Cinnamon Crumb Muffins

from Penzey's Spices Catalog, Summer 2006

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Struesel Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup cold butter, cut in small cubes

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325º. You will need two muffin pans that hold 12 muffins each. If not non-stick, spray each cup with cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla and the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour and baking powder together in a bowl and add to the rest of the ingredients. Mix on low speed until well blended, the batter will be very thick.
3. Divide the batter evenly among the 24 cups (I only got 18). This will fill them about halfway.
4. For the topping, mix together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the cold butter and cut it into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs. Put about 1 tablespoon of the topping over each cake. Bake in the preheated oven on two shelves for about 18 minutes, switching shelves after the first 10 minutes. They are done when a toothpick inserted in the center tests clean. Cool 5 minutes in the pan then transfer to a cooling rack to finish.