Description
These luscious lemon cream cheese muffins are soft, fluffy, and bursting with fresh lemon flavor. Each muffin has a creamy cheesecake-style center, making them bakery-worthy and perfect for breakfast, brunch, or a sweet coffee break.
Ingredients
For the Lemon Muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tablespoons)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Filling:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon zest until smooth. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest.
4. In another bowl, whisk melted butter, milk, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and gently mix until just combined.
6. Fill muffin cups halfway with batter.
7. Add one heaping teaspoon of cream cheese filling to the center of each muffin.
8. Top with remaining batter until cups are about three-quarters full.
9. Bake for 18–22 minutes, until lightly golden and set.
10. Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
Notes
Do not overmix the batter to keep muffins light and fluffy.
Chilling the cream cheese filling slightly makes filling easier.
Muffins will set more as they cool.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 230
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 170mg
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 26g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 70mg