Strawberry and Cream Cheese Muffins

When it comes to fruit, despite all my plans and good intentions, I usually end up with more of it than I had planned to use. I'm not talking enormous overages, but I'm frequently done in by that odd unused cup that represents the type of waste I try to avoid. An extra cup of strawberries sent me on a search to find a recipe that would save them from the compost heap. My search led me to Jane's Sweets and Baking Journal where I found the precursor to the recipe I'm featuring today. I've made a few changes to the original recipe, but they are minor and were made only to give the muffins a deeper color. These are very simple to make and I know you will enjoy them, but I do have one caution to share with you. If appearance is important to you, don't overfill the muffin cups. I know it's a bother to prepare a second pan when you'll only be using 2 or 3 of its cups, but if you put too much batter into the cups of one pan, I guarantee they will overflow and you'll end up with flat-topped muffins. Please don't ask how I know that. It's part of the we grow too soon old and too late smart syndrome that sometimes afflicts me. If you are looking for a new breakfast muffin and have extra berries on hand, I hope you'll give this recipe a try. Here's how the muffins are made.

Strawberry and Cream Cheese Muffins

Ingredients:

Muffins
1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 cup golden brown sugar

2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten

1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped into very small pieces

Cream Cheese Mixture
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1) Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Grease regular-sized muffin tins or line with cupcake liners.

2) To make cream cheese mixture: Combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract in a small bowl and mix until ingredients are combined and smooth.

3) Combine both flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

4) Combine milk, melted butter, vanilla extract and egg in another bowl and whisk until smooth.

5) Mix milk mixture into flour mixture, folding together until just combined. Do not overmix.

6) Spoon 2 scant tablespoons of batter into the prepared tins. Scatter a few pieces of strawberry on top of each one. Top with a teaspoon of cream cheese mixture, then cover with 1 to 2 tablespoons of muffin batter and a few more pieces of strawberry. Do not over fill. Muffin cups should be no more than 2/3 full.

7) Bake muffins for about 25 minutes, until they’re a light brown on top and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Yield: 12 to 15 muffins.

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