pecans, optional

Pumpkin Batter

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

½ tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin (about 1 15 oz. can)

1/3 cup canola oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour muffin cups, or use paper liners.

2. Cream Cheese Topping: In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese to break it down a little. Add egg, vanilla, and brown sugar. Beat until incorporated (does not need to be smooth); refrigerate until used.

3. Streusel Topping: In a small bowl, sift together flour, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. You can also use a food processor to make it easier. Set aside.

4. Batter: In a medium bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add eggs, pumpkin, olive oil, and vanilla. Beat together until smooth. (The batter is a little thick initially, so a whisk would not be ideal.)