show LOVE to your family; bake for them!! (Pumpkin Cream Cheese Streusel muffins)

*I have some posts scheduled to publish throughout the week. I sat down last night and worked on some recipes I have promised a few people. That's probably all I will get to post this week but there are quite a few so I had to get them out of the way sometime!

I made these last night for Charlie & the girls (me, too) lol. We had Darcy's Chai tea along with them and all I can say is, "Who needs Starbucks?" :) I didn't have the same kind of green tea as Darcy used but we made it work. It's delicious and the whipped cream and cinnamon with it; heavenly! Anyway, here's the recipe for the muffins. I think I may have shared them before but they are so good, I will share them again!

filling:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons brown sugar

streusel:

4 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

5 tablespoons white sugar (used half Splenda)

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons chopped pecans or walnuts

muffins:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar (used half Splenda)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin

1/3 cup olive oil (I used Smart Balance)

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.

*I used Valentine's cupcake papers to make it special; all muffins this week will be baked in these! Hope you enjoy these yummy muffins!! :)