Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

The name of this recipe could simply be changed to DELICIOUSNESS!

I bought a few cans of pumpkin last week when they were on sale, and yesterday I decided to scour the internet for a good pumpkin muffin recipe!  I love to try new recipes, however... I never try a recipe that I have to buy all of the ingredients for!  I like to try recipes that use what I have stocked in my kitchen!
I liked this recipe because I had to buy only a few things... eggs, butter, cream cheese!!  That made for a very inexpensive treat to try!

The prep time for this recipe was pretty long.  It took me about 45 minutes to get everything ready to start baking.  And, unfortunately we had to throw a muffin pan away due to rust, so we only had 1 muffin pan to work with!  It was my Pampered Chef Muffin stone, which I can honestly say... I have never used before!  We are mini muffin people, so making "adult" muffins is a first for me!!
The prep work is a 3 step process.  First, you make the cream cheese frosting.  Second, you make the streusel topping.  And finally you make the muffin mix!  I have decided that I need to find extra mixing bowls for my Kitchen Aid mixer.  I have never looked for these before, but it would make cooking so much easier, if I could use the mixer to make multiple things!  If I cant make this happen... I think I will invest in a handheld mixer as well!

Step 1 - Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8oz package of cream cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons of brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 375, Grease and flour 18 muffin cups, or use paper liners.
In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until soft, then add egg, vanilla, and brown sugar. 
Beat until smooth, and set aside.

Step 2 - Streusel Topping
4 1/2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons of white sugar
3/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of chopped pecans (I left this out.  I grew up with a sister who is DEATHLY allergic to nuts, so I am not a fan of nuts in food!  The recipe worked just fine with out them!)

In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. 
Add butter and cut with a fork until crumbly. 
Set aside.  (As a heads up... I melted the butter before adding it, and the topping was too "wet", so we added equal parts of sugar and flour until the topping was "crumbly" again.)

Step 3 - Muffin Mix
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin (just shy of the whole can)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. 
Make a well in the center of flour mixture and add eggs, pumpkin, olive oil, and vanilla. 
Beat together until smooth.

You should have 3 bowls that look something like this...

FINALLY - onto making the muffins!!!

Place pumpkin mixture in muffin cups about 1/2 full.

 
Then add one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter. 
Try to keep the cream cheese from touching the paper cup.
Sprinkle on the streusel topping.
Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.
Allow muffins to cool before trying to remove from the pan. 

ENJOY... they are incredible!