Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not just any blueberry muffin…. Cream cheese and lemon blueberry muffins that are simply wonderful! Soft and tender muffins with tons of blueberries and a warm cream cheese center with the hint of lemon!  Can’t wait for you to try these!  

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins

 

1/2 cup room temperature butter 

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg + 2 egg whites, beaten 

1 teaspoon vanilla

2/3 cup milk

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups blueberries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cream Cheese Filling

8 oz cream cheese softened, 1 brick

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Zest of one small lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pans with paper baking cups. If you want your muffins taller, line with taller cups or muffin paper liners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In medium bowl, combine butter, sugar, and vanilla. Stir well with wooden spoon or spatula. Add in egg whites and egg, being sure to mix the eggs in well. Add in the milk and stir until blended.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Gently fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Fold ingredients until blended, do not over mix. 

Fold in your blueberries until blended.  Pour batter into muffin cups, filling only half way full.  Set aside while you make your filling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cream together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Fold in the lemon zest.  

Add about a dollop of the cream cheese mixture on top of each unbaked muffin. Then fill with more batter until about ¾ full.  Add another dollup on top of each muffin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.  Enjoy!

NOTE:   You can use fresh or frozen blueberries.  If you’re using frozen berries, make sure to let them defrost and drain well before adding them to the muffins. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Blueberry Strudel Bites

Blueberry Strudel Bites 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

This easy Strudel recipe is probably one of the best desserts to feed a crowd! 1 sheet of puff pastry makes 30 bite-sized pieces.  I make them with any fruit jam or preserves like blueberry or strawberry or even apple or peach pie filling. Simple to make and always a crowd pleaser.  

Blueberry Strudel Bites

1 sheet of Puff Pastry thawed

1/3 cup of blueberry preserves or jam or pie filling

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 Tablespoon of milk

Turbinado sugar for tops

Lay out sheet of puffed pastry on a sheet of parchment paper. If necessary, roll the dough to a 15 x 10-inch rectangle. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cut 3-inch wide strips going down. Then cut about 1 1/2-inch strip going across.  Mix together the jam and cornstarch until smooth.  Fill each center of dough with a small dollop of the jam mixture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fold in the right side of dough towards the center, pinching down the edge, then roll over towards the end and pinch down the remaining edge to seal the dough. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Place onto a large baking sheet and continue working with the remaining dough and making more bites. When finished, brush the tops with milk. Then generously sprinkle sugar over the tops. Make two small slits on the top of each bite and bake in a preheated 400° oven for 15 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Place onto a large baking sheet and continue working with the remaining dough and making more bites. When finished, brush the tops with milk. Then generously sprinkle sugar over the tops. Make two small slits on the top of each bite and bake in a preheated 400° oven for 15 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Make any flavor....peach, strawberry, blueberry or apple. 

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Vanilla Lush

I love no bake desserts...especially the ones that have layers of whipped cream and pudding and a cookie or graham cracker crust.  I love all of them including the one they call Chocolate Lasagna, and Lemon Lush, or Strawberry Divine.  But I am a lover of vanilla and I could never find anything like a Vanilla Lush.  I decided to make one of my own.  I made it just like I wanted it, a cookie crust, vanilla pudding, whipped topping and white chocolate chips.  The perfect Vanilla dessert!

Vanilla Lush

    1 package (36 cookies) Golden Oreos, finely crushed

    6 tablespoons butter, melted

    1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

    ¼ cup sugar

    2 tablespoons cold milk

    1 (12 oz.) container of Cool Whip, divided

    2 (3.4 oz.) boxes instant vanilla pudding

    3 ¼ cups of whole milk, cold

    1 bag white chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine crushed cookies and melted butter and mix well until crumbs are moist. With your fingers, press the crumbs into an ungreased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Place the pan in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer, mix the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add 2 tablespoons of milk and the sugar and mix well.  Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold in 1 and ¼ cups of the Cool Whip.  Using a spatula spread this mixture over the cookie crust.

 

Pour the cold milk in a medium sized bowl and add the two boxes of vanilla pudding. Using a wire whisk, whip the pudding mix until it starts to thicken.  Set aside and let the bowl of pudding rest for about five minutes so it can firm up a little more.  Then spread the pudding mixture on top of the Cool Whip/cream cheese mixture.

Finally, spread the remaining Cool Whip on top as your final layer.  Sprinkle with white chocolate chips and place into the freezer for an hour.  Store leftovers in the freezer or refrigerator depending on the texture you like.

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Fathers Day Crab Cakes

 Fathers Day Crab Cakes

So, I made my crab cakes in honor of my Dad for Fathers Day. He so loved them.  Not just any crab cakes…my own Maryland crab cakes that I have been making for years.  You say crab cakes are crab cakes…so what makes yours so special?  Mine are the real deal…authentic Maryland Crab Cakes.

You see we have our own take on Crab cakes here in this state. They have become world famous. Tourists that come to Maryland can’t leave town without eating them. You can find crab cakes just about anywhere….but there is truly nothing like a Maryland crab cake. You see, it’s not only the ingredients you use, it’s also the way you make them.  

Contrary to popular belief, Maryland is not the only state to serve a crab cake. Different variations of crab cakes can be found across the nation, but there is something different about a Maryland crab cake. We Marylander's can see and taste the difference in a Maryland crab cake and any other out there.  We can spot an “impostor” instantly. So what makes the difference when it comes to the Maryland crab cake?

I was born and raised in Maryland and crab cakes were a staple in my home. I grew up on those delicate treasures with the huge lumps of sweet crab seasoned with Old Bay seasoning.  I learned from my Mom….no one made crab cakes like she did. Her crab cakes were the real deal—no onions, peppers, or any other vegetable or fillers. You put nothing in your mix that could over power the crab. Just pure, sweet Maryland blue crab and lots of it. She just added in a little egg and a small amount of breadcrumbs to hold them together. And then the secrets….. 

OLD BAY

Every Marylander has a tin of Old Bay in the pantry. We love this stuff and we use it a lot in our cooking.  Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can leave the Old Bay out of a Maryland crab cake. It would be like making a cake without sugar. 

A GENTLE TOUCH

You just bought a very expensive pound of Maryland blue crab. The trick is treating it like the pure gold it is. It is the last thing you add to the mix and you use your hands to tenderly combine it without breaking up those glorious huge lumps of goodness. It is the main attraction…be gentle and understand that no matter how many recipes you see out there for a bunch of extra ingredients, don’t go there. You must go light on the filler and the binder and make the sweet succulent crab the star of the recipe.

You're Not Making Hockey Pucks

I cringe every time I see a crab cakes shaped and packed into a round patty and and covered in heavy bread crumbs. These aren’t crab cakes. They are fried fish cakes. Crab cakes should be loosely formed balls of jumbo lump crab meat. Just remember the more compressed and filled with things that over power the crab, will give you a terrible tasting crab cake.

The ingredients

I laugh at most crab cake recipes out there when I see them outside of Maryland, DC or Virginia.  I gasp when I read chopped onion, hot sauce, red peppers, smoked paprika, jalapenos!  You have to keep it simple!  Your thought process while making crab cakes should always be about making sure you in no way hide the taste of sweet beautiful crab meat.  No onions!  No peppers!  No heavy seasonings. Nothing to hide the taste of that crab!

What kind of crab meat?  I use only Jumbo Lump blue crab meat. You want to buy the lumps so don’t consider anything like “special crab meat or claw meat.  It has to say LUMP on the label. Keep in mind that you are about to splurge here because you probably won’t pay less than $25-30 a pound. This is hand-picked and there are only two back fin lumps per crab. So be prepared to pay for the best.

My Maryland Crab Cakes

1 lb. Jumbo Lump crab meat
1 large egg, beaten 

1/4 cup mayonnaise (I use Hellman’s)
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs, from 2 slices white bread, crust removed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain crab meat and put in a bowl and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, mayo, mustard, Old Bay, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Gently stir in crab meat and breadcrumbs and mix with hands lightly without breaking up the lumps. Mixture will be somewhat wet. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for about 20 minutes or refrigerate for at least an hour or more.

Once chilled, shape the mixture into rounded mounds whatever size you'd like. Do not flatten or make into patties. Place on lightly sprayed baking sheet with sides. Spray the tops very lightly with non-stick spray for browning.   Just look at those big lumps of sweet succulent crab! 

Just before putting crab cakes in the oven, drop three or four ice cubes onto the baking pan in between crab cakes. This will keep the high temperature from burning the bottoms.  

Bake in hot 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes depending on the size you made your crab cakes. 

Can't you just taste them!  Oh My Goodness.  There is nothing like a Maryland Crab Cake!   This recipe makes 4-5 big jumbo lump crab cakes.

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