For the Love of Cream Cheese

I am a firm believer that you can’t name one food that would not be delicious with cream cheese.  Think about it.  No, seriously…think about it… Cream cheese is a delicious addition to any food.  It is the nude pump of condiments; it just goes with everything.  So, when I came across a recipe for banana muffins with cream cheese filling my beliefs were only strengthened.  Now, before we go any further, I should probably be honest with you about something that might be a game changer.

This Bite-Sized Blonde loathes bananas.  That’s right, loathes.  You may think that’s a pretty strong word for something as harmless as a banana, but this is where you are wrong.  I can’t even be near someone who is eating them.  Bananas are my kryptonite.  So, although I appreciate the recipe for banana muffins with cream cheese filling, I can’t be a part of it.  Not to worry; I’ll make sure you still get your cream cheese fix.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins (12 muffins)

Ingredients
Muffin Batter
¼  cup canola oil
½ cup milk
1 egg
½  tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
½  cup white sugar
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped strawberries
½ tsp. vanilla

Filling
4 oz. cream cheese, softened

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and fill a muffin tin with 12 paper liners. In a small bowl, combine the oil, milk, vanilla and egg and beat lightly.  In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Toss in the chopped strawberries and stir to coat with the flour mixture.  This will keep the strawberries from sinking to the bottom of your muffin cups.  Pour in the milk mixture and stir together.   It may look like there is not enough liquid but don’t get discouraged; there is just enough! Spoon the filling into muffin cups so they are about half full.  Add 1 tablespoon of cream cheese onto the top of each muffin. If you like cream cheese as much as I do, be generous with the tablespoon.  Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the tops bounce back from the touch and they are golden brown.  Cool for about 10 minutes, or however long you can resist!

Recipe inspired by pinchmysalt.com and allrecipes.com.