Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins (Printable version)
Bright, citrusy muffins with a smooth cream cheese filling and golden sugar topping.
# What You'll Need:
→ Dry Ingredients
01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 cup granulated sugar
03 - 2 teaspoons baking powder
04 - ½ teaspoon baking soda
05 - ¼ teaspoon salt
→ Wet Ingredients
06 - ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
07 - ½ cup whole milk
08 - 2 large eggs, room temperature
09 - ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
10 - 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
11 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Cream Cheese Filling
12 - 6 oz cream cheese, softened
13 - ¼ cup granulated sugar
14 - 1 egg yolk
15 - 1 teaspoon lemon zest
→ Topping
16 - 2 tablespoons coarse sugar
# How to Prepare:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease thoroughly with nonstick spray.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly distributed.
03 - In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, milk, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Whisk until completely blended.
04 - Gently fold wet ingredients into dry mixture until just combined. Avoid overmixing to ensure tender muffins.
05 - In a small bowl, blend cream cheese with sugar, egg yolk, and lemon zest until smooth and creamy.
06 - Spoon about 2 tablespoons batter into each muffin cup. Drop 1 heaping teaspoon cream cheese filling in center, then cover with remaining batter, filling cups ¾ full.
07 - Sprinkle coarse sugar evenly over muffin tops if desired for added texture and sweetness.
08 - Bake for 18-22 minutes until golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the edge (avoiding center filling) should come out clean.
09 - Let muffins cool in tin for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack. Cool completely before storing.
# Expert advice:
01 -
- The surprise cream cheese center turns an ordinary muffin into something that feels like breakfast and dessert had a delicious meeting
- These freeze beautifully so you can always have bakery quality muffins on hand for unexpected guests
02 -
- Testing the center will always give you gooey results because of the cream cheese, check the edge instead
- Room temperature cream cheese blends so much easier, learn from my lumpy first attempt
03 -
- Use an ice cream scoop to portion the batter for perfectly uniform muffins
- Freeze your cream cheese for 15 minutes before mixing if it's too soft