Raspberry-Cream Cheese Muffins

I love raspberries. They’re tart yet sweet, they are great in desserts, yogurt, or just plain by themselves.  Even though I love raspberries, I’ve never made them in muffins…until now!

These raspberry cream-cheese muffins are wonderful. They’re so good, you’d think you’re eating a muffin with 20 grams of fat, not 4.7 grams. They remind me of a light raspberry cheesecake, and seem to just melt in your mouth.

They are also extremely versatile. You can mix them up by adding blueberries, cherries, and dried cranberries instead of the raspberries. Let me know what you think! Enjoy…

 Beat the cream cheese and butter in a mixer on high speed. Add the sugar, vanilla, egg whites and egg.

2/3 cup (5 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 large egg whites

1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Combine cream cheese and butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at high speed until well blended. Add sugar; beat until fluffy. Add vanilla, egg whites, and egg; beat well.

3. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and buttermilk to cream cheese mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Gently fold in raspberries and walnuts.

4. Place 24 foil cup liners in muffin cups. Spoon batter evenly into liners. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans; cool on a wire rack.

Recipe from: Cooking Light

Yield: 24 muffins

Nutritional Information: 142 Calories | 4.7g Fat | 1.1g Fiber | 19mg Cholesterol | 31mg Calcium | 138g Sodium | 2.7g Protein