Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins
Strawberry cream cheese muffins are made with a rich cream cheese batter, pops of sweet strawberries and bake up light and fluffy, moist and tender. A perfect breakfast treat!
This recipe is a quick & easy one. No frills, just a simple strawberry muffin, without streusel or icing (although if you’re in the mood for extra sweetness, I do give ideas for those in the notes).
I wanted a homemade version of our favorite store bought mix (strawberry cheesecake) but with real strawberry flavor. Premade mixes are exceptionally easy, and while we can’t make them as simple as opening a package and stirring in milk, these are just about the easiest you can get for a homemade muffin! This is a great recipe for kids to help out with.
A note about the cream cheese: These are not strawberry cheesecake muffins, which are usually made with a cheesecake filling or swirl added in to the muffin batter. Instead these muffins are made with cream cheese incorporated in the batter itself, like you would make a cream cheese pound cake.
Why this muffin recipe is different
I formulated this recipe to be a bit different for two reasons. 1) Using real fruit often results in soggy muffins and 2) heavy, dense muffins are not what I want in a muffin texture
Solving the soggy muffins problem: Often times you’ll see larger chunks of strawberries in homemade muffin recipes. After baking, you have squishy fruit chunks and a wet muffin interior. For this recipe, I use tiny chopped pieces of strawberries and don’t overload the batter to ensure that these muffins are not soggy on the inside.
To fix the heavy and dense muffins: This recipe contains no eggs, unlike most muffin recipes. For the kind of light and airy muffins I wanted to replicate, I found that removing eggs from the batter produced the texture I was looking for.
Tools you may need
12 count muffin tin, cupcake liners (optional), 2 mixing bowls, a whisk and a spatula, knife and cutting board
Ingredients for Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins
- All purpose flour, 2 cups or 270 grams
- Sugar, 1 cup or 196 grams
- Baking Powder, 3 teaspoons
- Salt, 1/2 teaspoon
- Milk (I used whole milk), 1 cup
- Cream Cheese, 8 ounce block
- Vegetable oil, 1/2 cup
- Vanilla, 1 teaspoon
- Strawberries, 5-8 medium size
How do I make strawberry muffins?
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin or cupcake pan with 12 liners. In a large mixing bowl, add 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Whisk the dry ingredients together and set aside. Chop 5-8 medium strawberries into small pieces, about the size of peas. Blot the strawberries to absorb some of the extra liquid.
In a microwave safe bowl, add 1 cup of milk and an 8 ounce block of cream cheese. Heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds at a time until the milk is warm and the cream cheese is completely softened. Whisk together, it’ll look a bit like cottage cheese with the clumps of cream cheese. Add 1/2 cup of vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and whisk together again until the cream cheese is thoroughly mixed in and you have a thick liquid mixture.
Pour the liquids into the bowl of dry ingredients. Gently mix just until combined. Lumps are fine! You’ll see tiny bits of cream cheese speckled throughout the batter.
Drop in some of the strawberries, and gently fold in. We aren’t adding all of them at once, we’re going to layer them in.
Using a small cookie scoop, add one scoopful of batter to each of the muffin cups. Then add a few strawberries, followed by another scoop of batter. Repeat until you’ve run out of batter and strawberries. Fill them all the way to the top!
Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the muffins have risen and the tops are beginning to turn golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove them from the pan immediately and let cool for a few minutes on wire cooling rack. Serve warm!
Storing and reheating: Strawberry muffins stay soft and moist for up to 4 days stored in an air tight container at room temp. For the best taste, reheat for 10 seconds in the microwave before enjoying.
Baking other Muffin Sizes:
To make a small batch of muffins: Halve the recipe and fill the muffin cups all the way to the top for 6 standard muffins (left) or 2/3 of the way for 9 smaller muffins (right). Bake the smaller ones for 16-18 minutes and the larger ones for 18-22 minutes. For mini muffins: use one scoop of batter for each cup. Bake for 12-14 minutes.
Ideas for Variations:
Muffins are endlessly customizable. These would be fantastic with some white chocolate chips or you can add your favorite chopped nuts. Give it a streusel topping or toss on some sugar for a little crunch! A lemon drizzle icing would also be a great addition.
Questions about strawberry muffins
Can this be made ahead?
They can be made a day ahead of time, as these stay fresh at room temp for several days. The day the muffins are baked, they’ll have a crisper top, but they will get soft and slightly sticky after the first day.
Can you freeze this recipe?
Muffins can be frozen in an airtight freezer safe bag or container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in fridge. Warm in the microwave for a few seconds or reheat in the oven before serving.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour (270 g)
- 1 cup sugar (196 g)
- 3 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 5-8 medium strawberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400℉.
- Line a muffin/cupcake pan with 9 cupcake liners
- Finely chop 5-8 medium strawberries into pieces about the size of small peas. Blot the strawberries with a paper towel to remove some of the excess moisture.
- In a medium size mixing bowl, add the 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 cup sugar, 3 tsp baking powder, and ½ tsp salt. Whisk together.
- In a large liquid measuring cup, add the 1 cup whole milk and 8 ounces cream cheese. Heat in the microwave in 30 second increments until the cream cheese is warmed through and spreads easily when stirred.
- Add the ½ cup vegetable oil and 1 tsp vanilla to the milk and cream cheese mixture. Whisk until well combined. The cream cheese bits will look a little like cottage cheese-this is how it should look at this point.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and gently stir just until combined. Lumps are fine. Add 1/3 of the strawberries and stir in.
- Next we're going to layer in the muffin mix, followed by strawberries. Add one scoop of batter to each muffin cup then sprinkle a few strawberries over the top. Repeat until you've used all the batter. Top each one with the last few pieces of strawberries.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, just until the tops are turning lightly golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached. Remove the muffins from the pan immediately and place on a wire rack. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then serve warm!
- Store muffins in a tightly covered container. Leftover muffins are best enjoyed warm. To reheat: place in microwave for about 10 seconds. Muffins stay soft and moist at room temp for several days.
Notes
I’d love to hear from you!
If you try this recipe and love it, please leave a comment and a star rating and let me know how it went. Happy Baking!
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