Individual Coffee Cakes

A little note about this recipe.  I used honest-to-goodness REAL butter for this.  Not because I thought anything special about it, but because I had it and wanted to bake with it.  And OH HEAVENS!  It's good.  Now, I haven't made it without and taste-tested it with margarine.  But if you'd like to splurge and make it extra rich and buttery, try real butter!

Oh, and I've decided to make these as mini loaves for gifts. This may be one of my new signature breads!

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
4 cups flour
2 3.4 oz package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 T baking powder
1 t salt
3 - 3 1/2 cups milk

TOPPING
1 cup packed brown sugar
8 T melted butter
1 t cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts


Directions
Preheat oven to 375*. 

Cream together butter and sugar, beat in egg.  Add dry ingredients (flour, pudding, baking powder, salt) and mix.  Slowly add the milk until creamy. Place in paper-lined muffin tins 2/3 full (or I also used the Pampered Chef mini muffin pans and small scoop - as it gave me just the right amount).

Mix together the brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and nuts, place a small amount on top of each muffin.
*Note: The melted butter will create a more more glaze over the muffin than a streudel type topping.  Just use softened butter, and a little less of it and mix it w/ a fork for crumbles if you prefer.*

Bake regular sized muffins for 20-25 minutes, and mini muffins for 15-18 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test.

Cool briefly, then remove from pan and place on wire rack and let them cool.  If you can wait that long...