Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins
Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins are homemade muffins bursting with juicy strawberries, stuffed with a cream cheese filling that tastes like cheesecake, and topped with a buttery streusel crumble and simple vanilla glaze.
Servings 12
Ingredients
Strawberry Muffins
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons butter softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup full-fat sour cream
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1¼ cups fresh strawberries (diced small & patted dry with paper towel)
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Cream Cheese Filling
- 6 ounces full-fat cream cheese softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Streusel Topping
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter cold & cubed
Vanilla Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Set the pan aside.
Strawberry Muffins
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.1¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a separate large bowl using an electric mixer, or use a stand mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar until light, fluffy, and very pale in color; at least 2-3 minutes.5 tablespoons butter, 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract until combined.2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add the sour cream and milk, and mix until smooth and evenly combined.1/3 cup full-fat sour cream, 2 tablespoons whole milk
- Add the bowl of dry ingredients into the large bowl of wet ingredients and gently fold, using a spatula or wooden spoon, just until combined and no flour streaks remain in the batter. Set the batter aside and let it rest for 5-10 minutes so it can thicken slightly.
- While the batter is resting, add the chopped strawberries into a bowl with the all-purpose flour and stir it together until all the strawberries are coated. When the batter is done resting, gently fold in the flour coated diced strawberries and just barely mix until combined.1¼ cups fresh strawberries, 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Cream Cheese Filling
- In a bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat the cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy and smooth. Place this bowl in the fridge until you're ready to fill the muffins.6 ounces full-fat cream cheese, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Streusel Topping
- In a small bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour and granulated sugar.1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Add the cold cubed butter, and then use your clean fingertips to gently pinch and rub the butter into the dry ingredients. It should look like soft, crumbly sand with some larger pea-sized pieces and hold together slightly when pressed. Set the crumble aside.2 tablespoons butter
Assemble The Muffins & Bake
- - Use a 2 tablespoon scoop to place some strawberry muffin batter into each muffin liner.- Add 2 teaspoons of the cream cheese filling into the center of each muffin.- Top with an additional 1-2 tablespoons of the strawberry muffin batter until each muffin cup is about 80-85 percent full.- Sprinkle the prepared crumble topping evenly over each muffin, gently pressing it into the surface.
- Bake the muffins for 5-6 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (without opening the door) and continue baking for 15-18 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden, set, and a toothpick inserted into the muffin portion comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool in the warm muffin pan for 15 minutes before transferring the muffins to a wire rack so they can fully set and cool completely.
Vanilla Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk together all the glaze ingredients until it's thick but still pourable. Drizzle the glaze, using a fork or spoon, over the top of the muffins (make sure the muffins are completely cooled before glazing). Enjoy!1 cup powdered sugar, 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream, ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Notes
- Wash the strawberries to remove all the dirt and then dice them into very small chunks, and then take a paper towel and pat dry the strawberry chunks. You don't want to add extra liquid into the muffin batter so make sure that the strawberries are patted dry before adding them into it.
- Measure out 1¼ cups of whole strawberries and then cut them into small chunks.
- Use a bar of cream cheese to measure out 6 ounces. An 8 ounce bar of cream cheese comes wrapped in the aluminum wrapper. Follow the lines on that wrapper to cut 6 ounces from it.
- I use salted butter plus the salt called for in the recipe (I use sea salt), I prefer baking with salted butter. If you prefer unsalted butter that works just fine.
- It's so important to beat the butter and sugar (when making the muffin batter) thoroughly for at least 2-3 minutes. It may seem like a long time, but trust me, whipping that mixture until it's light, fluffy, and very pale in color is what makes the muffins so soft because the sugar has been incorporated really well into the butter.
- I know this recipe has lots of steps and different bowls, but all the steps use similar ingredients that are baking staple. Prepare to use several different bowls.
- Starting the muffins at a higher temperature helps create tall, domed bakery-style tops. The quick burst of heat cause the batter to rise rapidly before the crumb sets.
- Letting the muffin batter rest allows the flour to hydrate fully. This small step improves the structure of the muffins and helps them bake taller and fluffier. While the batter is resting you can prepare the strawberries and make the streusel topping.
- Dice the strawberries into very small pieces/chunks so they distribute evenly throughout the muffins and do not sink to the bottom. If the strawberries are in larger pieces, they will be heavier, which causes them to sink to the bottom of the muffins. Large chunks will also release too much moisture.