Description
Gooey Cinnamon Cream Cheese Muffins: Experience tender muffins bursting with warm cinnamon and a sweet, creamy filling. Your new favorite breakfast treat!
Ingredients
Scale
- Muffin Base:
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Cream Cheese Filling:
- 4 oz (113g) cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup (30g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Cinnamon Swirl:
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- Crunchy Streusel Topping:
- 1/4 cup (57g) cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/4 cup (30g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (50g) brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Prep Your Pans & Dry Mix: First things first, preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Honestly, I sometimes forget the liners and end up with stuck muffins, a real bummer! In a big bowl, whisk together your flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make sure there are no lumps in the baking powder; you want that even rise. This is where the magic starts to happen, just a simple bowl of dry ingredients, waiting to be transformed.
- Whisk the Wet Ingredients: In a separate, smaller bowl, crack your egg and give it a good whisk. Then, pour in the milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk it all until it’s really well combined. This is the liquid gold that will bring our Gooey Cinnamon Cream Cheese Muffins to life. I always make sure everything is at room temperature here; it just seems to incorporate better and gives a smoother batter. Don’t overdo it, just a nice, even mix.
- Combine Wet & Dry: Now, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir them together with a spatula until they are just combined. Seriously, resist the urge to overmix! A few lumps are totally fine; in fact, they’re preferred for tender muffins. Overmixing develops the gluten too much, and you’ll end up with tough muffins, and we definitely don’t want that for our Gooey Cinnamon Cream Cheese Muffins. It’s a delicate balance, trust me on this.
- Prepare the Cream Cheese Filling & Swirl: In another small bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with powdered sugar and a splash of vanilla until it’s smooth and creamy. This is the “gooey” part, so make it good! For the cinnamon swirl, mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a tiny bowl. Now, fill each muffin cup about halfway with batter. Spoon a dollop of the cream cheese mixture into the center of each, then sprinkle with some cinnamon-brown sugar swirl. A little swirl with a toothpick works wonders here.
- Add Streusel & Bake: For the streusel topping, combine cold butter, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Use your fingertips to rub it together until it forms coarse crumbs. This is my favorite part; the texture it adds is just wonderful! Sprinkle a generous amount of this streusel over the top of each muffin. Pop the muffin tin into your preheated oven and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the muffin (but not the cream cheese filling!) comes out clean. The smell at this stage? Divine!
- Cool & Enjoy Your Gooey Cinnamon Cream Cheese Muffins: Once they’re golden and puffed, take those beautiful Gooey Cinnamon Cream Cheese Muffins out of the oven. Let them cool in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Or, honestly, if you’re like me, grab one while it’s still warm and gooey. That melted cream cheese and warm cinnamon is just incredible. They should be soft, tender, and smell absolutely heavenly. Don’t burn your tongue, though, I’ve done that too many times!