Hey there, I didn’t really mean to take a whole month off from blogging but after two weeks I just decided to go with it. Sometimes you just need to take break to recharge! I wish I had the time or energy to be one of those bloggers that posts multiple times a week, but I need to accept that I am not one of those people and do what’s best for me instead of feeling bad about it. Sometimes I forget that this is supposed to be fun and not something to stress about. I’m really grateful for everyone that has stuck around. I’ll do my best to keep on a normal weekly schedule from now on! Anyway, just because I haven’t been blogging doesn’t mean I haven’t been cooking. I have several recipes in the pipeline and a bunch of new ideas for things I can’t wait to test out.
But for today, I wanted to post a recipe which I’ve made at least 4 times in the last month. I seriously can’t get enough of these muffins! They’re based on a recipe I found on pinterest that originally used strawberries. At the time I had a large carton of blueberries from Sam’s Club so I was looking for ways to use them up. I also had a large container of blueberry Greek yogurt, so I substituted the milk called for in the original recipe with blueberry yogurt to give these muffins even more blueberry taste.
The best thing about these yogurt muffins is that they’re sort of like coffee cake, but in muffin form. They’re assembled in layers starting with muffin batter, then blueberries, then a creamy cheesecake filling topped with cinnamon streusel, then you start over again with more batter, blueberries and a final sprinkling of struesel on top. If this sounds involved, don’t worry. You get into a rhythm and it only takes 5 or 10 minutes, tops.
I health-ified these slightly by using coconut oil (or you can use canola oil). I also used non-fat yogurt and low-fat cream cheese but feel free to use full fat everything if you don’t care about calories. Either way, these muffins are delicious!
If you’re not into blueberries these yogurt muffins would be really easy to customize with your favorite berries and yogurt. Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries or even cherries would work. And you can add even more flavor with different kinds of yogurt. I love combining lemon and blueberries, so I’ll be trying these muffins with lemon yogurt next time.
Blueberry Cheesecake Yogurt Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel
adapted from The Recipe Critic
Breakfast | Yield: 12 muffins
Prep time: 30 min | Cook time: 25 min | Total time: 1 hour
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Filling
- 4 oz. 1/3-less fat cream cheese
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp. well beaten egg (reserve remaining egg)
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Muffin Batter
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 cup non-fat or low fat blueberry yogurt (I used Chobani)
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup coconut oil or canola oil (melt coconut oil and cool slightly)
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
Cinnamon Streusel
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter, grated or cut into small squares
Process
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Place 12 cupcake liners in a muffin pan. Lightly spray the inside and around the top edges of the liners with nonstick spray.
- Make the cream cheese filling: In a mixer bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, 2 tablespoons beaten egg (reserve the remaining egg for later) and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.
- Make the muffin batter: In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. In a smaller bowl, stir together the blueberry yogurt and baking soda. Stir the sugar, oil, egg, reserved beaten egg and vanilla into the yogurt until well combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Batter will be thick.
- Make the streusel: Combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon. Use a fork or your fingers to mix the butter in until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside.
- Assemble the muffins: Add 1 rounded tablespoon of muffin batter to each cup in the muffin pan. Add 3 or 4 blueberries to each. Add 1 level tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture on top. Then, sprinkle with about a teaspoon of streusel. Next add another tablespoon of batter, followed by 3 or 4 more blueberries and a final sprinkling of streusel.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container (see notes). Best when eaten within 3 or 4 days.
Recipe Notes
To make these lower fat, use non-fat yogurt and reduce the coconut/canola oil to 1/4 cup. However, with less fat they go stale faster so they’re best eaten within 2 days.
I’ve only tested these with non fat Greek yogurt, but any kind of yogurt should work. If using full fat yogurt, you can reduce the coconut/canola oil to 1/4 cup.
If you don’t have blueberry yogurt feel free to substitute plain, vanilla or even lemon yogurt.
Storing Muffins: Due to the berries and cream cheese layer these muffins can become soggy after several days. The best way to store muffins is to line a plastic container with paper towels, place the muffins in the container, then place another layer of paper towels on top and seal the container. The paper towels will help absorb the extra moisture. Thanks to Savy Eats for this tip!
You’re so right – blogging should be fun, so take all the breaks you need. I hate when I feel like I am required to post. Plus it means that when you do post, it’s about something you really like. I can see why you love these – they look so good. I love the substitutions you’ve made. Just thinking about that cheesecake layer is making me hungry.
Yum! – Blueberry Cheesecake Yogurt Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel https://t.co/76xLT5ZYyV via @Emiline220
Oh, I love everything about these muffins! The combination of coconut oil, cream cheese, and juicy blueberries sounds amazing!