Banana Cream Cheese Muffins add a delicious twist to a classic muffin. That little cream cheese surprise takes these to the next level!
As much as I enjoy baking different things, I never tire of banana muffins or banana bread. Maybe it’s just a comfort food for me, but I just love everything about them. From the smell of them baking to the first warm bite, I’m 100% there for it.
But because I like baking different things, I try to change up my banana game to make variations of the classics. These Banana Cream Cheese Muffins are fairly traditional versions that get a flavor boost from the addition of a little cream cheese.
The cream cheese addition comes in the form of a dollop of sweetened cream cheese that’s added to partially filled muffin cups. Then it’s topped with more muffin batter to cover it. No swirling required!
When it’s time to bite into one of these beauties, you’ll find a little pocket of cheesecake-like filling in the center. It’s such a fantastic complement to these banana muffins!
Tips for Success
- Measure accurately. Use a kitchen scale to measure by weight if possible. Otherwise, spoon and sweep!
- Bring the cream cheese to room temperature. The filling will mix more smoothly if the cream cheese is at room temperature.
- Cool the melted butter before adding to the other ingredients. If it’s too hot, it can start to cook and curdle the other liquid ingredients. Cooling it to lukewarm will help avoid that.
- Get out your cookie scoops! Assembling these muffins will go much more quickly and efficiently with scoops for the batter and the filling. I use two different scoops for the muffin batter (#30 and #50) and another scoop for the filling (#110).
- Refrigerate or freeze leftovers. While the sugar in the cream cheese will help stabilize it some, you’re safest to store these in the refrigerator or freezer. Wrap the muffins well and refrigerate for a few days or freeze for a couple of months. Thaw frozen muffins overnight in the refrigerator. Bring refrigerated muffins to room temperature before serving.
If you love banana muffins but find yourself wanting something just a little bit different, I hope you’ll try these Banana Cream Cheese Muffins. They’re so wonderfully soft and amazingly delicious!
More Banana Muffin Recipes
Banana Cream Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
For the cream cheese filling:
- 4 ounces (113 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg yolk
For the muffins:
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100 g)
granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 g)
firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm
- 1 large
egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) milk
- about 1 cup chopped pecans, optional
- sanding sugar, optional
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Instructions
To make the cream cheese filling:
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line 18 standard muffin cups with paper liners or coat the cups with a cooking spray with flour.
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and egg yolk until thoroughly combined.
- Refrigerate while you make the muffin batter.
To make the muffins:
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the butter, milk, egg, and vanilla until thoroughly mixed. Add to the well in the flour mixture, and mix just until a few streaks of flour remain.
- Stir in the bananas, mixing just until combined.
- Fill each muffin cup with approximately 2 tablespoons (#30 scoop) of muffin batter. Add approximately 1/2 tablespoon (#110 scoop) of the cream cheese mixture in the center of the batter. Then add approximately 1 tablespoon (#50 scoop) of the remaining muffin batter on top of the cream cheese filling.
- If you like, sprinkle the top of each muffin with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of chopped pecans and a pinch of sanding sugar.
- Bake 22 to 26 minutes, or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Refrigerate or freeze any leftovers.
One Comment on “Banana Cream Cheese Muffins”
Love the idea of adding cream cheese to muffins! Can’t wait to try this recipe and see how the banana and cream cheese flavors combine. Looking forward to sharing my thoughts on the taste and texture of these muffins. Thanks for sharing!