August 3, 2013

Cream Cheese Swirled Zucchini Muffins

HOLY COW . . . these are so good!  One of my favorite zucchini recipes are my ZUCCHINI CAKE COOKIES WITH CREAM CHEESE FILLING, so I know how well cream cheese goes with zucchini.  

Plus, I know how well lemon goes with cinnamon and zucchini because of my BEST EVER ZUCCHINI MUFFINS.
It is a super bonus that these are somewhat HEALTHY.  At least healthier than your average muffin.  They have some whole wheat flour, hardly any oil, Greek yogurt and lots of zucchini.

The flavor is awesome, the texture is soft and light and the cream cheese filling takes these from an every-day zucchini muffin to a gotta-eat-these-now zucchini muffin.
Cream Cheese Swirled Zucchini Muffins
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 c. plain non-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon, opt.
2 c. zucchini, grated


Cream Cheese Filling:
6 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese, room temp.
1/4 c. sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  For the cream cheese filling:  In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and beat until smooth and creamy.  It might be runny, but that is okay; set aside.  For the muffins:  In a large bowl, combine the wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside.  In a separate bowl, combine the yogurt, vegetable oil and eggs and beat until smooth.  Add the brown sugar, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest and beat until combined.  Last, stir in the grated zucchini.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.  Do not overmix.  

Spoon some of the muffin batter into a well-greased muffin tin, filling each cup around 1/2 full.  Top each with a heaping spoonful of the cream cheese filling (about 1 1/2 Tablespoons each).  Then, top each with more muffin batter.  Muffin cups will be full.  Bake for 20-23 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.  Yield: 12-15 muffins. 

Jenn's Notes:  The lemon zest is optional, but I love the flavor of cinnamon and lemon with zucchini.  I made these exactly as I typed above.    

9 comments:

  1. Always looking for a new zucchini idea. Love this one. I'd love it if you brought this over to Saturday Dishes. We're featuring garden fare. Www.tumbleweedcontessa.com

    Wishes for tasty dishes,
    Linda @ Tumbleweed Contessa

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  2. Ohhhhh yum!!!! love it! I hope you join my parties every week- http://atozebracelebrations.com/2013/07/link-party-tuesday-july-30-2013.html
    Nancy

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  3. these are sooo pretty. I am sure I could gobble up a dozen or so!

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  4. These look fantastic! Pinning this recipe asap. :)

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  5. This looks and sounds delicious! I've never had he zucchini-cream cheese combo before.

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  6. I am totally making these Jenn - they look amazing! Pinned to my zucchini board :)

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  7. Just made these. Really yummy. I'm down to two zucchini from the garden. What shall I try next?

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    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you like them. I would highly recommend my lemon zucchini bread or orange poppy seed zucchini bread. If you are looking for another muffin recipe, my best ever zucchini muffins are amazing too. - Jenn

      http://eatcakefordinner.blogspot.com/2013/07/lemon-zucchini-bread-with-lemon-glaze_9.html

      http://eatcakefordinner.blogspot.com/2013/07/orange-poppy-seed-zucchini-bread-with.html

      http://eatcakefordinner.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-ever-zucchini-muffins.html

      Delete
  8. These muffins sound so delicious and I can eat lots of them because they’re healthy, right?

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