Growing up, cream cheese was one of those foods that I ate on a daily basis – usually on a bagel or on a piece of toast. I loved it so much, but once my eating disorder developed, I no longer allowed myself to have this food and convinced myself that it was “bad” for me. Well thank goodness I came to my senses, and after 6 long years, I finally allowed myself to have it. And guess what? It was even better than I remembered!
Looking back now, I was absolutely miserable during those 6 years in which I was suffering from anorexia. I constantly find myself wishing it didn’t happen to me or that I could just be “normal” again (whatever normal is), but guess what? You can’t change the past. If anything, that period of my life made me a stronger person today, and it also helped me see firsthand that food truly does have a huge impact on our health and well-being. Not only that, but after depriving myself of my favorite foods for 6 long years, I now appreciate good food more than I ever have in my whole life. And one of those foods is cream cheese.
Before my eating disorder, I normally ate my cream cheese on a bagels or used it as a dip for Frito’s chips (yes… I know. I’m a dietitian and I ate Frito’s my whole life growing up. But hey… moderation, right?!) Today, though, I’m experimenting with new ways to use cream cheese beyond just as a spread for bagels. And let me just tell you, it’s so much better this way!
So far, I’ve used it in pastas, pancakes, icings, in baked goods, and as a topping for waffles, among many other things. All have been absolutely delicious, but since muffins are my absolute favorite type of dessert, I think my new favorite way to use cream cheese is to add it to muffins! This makes the muffins extremely dense and rich in flavor, and it’s like heaven on your teeth when you take a bite into them.
Last year, I came across a company called Melanie’s Medleys, which is a smaller (Pennsylvania-based) company that makes deliciously hand-crafted cream cheese spreads. I had a chance to test out their products, and I absolutely LOVED them. Their spreads are so light and fluffy, almost like they were whipped to make them light and full of air. Not only is the texture great, but the flavors are downright fantastic. They have several different flavors, ranging from plain to horseradish/cheddar to cinnamon toast to vanilla/walnut/raisin, and everything in between. And guess what? Every. Single. Flavor. Is delicious. 
I was offered a position to work with the company as an ambassador, and I am so happy to be doing so. Each month, they send me a very generous amount of cream cheese spreads and artisan grain bowl breakfast cups, and I love introducing people to their amazing products and finding new and creative ways to use them in my cooking or baking. And like I mentioned above, one of my favorite ways to incorporate their cream cheese is into muffins (or any dessert, for that matter).
I first made these muffins for my mom to take with her into her office, and at the end of the day when she came, she came home with an empty container. Every last one of the muffins were gone, and she said that everyone at her office really enjoyed them. Well unfortunately, I didn’t get to try them for myself, so naturally, I just had to make them again! And when I did, I realized that they were, in fact, really good.
The cream cheese gives these muffins the perfect amount of texture and denseness, without making them overly heavy or rich. I used the plain cream cheese from Melanie’s Medleys to make these, but they can be made with almost any of their flavors! I’m really looking forward to testing them out with the strawberry and blueberry flavors. Just think how good those would be with fresh summer strawberries and blueberries. Mmm mmm mmm, my mouth is watering!
If you want to try Melanie’s Medleys for yourself, head over to their website and browse through their large selection of products. If you decide to purchase something (which I highly recommend!), I have a treat for you – if you enter my discount code, you’ll get $15 off your order! Just simply add the items to your cart, go to checkout, and apply the discount code “MARISAU18”. The only thing better than getting great new foods is when you get them at a great discount! 🙂
- Muffin Batter:
- 2½ cups flour
- 1½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup buttermilk*
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt (or vanilla)
- 3 TBSP fresh lemon juice
- 1 heaping cup strawberries (or raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries)
- Cream Cheese Batter:
- 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or spray with non-stick spray.
- Muffin batter: Combine the sugar, buttermilk, eggs, oil, vanilla, yogurt, and lemon juice. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Gently fold in the berries, being careful not to over-mix.
- In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to combine all the ingredients for the filling.
- Gently fold HALF of the cream cheese batter into the muffin batter.
- Fill each muffin tin about ⅔ of the way full with the muffin batter.
- Top each muffin with about 1 TBSP of the remaining cream cheese batter. Using the back of a spoon, push the cream cheese batter down into the muffin batter, then use a toothpick to gently swirl it around.
- Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through
