Pumpkin and Cream Cheese......YUM!

I have had my eye on this recipe for at least a month. I love pumpkin and anything with cream cheese. I have not had anything pumpkin flavored since November, and I have a few cans of pumpkin puree in pantry that I needed to use. We also have some friends who just bought their first house, and I knew I wanted to make them something yummy for their housewarming gift. And, since they share my love of pumpkin flavored anything, I knew this was the perfect opportunity to whip these delicious little morsels together. Our apartment smelled soooooo incredible while these were cooking, so I could not wait to taste one of these. And they did not disappoint!!



Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
(source: allrecipes.com)

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons brown sugar

4 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons white sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons chopped pecans

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 (This is almost 1-15oz can of puree. I used the entire can)
1/3 cup olive oil (I was skeptical of this, because of the taste of olive oil, but they came out fabulous)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour 18 muffin cups, or use paper liners.

To make the filling: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add egg, vanilla and brown sugar. Beat until smooth, then set aside.

For the streusel topping: In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.

For the muffin batter: 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.

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 cream cheese from touching the paper cup. Sprinkle on the streusel topping.

Bake at 375 degrees F (195 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.