Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

This is my absolute favorite muffin recipe, and I make it every year as soon as the strawberries come in. We pick our strawberries from Lineberger's Maple Springs Farm in Dallas, NC, about a 30-minute drive from Charlotte. You can also make these muffins with any other berries you have on hand. We've substituted blackberries that we picked in the summertime and then froze for later, and those were just as delicious.

lovely photos above courtesy of Kimi Pace

STRAWBERRY CREAM CHEESE MUFFINS

recipe from The Muffin Lady by Linda Fisher, with my own adaptations

2 c. flour

1 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
4 T. butter, melted
1/4 c. vegetable oil
3/4 c. milk
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 pint strawberries
8 oz. cream cheese


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center. Blend in the remaining ingredients except the strawberries and cream cheese. Spoon the batter into a paper-lined 12-unit muffin pan. Cut a chunk off the block of cream cheese and stick it in the middle of each muffin. Top with 1-3 strawberries, depending on their size. Bake about 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (minus the cream cheese).