Fresh Cherry Muffins filled with cream cheese are the BEST muffins for breakfast or brunch. There’s a cheesecake filling surrounded by a scrumptious oatmeal cherry muffin.
Cream cheese cherry muffins are going to be your new favorite breakfast muffin. They’re not over the top sweet like some breakfast muffins, but still a decadent treat.
I first made these muffins in the summer when I had a bag of cherries from the grocery. Sadly, we don’t have many cherry trees in my neck of the woods, but since they ship pretty well, we can still get sweet cherries during the summer months.
However, you don’t have to have fresh cherries for these oatmeal muffins, frozen will work too, or you could stick with a time honored favorite, blueberry muffins with a streusel topping.
Pro tip: If using frozen cherries, you will need to thaw them first and drain off the juices.
Any type of muffin that has cheesecake in the middle has to be wonderful including my chocolate cream cheese cupcakes. As with those, you get a couple of bites of cheesecake like filling in the center.
The cheesecake filling also keeps them from drying out as quickly, making these perfect for those time when you want to make them a day ahead of time.
Oatmeal soaked in buttermilk creates a moist oatmeal muffin and the cherries add a natural sweetness so that they don’t need quite as much sugar as other breakfast muffins.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Cherries add a unique taste
- Cheesecake filling
- Oatmeal soaked in buttermilk keeps them moist
- You can use fresh or frozen cherries
What you’ll need
- Old fashioned oatmeal – it will soak in buttermilk to create a great texture
- Buttermilk – if you don’t have buttermilk, you can add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a cup of milk. You can use skim buttermilk or whole.
- Cream cheese – for the cheesecake filling
- Cherries – you can use fresh or frozen.
- Pantry staples – sugar, flour, vanilla, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and egg and butter.
Pro tip: If you don’t have a cherry pitter, try this cool kitchen hack for pitting cherries without a cherry pitter.
How to make cherry muffins with cream cheese filling
Step 1 – soften the oatmeal
Combine oats and buttermilk and let them stand for 10 minutes.
Step 2 – make the filling
With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until combined and set aside.
Step 3 – make the batter
Add egg and melted butter to the oat mixture and add to the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined.
Gently stir in the cherries.
Step 4 – layer the muffins
Scoop 2 tablespoons of oatmeal batter into each muffin cup. Top with2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture and then top with 2 tablespoons of the remaining batter.
Step 5 – bake
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Even though these have the extra step of layering the batter, it didn’t take any time at all and the outcome was worth the extra step. These are so much better than a traditional breakfast muffin.
Since these have the cream cheese filling, you will need to store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will stay fresh for 1-2 days. If you are not going to eat them right away, it is best to freeze them as the will dry out in the refrigerator.
If you loved this recipe, give it a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating! Also, snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #butterandbaggage and tagging me @butterandbaggage.
Cherry Cheesecake Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup old fashioned oatmeal
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup flour
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 1 cup cherries pitted can chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450º. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, combine the oatmeal and buttermilk and let stand for 10 minutes. Then add the egg and melted butter and stir to combine.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the oatmeal mixture and stir just until combined. Fold in the chopped cherries.
- In a different bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with a hand mixer until combined and creamy.
- Using a 2 tablespoon ice cream scoop, and add a scoop of batter into each muffin cup. Top with 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese mixture. Add 2 tablespoons of the oatmeal batter to the top.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 450º then turn down the oven to 350º and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- If you don’t use muffin liners, then spray the muffin tins with cooking spray.
- You can use fresh or frozen cherries, if using frozen, let them thaw and drain any juice.
- Store these in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
- If you don’t have butter milk, you can add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a cup of milk and let it stand for 5 minutes.
Nutrition
Follow Me On SocialDid you make this recipe? Mention @ButterandBaggage or tag #ButterandBaggage
on Instagram!
Kailee says
Wow, these sound delicious – can’t wait to try!
Foodie Digital says
Totally agree!