Frugal Foodie Mama: Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins

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Thursday, January 10, 2013

Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins

These moist Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins are brimming with blueberries and a cream cheese swirl...


These moist Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins are brimming with blueberries and a cream cheese swirl.



When you happen to have been blogging for a few years (or in my case, about 5), you often look back at some of your earliest posts and maybe cringe a tiny bit. And I do stress the tiny bit part. Because it is also pretty awesome to see how far you have come as a blogger and a photographer. :) 


Over the last year or so, I have been very slowly revisiting some of my early yet super popular recipes and giving them a fresh update. And these Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins are definitely deserving of a little spruce-up on the blog. Not that I think my first shot of these muffins was all that bad...



Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins via thefrugalfoodiemama.com- these moist cupcakes are brimming with blueberries and a cream cheese swirl



Yes, that is the original photo from when I first published this muffins recipe in 2013. Honestly at the time, I thought I had done a pretty good job with the photos on this one. I mean, they are not horrible. At least the lighting was pretty decent, right? ;) 
But with over 50,000 direct pins from the site and being ranked #8 in my top 10 posts of ALL time, I decided these muffins had more than earned their right to some pretty updated photographs.



From my original post in January 2013...
Okay... so these are probably THE BEST muffins I have made to date. In the words of my husband, they are "stellar" and "must become a staple in this house from now on". Blueberries, lemon, cream cheese, ginger? Where the heck could I have even gone wrong with these?? ;)




These moist Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins are brimming with blueberries and a cream cheese swirl.
Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins
by Frugal Foodie Mama
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients (12 muffins)
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
  • Zest and juice of one lemon
  • 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries
  • Crystallized or candied ginger- optional (I used a Baker's Cut from Trader Joe's.)
For the cream cheese "batter"
  • 8 oz of cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with muffin liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients- flour through the cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients- the milk through the lemon juice and zest. (Tip- Always zest the lemon before juicing it. To get the lemon to juice easier, microwave it for 10 seconds. Roll the warmed lemon with your hands on your counter and then cut in half. Hold the lemon halves cut side up as you squeeze out the juice to prevent the lemon seeds from getting into your bowl.)

Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients a little at a time. Mix until incorporated, but try not to over mix.
Fold in the blueberries.

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until nice and creamy. Gently fold half of the cream cheese "batter" into the blueberry muffin batter.

Fill each muffin cup in your pan about 2/3 of the way full with your muffin/cream cheese swirled batter. Grab the remaining cream cheese batter and drop one tablespoon of it on top of each muffin. Using the back of a spoon, press the batter into and swirl it around the top of each muffin.

Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the chopped crystallized or candied ginger and gently press them into the tops of the muffins with a spoon.

Bake for about 30 minutes at 375 degrees, turning your muffin tin once halfway through baking. The cream cheese tops of the muffins will get golden edges when done, but shouldn't be brown. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffins should come out clean when done.

Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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This recipe was adapted from THIS ONE by Bake or Break & THIS ONE by Two Tarts. 




These moist Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins are brimming with blueberries and a cream cheese swirl.



When I make these muffins, I always leave the crystallized ginger off of about half of them because my husband isn't a huge fan of ginger. Me, on the other hand? I love ginger! Feel free to leave the ginger off some (or all) of the muffins to suit your and your family's taste preferences. 



These moist Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins are brimming with blueberries and a cream cheese swirl.






These moist Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins are brimming with blueberries and a cream cheese swirl.




Since these Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins have been a long time reader favorite on the blog, I have to ask- have you made them before?
What did you and your family think of them? :)


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