Lite Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins (Without Nuts)

TOPPING
1/3 c. chopped pecans
1/4 c. splenda
1/4 c. brown sugar (or you can use splenda brown sugar blend)
1 tb. cinnamon
BATTER:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup splenda
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 egg
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup natural applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
FILLING:
1 (8 ounce) package fat free cream cheese
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons splenda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pam the muffin pan you plan to use.

Mix topping ingredients together in a separate bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add egg, vanilla and splenda. Beat until smooth, then set aside. (Don't worry if it's a little lumpy.)

In a large bowl, mix flour, splenda, baking soda, and spice. Add egg, pumpkin, applesauce and vanilla. Beat together until smooth. Set aside.

Place pumpkin batter in muffin cups about 1/4 full. Then add one to two tablespoons of the cream cheese filling. Top with more pumpkin batter and sprinkle with pecan topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes or until done. Makes 12 moist muffins.


All calorie information was obtained by the SparkPeople recipe calculator. Because there was some question, I'm including the calorie count information below.


TOPPING
1/3 c. chopped pecans (270 cal.)
1/4 c. splenda (24 cal.)
1/4 c. brown sugar (207 cal.)
1 tb. cinnamon (12 cal.)
BATTER:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (569 cal.)
3/4 cup splenda (72 cal.)
1/2 tsp baking soda (0 cal)
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (10 cal.)
1 egg (75 cal.)
2/3 cup canned pumpkin (56 cal.)
1/2 cup natural applesauce (25 cal.)
1 tsp vanilla extract (12 cal.)
FILLING:
1 (8 ounce) package fat free cream cheese (218 cal.)
2 egg whites (34 cal.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (12 cal.)
3 tablespoons splenda (18 cal.)

Total calories - 1564/12=134 cal. ea.