Strawberries and Cream Muffins

This morning I got up, like most weekend mornings, wishing I had made some fabulous dough the previous night to make fresh cinnamon rolls or croissants this morning. Nope, I didn't. So I asked my husband, muffins or scones? Already knowing the answer, he said muffins and my mind starting working. I knew we had no blueberries or bananas, but we did have strawberries. Lots and lots of strawberries! They are my favorite fruit, so in the summer there are always strawberries in our fridge.

Strawberries and Cream Muffins

Streusel Topping
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp firm butter

Muffins
3/4 cup milk
1/4 vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup strawberries, cut into small chunks

Filling
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 egg (about 2 tbsp beaten)
1/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin pan with baking cups or grease thoroughly. To prepare filling combine cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla and mix till smooth. Set filling aside. Combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon for streusel topping, then cut in butter using 2 forks or pastry cutter and combine till coarse crumbs. Set streusel topping aside. Whisk together milk, oil, and egg for muffin mixture, then add in all flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt only till moistened. The mixture will be lumpy.

Spoon in one tablespoon of muffin mixture into each cup, then top with half the chunked strawberries, and a tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture. Spoon remaining muffin mixture into each cup, top with remaining strawberries, and sprinkle streusel topping. Bake for 22-25 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and serve warm.

These muffins really hit the spot this morning, they were crumbly and crunchy in all the right places. The strawberries slightly cooked and almost tasted like a strawberry jam and the smooth cream cheese filling was just enough sweet in the muffins. I am thinking this would be a good combination for a braided bread. Does anyone have a good recipe for a braided bread?

Recipe was adapted from Betty Crocker's Blueberry Muffin recipe.