Sweet Recipe: Blueberry Cheesecake Muffins

12 Mar

These muffins are much lighter in texture than regular cream cheese muffins, which can sometimes be a little much first thing in the morning. The cream cheese flavor still shines through in this version, but the muffins retain that light & fluffy weight to them because there’s not too much actual cheese and sugar weighing them down. All in all, I’d say they’re just right.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray or line 12 muffin cups. In a bowl, combine:

Combine dry ingredients.

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix the dry ingredients together thoroughly and set bowl aside.

In a separate bowl, combine:

Wet ingredients.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Microwave the mixture for 30 seconds and stir well. Add 1 beaten egg and 3/4 cup milk. Stir briskly and fold wet mixture into dry mixture.

See how there are still little flour pockets? That’s the level of stirring you want.

Don’t overmix muffin batter; just basically try to get the dry ingredients “mostly wet.” (Overstirring can activate the gluten in the flour too soon and lead to tough muffins, which would be sad.)

Spoon batter into muffin tins.

Add:

3/4 cups (6 ounce container) fresh or thawed blueberries

Stir lightly to incorporate. Immediately spoon the mixture into sprayed muffin tin and bake 15-17 minutes.

Remove slightly golden-edged muffins from the oven and immediately butter the tops. Leave the muffins in the warm pan for several minutes before transferring to a cooling rack or plate.

Barely golden. Perfect.

These are delicious with a happy little pat of margarine.

Baby Ollie cramming his piehole full of muffin in the breaking dawn light.

(Baby Oliver didn’t wait for butter on his, though. He tore into the muffins like he’d never seen food before. I guess that means they’re kid-approved!)

Store leftovers in an airtight bag. They’re just as delicious on Day #2, if they survive that long!

So adorable.