Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Your neighbors will think you slaved in the kitchen with these muffins. They are so good! Its like eating pumpkin cheesecake.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour 24 muffin cups, or use paper liners.

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

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. You will want this to still be rather thick and not runny. Don't over mix it.

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

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.

Muffin batter
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin
1/3 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin spice 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. I like to make a little indent in the muffin batter with a spoon. I then just add the cream cheese mixture on the top. Sprinkle on the streusel topping.
Bake at 375 degrees F (195 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.