Every recipe box needs at least one muffin weapon! My Raspberry Cream Cheese Muffin recipe has been described as EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. I think they’ve earned that reputation because once you take the first bite it’s impossible to stop! The raspberries gives them a nice bolt of tartness and the cream cheese gives them – what can I say – it’s cream cheese! ‘Nuff said…

Raspberry Cream Cheese Muffins
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
Grease 2 – 12 cup muffin pans or line with paper cups.

Cream Cheese Filling:

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
  ½ cup icing/confectioner’s sugar

1. Beat well then place on a piece of wax paper and shape into a cylinder about 1 ½ inch in diameter.
2. Place the cream cheese roll in the freezer for 1 hour.
3. When chilled, slice into 24 equal pieces.

Muffins:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
  1 teaspoon baking soda
  1 teaspoon baking powder
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  1 cup brown sugar
  1/2 cup vegetable oil
  1 egg
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1 ¼ cup buttermilk
  1 pint fresh raspberries
  1/3 cup white sugar
  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

THE METHOD:

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
2. Toss in the raspberries.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the brown sugar, oil, egg, vanilla and buttermilk.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix by hand just until blended.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, filling to the halfway mark.
6. Place a piece of the cream cheese filling in each muffin then continue filling muffin cups with batter
7. In a small bowl, stir together the white sugar and cinnamon
8. Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of this mixture on top of each muffin.
9. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly pressed, about 25 minutes.
10. Cool in the pans for at least 10 minutes before removing.

THE LOVE: Most muffin recipes advise stirring together dry ingredients and wet ingredients until “just blended”. Over mixing can produce a tough, dense muffin crumb texture. The more you work the flour, the more the gluten develops. Fight the urge to over stir, and stir until JUST combined.

Thanks for reading.