Cherry Cheesecake Muffins are such an irresistible treat. They’re studded with fresh cherries and filled with sweetened cream cheese!
Cherry Cheesecake Muffins
Fresh cherries are such a treat this time of year, that I knew I get a little excited about all the things I want to make with them.
Of course, cherries and cheesecake have such a delicious history together. I have my own history with it, too, as one of my early favorite desserts was that cherry cheesecake made from a box mix. In celebration of those flavors, I happily share with you these Cherry Cheesecake Muffins.
Somehow simply calling these “muffins” just doesn’t seem adequate. They are so much more than that. They may seem unassuming from the outside. But, bite into one and you’ll find a lovely little pocket of sweet cream cheese filling.
While I usually associate muffins with breakfast or brunch, I’d be more than happy to enjoy one of these most any time of day. After just one bite, I think you’ll wholeheartedly agree.
Besides the cherries and cream cheese, I love all the oats in these muffins, too. It gives them a slightly chewy and more hearty texture that works well to hold the cherries and the filling. All of that good stuff together makes for a batch of pretty irresistible muffins.
Tips for Success
- Measure accurately. Use a kitchen scale to measure by weight if possible. Otherwise, use the spoon and sweep method for measuring dry ingredients and sugar. Take care to measure all ingredients with accuracy.
- Use fresh cherries if you can. You’ll get the best results with fresh, but frozen will work well enough in a pinch.
- Let the melted butter cool. If it’s too warm, you’ll have issues with mixing well. It doesn’t have to cool all the way to room temperature, but give it a few minutes to cool before adding it to the batter. When I need melted butter for a recipe like this, I often melt it first and then gather the remaining ingredients to give it the time it needs without slowing down the baking process.
- Be ready to work quickly. Muffin batters with baking soda should be baked right after mixing, so be sure you’re ready to assemble the muffins once the batter is mixed.
I must say that these Cherry Cheesecake Muffins are one of my all-time favorite muffins. I always expect the cherry-cream cheese combo to thrill my taste buds, but these beauties seem to do that in an especially delicious way. If you’re a fan of all things cherry and cheesecake, I hope you’ll give these a try!
See more recipes for muffins in the Recipe Index.
More Fruit Muffin Recipes
Cherry Cheesecake Muffins
The irresistible combination of cherries and cream cheese shines in these Cherry Cheesecake Muffins!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (99g) old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup (236ml) buttermilk
- 8 ounces (226g) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup sweet cherries, pitted and quartered
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners.
- Combine the oats and buttermilk. Let stand for 10 minutes.
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until combined. Set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the egg and melted butter to the oat mixture, stirring until combined. Add to the flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Gently stir in the cherries.
- Place about 2 tablespoons of muffin batter in each muffin cup. Top with 1 & 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese filling. Then, top with the remaining muffin batter. (The cups will be almost full.)
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Notes
Recipe slightly adapted from Kraft.
Recommended Products
Bake or Break is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Have you made these Cherry Cheesecake Muffins? Leave a comment below, or share a photo and tag me on Instagram with the hashtag #bakeorbreak.
18 Comments on “Cherry Cheesecake Muffins”
What perfect timing! I just finished cleaning and pitting a bunch of cherries and was thinking about how delicious they would be in an oat muffin! You made my day. Now I don’t have to search for or try creating my own recipe! I am off to the kitchen ;). Thanks for sharing!
I love cherries. These muffins look so good. I wish I had some now.
Annamaria
Fabulous idea! And love that I have all the ingredients and am ready to go. Bam!
MMM I love the cream cheese filling!
How did you know that cheesecake is my favorite dessert and muffins are my favorite breakfast?? Time to combine those! Looks delicious!
These cherry cheesecake muffins are delicious. I used gluten free flour
and made the recipe as you have here. They came out excellent. I used frozen cherries, let them thaw a bit and blotted them with paper towels
then threw a little flour on them to absorb any moisture left from being frozen. I baked them 27 minutes to perfection. I did add chopped
pecans on top since I am a nut addict. Thanks so much for really nice
recipes.
I’m so glad you liked them, Linda! I love the addition of nuts on top!
Really tasty muffins these are. I ended up with maybe more batter than intended, and so maybe could have gotten 13 muffins. I filled up all 12 cups in my tray, and the tops came out a bit crunchy, but I liked the contrast. That cream cheese center is just delicious, and the cherries’ taste really comes through nicely. Another winner!
So glad you liked them, Kendall!
My husband grabbed a bag of frozen cherries instead of mixed fruit at the grocery store. We’re not huge fans, but I dutifully made a couple of pies. There were STILL cherries left, so I decided to make these muffins. I have to say that these are in my top 3 best-muffins-of-all-time list! Is it the oatmeal? The brown sugar? The cheesecake? I don’t know, but they’re amazing. Thanks for the great recipe!
Jaime, I’m so glad you liked them! I agree that they’re pretty delicious!
Do you have nutrition information for these muffins? They are delicious.
Thanks, Lisa! I don’t currently provide nutrition information. I’d recommend searching for a nutrition calculator online.
Hi Jennifer, can’t wait to make these but I’m the only one that likes cherries and cream cheese so can these be frozen. ??
Hi, Carole! Yes, you can definitely freeze these.
These sound scrumptious. Should they be refrigerated (due to cream cheese)? I was thinking about making them for a picnic. Thanks! I love your recipes and use them often. ☺️
Hi, Jennie. I would keep them tightly covered in the refrigerator up to 4 or 5 days. For serving, you can bring them to room temperature or warm them briefly in the microwave. They’re pretty good straight from the refrigerator, too!
I used sour cherries from my cherry tree. I used Monk fruit “sugar” and Splenda brown sugar. The I used Carbquik for flour. Everything else stayed the same. They didn’t rise much but I don’t think this recipe is supposed to. I am borderline diabetic so really have to watch my carbs, hence; the changes. They are delicious 😋.