Banana Cream Cheese Muffins
Those of you who have ever planned a wedding most likely understand this- but I’m at the point of being pretty darn overwhelmed. The big day is 5 months away (plenty of time right?) and yet I feel a bit of a constant panic about all that there is left to do. My living room has a new cluttery craft corner filled with the makings of table runners and other DIY projects. I still haven’t made even a little decision in what my desserts will be, (cake? cupcakes? dessert bar? ahhh!) and don’t get me started on music…Andy and I can’t seem to come with a first dance to save our lives. Now I know I have 5 months….but sometimes it all feels like it’s on my shoulders. Don’t get me wrong- I really love all the planning, I just need to take a breather.
For me, the best place to blow off steam when I’m stressed is in the kitchen….I know working out helps too, I’m trying to start doing this soon :) I put on my favorite tunes, take a deep breath, and make something out of nothing. (Not really nothing I guess, but you know- flour, sugar, butter, eggs.) Lately the kitchen has become my happy place, where I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to get to Bali for my honeymoon while avoiding a 20 hour layover in Taiwan.
These muffins were my recent stress release. As I smashed bananas and whipped cream cheese filling, I was able to take my mind off of wedding nonsense for an hour and end up with one of the best muffins I’ve ever had. This banana muffin recipe on it’s own is really great, full of flavor, perfect texture, and a crispy crumb topping as well. But since I wanted to milk my beloved kitchen time out as much as I could, I jazzed it up a bit by filling each muffin with a secret dollop of cinnamon cream cheese filling. These two flavors seem to be a match made in heaven, and these sweet and delicious muffins were exactly the escape I needed.
Banana Cream Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 bananas, mashed
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
For Filling:
- Cream together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and cinnamon until smooth. Spoon onto a piece of plastic wrap and roll it into a log by closing the plastic and shaping. Wrap the "log" with foil and freeze for two hours. (If you are as impatient as I am, take it out after an hour- it will just be a little harder to handle.)
For Muffins:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- Lightly grease 12 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers. (Or do what I did, cut squares of parchment and press into muffin wells. They won't stay put until you fill them with batter though.)
- In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and oil, and vanilla. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened.
- Spoon a dollop of batter into each muffin well- just enough to cover the bottom. Cut the cream cheese log into 12 even pieces and nestle one into each well of batter. Top with remaining batter until it reaches the top.
- In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon of butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
- Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
I love the look of those centers!! Yum!
Hi! I love how they look and how easy the ing is to find.
im just wondering if how much vegetable oil i should put. is that in tablespoon or in cups??
thanks!
Wow, that filling! These sound absolutely wonderful, I pinned this recipe immediately. YUM!
I bet these would be wonderful on their own, and even better with the dollop of cream cheese in the middle!
Woah- thanks for pointing that out. I should really not try to proofread things at 1 AM :)
I know how you must be feeling, Audra – I was in your same shoes a few years ago! Don’t worry though, the day will be just the way you dreamed when it actually rolls around. I, too, let off steam in the kitchen and it truly is a great therapy for times like this. Beautiful muffins!
Ah I just went through this last year with my wedding. It sounds very familiar, especially the craft corner :) I think every bride has a love/ hate relationship with the planning. It’s a blast, but there is a lot of stress tacked on, particularly at the end. It will all get done though, and you’ll be so happy to see everything come together!
Those muffins look terrific!
Planning a wedding is definitely stressful. Just try to keep it all in perspective: the most important thing is that you’re getting married! All that other stuff is just “nice to have”. And if you don’t finish a DIY project, will anyone notice but you? But you still have tons of time, so keep yourself organized and you’ll be totally fine!
And keep baking delicious and comforting treats :) That always helps.
Best wedding stress release ever! I’m getting married in 5 months too, and I like making bread when I’m over stressed with planning so I can really work out my frustration with the dough.
I know exactly how you feel. The kitchen is my haven when I am stressed. These are rockin’ muffins too. Love the combo!
A friend of mine and I call our baking sessions “therapy”! I can totally relate to using baking time as stress relief! There is just something about combining ingredients and waiting to see what wonderful aroma fills the kitchen!
I am always on the hunt for another “banana” recipe…these muffins look great..can’t wait to try them !
Don’t sweat the small stuff, you’ll feel better for it. No one will remember how many desserts there were or that all the decorations didn’t match. They’re going to remember celebrating with two people they love. And in my case, they’re also going to remember how I fell on my butt during our first dance. I was horrified at first, but it’s honestly quite funny now.
Best of luck with all the planning – I know how it can seem overwhelming, especially when you have DIY projects that take longer than you imagined. My husband and I agonized over selecting a wedding cake. Thanks for the muffins. My 13 year old daughter will love them. I pack her breakfast every morning to eat on the school bus, and she loves banana muffins with cream cheese, but it gets messy cutting the muffin in 1/2 to spread the cream cheese. What a great solution!
Deep breaths! I know you’ve probably heard this before, and you’ll hear it countless times…but it is YOUR day. Do what you want. Delegate what you can and don’t sweat the small stuff. People may remember your dessert, your dance and your dress. They’ll certainly remember how happy the two of you look and how much you glowed. But the table runners, cutesy name cards and the song list you could end up spending so much time on…they just little perks. Hang in there. Your day will be marvelous!
And the muffins look absolutely divine! I love the simplicity of the liners too!
When I was in college I went to the gym to blow off steam and destress. Now, like you, I turn to my kitchen. I’m not sure I want to analyze what this is doing for my overall health, but I’m choosing to believe that destressing is beneficial either way.
Oh these look divine! I hope you manage to take some time out from the wedding planning, it is hard work.
A secret cream cheese filling…yum!! Wedding planning can be stressful, try to enjoy it and not take it too seriously :)
I hear you on all of the above – my big day is only two months away, so you’d think everything would be done but there’s still so much to do!! And I’ve got school and auditions in the midst of it all – yikes. But you’ve certainly discovered the secret to coping with it all! These muffins look fabulous!!
yum! cream cheese just makes the world a better/tastier place!
A few things:
1 – These muffins look amazing!
2 – Hang in there–All the stress and planning is totally worth it once your big day is here!
3 – Bali?!?! That was my dream honeymoon spot! We ended up going to South Africa instead to avoid that layover you were talking about.
4 – Parchment paper as muffin liners… you are a genius! I’m totally going to try it next time I make muffins.
Hello and thank you for this stress-buster perfect recipe for my super (read overly!) ripe bananas…exactly three!..Question…the ingredient list calls for vegetable oil…but in the actual recipe/descriptive you do not mention oil…but “melted butter”…is it preferable to use butter?…I’ll bet even organic coconut oil would be wonderful with banana…I’ve got the cream cheese “log” in the freezer as we speak….any suggestions on the preferred fat for this recipe would be greatly appreciated…Sorry to bother you in full wedding preparation!…Wishing you joy!
Sorry Donna- thanks for catching my error! I used oil- but the original called for butter. Either is fine :)