Blueberry lemon cream cheese muffIns

I am dedicating this post to my mom.  I grew up spending a lot of time in the kitchen with my mom and sister.  I learned from my mom early on how to doctor recipes, I am never afraid to stray from a recipe for one reason of another.  In my case it is usually because I want to use up food before it goes to waste and there has been times I just didn't have the right ingredients.  

I made 2 changes to the original recipe and Mike loves these muffins.  He begged me to make the same recipe and not to make anymore changes.   So using the evaporated milk (instead of regular milk) and add 1 teaspoon of lemon extract paid off.  My son and I would like to make only half of the cream cheese mixture but Mike doesn't want me to change one thing.  I just wanted half the cream cheese mixture because it would be less calories.

 I used evaporated milk instead of regular milk because I had some that expired this month and I can't waste.  Can't do it. 

I swirled the cream cheese mixture into the muffin mix.

This recipe is adapted from the Frugal Food Mom.

I have been thinking about these muffins since I saw the picture.  I looked at about 200 pictures of muffins and this recipe is the only one that made me want to make the muffins this weekend.

Ingredients (12 muffins)

2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup milk or evaporated milk

2 eggs

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp lemon extract

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

Zest and juice of one lemon

1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries

Crystallized or candied ginger- optional

For the cream cheese "batter"

• 8 oz of cream cheese, room temp.
• 1 cup sugar
  

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 

Line a 12 cup muffin pan with muffin liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients- flour through the cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients- the milk through the lemon juice and zest. 

Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients a little at a time. Mix until incorporated, be careful not to over mix.

Fold in the blueberries.

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until creamy. Gently fold half of the cream cheese "batter" into the blueberry muffin batter.

Fill each muffin cup in your pan about 2/3 of the way full with your muffin/cream cheese swirled batter.   I use the pampered chef muffin scope.  Use the remaining cream cheese batter and put one tablespoon of it on top of each muffin, press the batter into and swirl it around the top of each muffin.

Bake for about 30 minutes at 375 degrees, turning your muffin tin once halfway through baking. The cream cheese tops of the muffins will get golden edges when done.  A toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffins should come out clean when done.

**click here for tips on juicing a lemon