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Blueberry Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

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{round 2 muffins}
Sometimes I’ll have a craving for something really specific that can’t be ignored. (A few weeks ago I was craving fried eggs over easy with chives, green onions, and soy sauce over brown rice for dinner–random). This weekend it was blueberry muffins with cream cheese filling. I knew exactly what I wanted the muffins to taste like–moist, berry-filled, and dense–and so when I found this recipe I rejoiced. I decided it’d be fun to whip them up on Sunday morning to bring along as a snack after hiking with our friends Stacy and Robbie. Since we were running out the door to meet them, and because the muffins were still cooling, I didn’t get a chance to taste them until after the hike. For having an entire stick of butter in them, these muffins were pretty lackluster*. They were dry and boring, and I was even a little embarrassed to be serving them to my hungry friends. Not to mention that my craving for decadent muffins had yet to be fulfilled.

{*In this recipe’s defense, the problem could have simply been that I had over-baked the muffins. The recipe calls for baking 18-22 minutes and even though I baked them for exactly 18, I should have checked them a few minutes sooner.}
That night I quietly sulked about the failed muffins and ate two more to make sure they wouldn’t hit the spot (they didn’t). Then I remembered the blueberry muffin recipe I had used once in college (my muffin baking sure went on hiatus, didn’t it?) They were really moist and so good that I still remember them fondly to this day, so I did a little digging through my recipe file and found it! Combining the best of both recipes, I made another batch of muffins the following night. They were exactly what I wanted, and after eating just one, I finally felt satisfied. So here, if the craving ever strikes, is my recipe for the perfect cream cheese-filled blueberry muffin that also doubles really well as an after-dinner dessert.
Blueberry Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling
Adapted from this recipe and this recipe
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil which added a strong flavor, but I love olive oil and so I didn’t mind. Next time, I think I might try using butter)
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries (I used frozen and the muffins still came out great)
Filling:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar, optional (I left this out since I thought the muffins would be sweet enough without this extra sugar and was glad I did)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line muffin tin with muffin liners.
Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Place vegetable oil into a 1-cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top.
To make filling, mix cream cheese and sugar in a small bowl at medium speed with a hand mixer until well combined and creamy, about 2 minutes. With two teaspoons (like the ones that you use at the dinner table) create a well in the center of a muffin and place a heaping spoonful of cream cheese in that well. Be sure not to go to the bottom of the muffin. (This “creating a well” business was trickier than it sounded. My wells always caved in on themselves so that I ended up with less of a cream cheese well and more of a cream cheese dollop floating on top, but I’m sure they taste equally as good.) Lightly sprinkle just a bit of brown sugar over each muffin if you’d like.
Bake for 18-22 minutes or until done (a toothpick inserted in the cake part of the muffin will come out clean.)
Makes 8 muffins.

Last modified: January 10, 2019