Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins
This easy muffin recipe is bursting with fresh lemon juice and zest! Top them with a delicious cream cheese swirl for a decadent breakfast treat!
Servings: 12 muffins
Calories: 291kcal
Equipment
- Muffin pan filled with liners or lightly greased
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Hand mixer recommended for cream cheese mixture
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour weighed in grams for best results
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 6 ounces (170.1 g) cream cheese room temperature
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice for the cream cheese mixture
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup (118.29 ml) vegetable oil
- ½ cup (118.29 ml) Lifeway Organic Plain Whole Milk Kefir room temperature
- ¼ cup (59.15 ml) lemon juice for the muffin batter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, create a lemon sugar mixture by rubbing the sugar and lemon zest together between your fingers. Set aside ¼ cup of this lemon sugar for the cream cheese mixture. The remaining ¾ cup will go into the batter.
- Mix the softened cream cheese, ¼ cup of lemon sugar, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in a medium bowl until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, kefir, ¼ cup of lemon juice, vanilla extract, and the remaining ¾ cup of lemon sugar.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients from step 1 into the wet ingredients just until the flour streaks disappear.
- Add about ⅔ of the cream cheese mixture into the muffin batter and stir a few times to swirl it in.
- Fill the muffin liners with batter so they're about ¾ full. Swirl the remaining cream cheese mixture on top of the batter (about 1 teaspoon per muffin).
- Bake on the middle rack at 425°F for 5 minutes. Then, without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350°F. Continue baking until a toothpick comes out clean (about 8-12 more minutes; 13-17 minutes total).
- Once they're cool enough to touch, transfer them to a cooling rack.
Notes
Storage: Store fully cooled muffins at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 1 month.
Mini Muffins: Bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes.
Jumbo Muffins: Fill jumbo muffin liners ¾ full and follow the same baking instructions as written. They make slightly take longer to bake.
Lifeway Kefir: This recipe is sponsored by Lifeway Foods. I genuinely love their products and mission! If you can't find their kefir, you can substitute an equal amount of buttermilk.
Nutrition
Calories: 291kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 286mg | Potassium: 62mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 257IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 1mg
