Summer Berry Cream Cheese Muffins

It’s officially Summer berry season and I’m always looking for ways to add healthy and delicious, ripe Summer raspberries, blueberries and blackberries to our meals. These Summer berry cream cheese muffins can be made with either blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or your favorite combination of two or three berries. The cream cheese creates the perfect light and creamy consistency and the flavor is delicious when paired with sweet, juicy berries. Top these muffins with a few walnuts or pecans for crunch and added protein, add a drizzle of vanilla glaze and there you have it…the perfect Summer morning breakfast treat.

Summer Berry Cream Cheese Muffins

Summer berry cream cheese muffins use cream cheese to create a light, creamy texture that pairs perfectly with ripe Summer berries.

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Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 6 ounces 3/4 cup cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup butter softened
• 1 ½ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups all purpose flour To make these muffins gluten-free, I use a 1-to-1 gluten free flour like Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 baking flour.
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup buttermilk or milk If you're using gluten-free flour add an additional 1/4 cup buttermilk or milk.
• 2 cups fresh blueberries, raspberries or blackberries or a combination of Summer berries. Frozen berries will also work
• 1 cup chopped walnuts and/or pecans optional

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place 24 cupcake liners in a cupcake/muffin baking pan.
• Combine cream cheese and butter in a large bowl and beat with a mixer at high speed until thoroughly combined. Add sugar and beat until the batter is fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs and continue to beat until combined.
• In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir to combine.
• With the mixer on low speed, add half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Next, add the buttermilk and then add the rest of the flour mixture.
• Gently fold in the berries.
• Spoon the muffin batter evenly into the lined muffin cups and place about 1/2 tablespoon chopped nuts on top of each muffin. The nut topping is optional.
• Bake for 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
• To add an optional vanilla glaze drizzle, combine 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a bowl and add 1 tablespoon at a time of milk and mix with a whisk until desired consistency is reached. Add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix with a whisk. Drizzle on top of each cooled muffin using a spoon and waving it back and forth on top of the muffin.

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Have some fun with the toppings

Summer berry cream cheese muffins are super tasty plain but who doesn’t love a topping? Here are a few muffin topping ideas that compliment that delicious berry flavor.

• Nuts are my favorite topping on Summer berry cream cheese muffins. I like to use walnut or pecan pieces or a combination of both. I add them to the top of each muffin before baking them.
• Turbinado Sugar Sprinkle a generous amount on the top of each muffin before baking them.
• Mini chocolate chips always make my kids happy. When I make these muffins with raspberries, I sprinkle a few mini chocolate chips on top before baking them. Who doesn’t love the combination of raspberries and chocolate?
• Drizzle a simple vanilla glaze on top of the muffins after they’ve baked and cooled. Or even better…top them with walnut or pecan pieces before baking them and then drizzle the glaze on top after they’ve baked and cooled. To prepare a simple vanilla glaze add 1/2 cup powdered sugar to a mixing bowl. Start by adding 1 tablespoon of milk and mix with a whisk. Add more milk as needed to reach the desired consistency. Add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix with a whisk. Drizzle the glaze over the muffins by dipping a spoon into the glaze and gently waving the spoon over the muffins.
• Create a streusel crumb topping by combining 1¼ cups flour, ½ packed brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly. Pour ½ cup melted (but cooled) salted butter into the mixture and use a fork to give the mixture a quick stir leaving some clumps but no dry flour. Sprinkle the streusel mixture evenly over the muffins before baking. Add about another minute to the bake time.

Using frozen berries

When fresh berries are not in season, feel free to substitute them with frozen berries. Fold the berries into the muffins very carefully to minimize bleeding colors into the muffins, especially when using blueberries.