Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins

Some recipes are simple genius, and this is one of them. My girls and I scarfed these down–and every single time I have looked at the photos since my mouth has literally watered, wishing I had another one to snack on. Which is funny because they are rather unassuming little things. No fancy topping, no streusel to be had (and you guys know I seriously love streusel). But none is needed. Not even butter–although it doesn’t hurt to gild the lily if you have some! Especially if the muffins are still a little warm!

Maybe you are wondering what John thought of them? He, uh, never got to try one. Now before you think we went seriously crazy and ate them all in one sitting (oh what a pleasant thought), he apparently just always wondered if I had baked them for any particular reason, and so he kept forgetting to ask and therefore never got around to trying one.

His crazy loss.

He will probably get another chance though because I feel a muffin obsession coming on. It all started in North Carolina. Where my sister in law, Alyssa, made these amazing raspberry muffins on Easter morning–and I don’t even like raspberries! Those did have an awesome crumbly streusel topping and when I left, well, I left with a craving to eat more.

Visiting Wake Forest with the cousins over spring break. Pardon the fuzzy quality of the pic of Alex from the back–but I just loved her walking with her cousin like that–and since I was walking too, well, not the best picture ever.

We had a fantastic time in North Carolina. Aside from the freezing rain and the fact that the kids and I all got strep throat! But that was before we got to Winston Salem, so I can genuinely and un-ironically say that we had a fantastic time visiting my brother’s adorable family. (Am I the only one who wants to zerbert the baby’s belly every time I look at the photo in the top right?)

OK so more about these muffins. And this photo, by the way, is just for fun. Since Skamp photo-bombed it. I believe he was resenting the fact that the kids had gone outside to play without him, and since I take my pictures right beside the large sliding glass door that looks out into the backyard…

I found the basic recipe in Yvonne Ruperti’s One Bowl Baking: Simple, From Scratch Recipes for Delicious Desserts

. This is the first recipe I have made from this book (it just came out this past winter), but guys I have practically every other recipe bookmarked. Honestly, because I have a stand mixer (and enjoy using it) I cannot really report on whether the recipes can truly be made in one bowl with very little fuss (and especially because I started with a muffin recipe–what muffin recipe is not no fuss?). But, for example, I am so excited to make her Sour Cherry Clafouti (I prefer sour cherries) that I really don’t care if it takes me one bowl or two. The White Chocolate Cream Cheese Pound Cake is also at the top of my list. And the Double Chocolate Espresso Cashew Cookies. You get the idea!

My main change to this recipe was to use “local” (ok just picked from Michigan since they do not grow here) blueberries frozen last summer instead of strawberries. We still do not have local strawberries, and when I made these muffins we still did not have domestic organic strawberries (that at least has finally changed thank goodness). So blueberries made sense to me. Plus I tend to prefer their stronger, more assertive presence in baked goods, as much as I love strawberries, which can get a little lost and watery in baked goods (although Ruperti says using local, freshly picked strawberries will help with this).

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins

Recipe type: Breakfast Cuisine: muffins

6 T (85 g) unsalted butter, softened 8 T (115 g) cream cheese, softened zest of one large lemon 1 cup (200 g) sugar ½ t fine sea salt 2 large eggs ¼ cup sour cream 2 t fresh lemon juice 1 t vanilla 1¾ cups (245 g) AP flour 1 t baking powder ½ t baking soda 1½ cups blueberries (if frozen do not thaw), divided

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Lightly spray the liners and the top of the pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. Beat the butter with the cream cheese until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and add the lemon zest. Beat until creamy and cohesive (the butter and cream cheese should merge completely). Beat in the salt. Add the sugar in 2-3 additions, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Beat just until creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Whisk together the lemon juice, sour cream and vanilla in a measuring cup. Beat this mixture into the egg-butter-sugar mixture. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a separate bowl. Add most (reserve about ¼ cup) of it to the muffin batter. With either a mixer on the lowest speed or a spatula, mix until mostly combined--do not overmix. Reserve a heaping ¼-cup of berries. Toss the remainder with the remaining flour mixture. Gently, by hand with a spatula, fold the flour coated blueberries into the muffin batter. Divide this batter between the muffin wells. Then divide the remaining blueberries to scatter on top of the muffin batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the muffins are turning golden brown and a cake tester inserted into one of the center muffins comes out clean or with only blueberry juice. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan before turning out the muffins to finish cooling on a cooling rack. Serve slightly warm or cooled completely. 3.2.2499

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• berries,
• blueberries,
• cookbook review,
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muffins