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Banana Cream Cheese Muffins

Banana cream cheese muffins with a hidden cream cheese center—baked until domed and golden, then split open to reveal a tangy, rich pocket. This banana muffin recipe uses simple pantry staples for an easy breakfast or snack treat with bakery-style tops and banana flecks throughout.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Total Time 37 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 330
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 bananas Ripe bananas, mashed.
  • 0.3333333333 cup butter Melted.
  • 0.75 cup sugar Divided between batter and filling.
  • 2 eggs Large.
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract Divided between batter and filling.
  • 1.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 6 oz cream cheese Soften for the filling.
  • 3 tbsp sugar For the cream cheese filling.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Prep and chill filling
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
  2. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth, then refrigerate until needed.
Make the banana batter
  1. Mix mashed bananas, melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl until combined.
  2. Fold in all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until just combined, with no dry streaks.
Fill and bake
  1. Fill each muffin cup 1/3 full with batter.
  2. Spoon 1 heaping teaspoon of cream cheese filling into each cup, keeping it centered.
  3. Cover with more batter to fill the cups to about 3/4 full.
  4. Bake for 20–22 minutes at 375°F until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the batter (not the filling) comes out clean.

Notes

For clean centers, make sure the toothpick check hits the muffin batter rather than the cream cheese. Store muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days; freeze up to 2 months. For a lighter option, use reduced-fat cream cheese for the filling to cut some calories while keeping the tangy pocket.