These sweet Carrot Cheesecake Muffins are soft and delicious and will make you think you are eating carrot cake for breakfast.
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Say hello to my new favorite breakfast muffin recipe. Well, for right now anyway. I adore these Carrot Cake Donuts, and these muffins reminded me of those yummy treats, but with a creamy cheesecake center. Oh, yeah.
Our kids love having muffins that they can grab for a quick and easy breakfast before they head off to school. They also like having leftover muffins to munch on when they get home in the afternoon too.
My original plan was to actually bake blueberry muffins because usually we have a big bag of blueberries in our freezer. Then I realized the last Triple Berry Orange Smoothie I made last week wiped out the rest of the blueberries. So, I had to get creative with what we already had.
I looked through the cupboards and the refrigerator and came up with a big bag of carrots. As I was working on the recipe for these carrot cake muffins, I had to make a few batches to get it absolutely perfect.
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is one of my all time favorite cakes, so it just made sense to make these carrot cake muffins with a cheesecake filling.
After a few test runs on these carrot muffins, I doubled the cheesecake center because more cheesecake is never a bad idea. Am I right?
How to make Carrot Cheesecake Muffins:
Shred your carrots using a food processor or with a hand held grater. Do NOT buy the all ready shredded carrots that are available in the stores. These do not provide enough moisture for baked goods.
Mix your oil, sugars, extract, and eggs in a large bowl.
Stir together all the dry ingredients and slowly mix them into the sugar mixture.
Add the buttermilk and carrots and stir until mixed in.
Divide the batter evenly into 18 greased muffin cavities. You will need a 12 count pan and a 6 count pan.
Beat together the cheesecake filling and spoon it into two large plastic baggies. Cut one tip of each bag. Use one bag to squeeze cheesecake into the center of the muffin batter.
Use the second bag to go back over each muffin and add another swirl of the cheesecake batter on top of the muffins.
Sprinkle the outside edges with diced pecans. This is totally optional, but it really makes the muffins look a little prettier and taste so good.
More breakfast muffin recipes that you may enjoy:
Our kids request these Double Chocolate Banana Muffins all the time!
These Coffee Chocolate Chip Muffins are a great way to start each morning.
These Grab N Go Pancake Muffins from All Day I Dream About Food are perfect for busy mornings.
A batch of these Chocolate Avocado Muffins never last long in our house. Trust me and make these today!
These sweet Banana Coconut Muffins are loaded with shredded coconut and toffee bits. They are so good.
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Carrot Cheesecake Muffins
These sweet Carrot Cheesecake Muffins are soft and delicious and will make you think you are eating carrot cake for breakfast.
Ingredients
For the Muffins
- 2/3 cup oil
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon anise powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup finely shredded carrots
For the Cheesecake Filling
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 4 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 1 Tablespoon flour
- 1/2 cup diced pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 12 count muffin pan and a 6 count muffin pan with nonstick baking spray.
- Beat the oil, sugars, and extract until combined. Add the eggs and beat again.
- Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the egg mixture.
- Add the buttermilk and shredded carrots and stir until completely combined.
- Spoon the batter evenly in the prepared muffin tins.
- In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, orange extract, and flour. Spoon the mixture evenly into two large plastic baggies and cut one tip off each bag.
- Squeeze half the cheesecake mixture evenly into the center of the muffin batter. Use the second bag of cheesecake to add a swirl of cheesecake to the top of the batter.
- Sprinkle the pecans around the outside of the muffin batter. Bake for 15-16 minutes.
- Remove and let cool in the pan for 2-3 minutes before gently removing them from the pan and placing on a wire rack.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
18Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 252Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 222mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 1gSugar: 12gProtein: 4g
*The post for Carrot Cheesecake Muffins was originally published on September 24, 2012. The photos and post have been updated and republished on March 25, 2019.
Shari TheSaucyGourmet says
Perfect choice for Secret Recipe Club this month. These look incredible and I know I will be making them soon.
Jocelyn says
Thanks, and I hope you enjoy trying them!!!
Rituparna says
Carrot & cheese cream, always a delicious combination. Love the twist to the flavours.
Jocelyn says
thanks…it was a fun combo!!!
Lindsay says
Yum! Those are perfect for fall!
Gingered Whisk says
These look great! I have made a version with pumpkin, but am going to have to try the carrot!! Delicious!
Jocelyn says
I love pumpkin and cheesecake together too…yum!!!
[email protected] says
You can’t go wrong with carrot and cream cheese in a muffin!
Aimee says
Looks delicious girlfriend!! Nice choice and way to improvise!
Asiya Baig says
Great combination of flavours and great improvising with the ingredients! Happy SRC reveal day!
Shiloh Barkley says
These soud amazing! Whoa.
http://www.shilohstaste.com
withoutadornment says
I love carrot carrot cake and cheesecake, so I imagine making them both into muffins would be absolutely delightful!
Jocelyn says
It is quite the combo…so good!!!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
Oh, how I love it when you post carrot cake recipes. Because it’s more ammo against my husband. Ha! 🙂 Love these!
Avril says
Well, HELLO there yumminess!!! Such a perfect creation you came up with when faced with NO blueberries! 🙂
Mom Photographer says
Oh… I am so going to make those!
Amy CookingAdventures says
These sounds amazing! Carrot cake and cream cheese are such a beautiful pairing!
Nicole {WonkyWonderful} says
These look awesome! I am a sucker for anything carrot cakey or cheese cakey 🙂
Karen S Booth says
Thanks so much for your lovrely write-up of me and my recipes – and wow, my cheesecake muffins look lovely as well as beng a great idea to use carrots too! Love your photos and thanks for being such a lovely secret baker of my recipe this month for group D! Karen 🙂
Jocelyn says
You are very welcome…I enjoyed having your blog and learning more about you:-)
Kitchen Ninja says
So looking forward to trying these — great post!
Jocelyn says
Thanks, I hope you enjoy them:-)
SnoWhite says
These look fabulous! Perfect for fall & spring — and, I never need an excuse to use cream cheese 🙂
amy (fearless homemaker) says
These look wonderful! I love that you made a Cinnamon Toast Crunch streusel out of it. YUM!
Kirstin says
YUMMY! I too have had to “convert” a few times and was a bit nervous, but it always turned out.
Winnie says
Wowwwww Jocelyn – these are looking GREAT 🙂
I loooooooooooove the idea of using Cinnamon-Toast-Crunch cereal as the topping and it’s something I just have to try
Jocelyn says
I’m glad my kids left the cereal out that day…it was the perfect little touch to the muffins:-)
Colie's Kitchen says
Yummy that looks amazing!! I love carrots and cheesecake!!
Amanda Eisenberg says
read the title outloud to co-workers and they are demanding that I bring them in by the end of the week! Great SRC pick 🙂
iamahoneybee.com says
great twist on the original recipe!
cinnamon toast crunsh is my favorite cereal. Love how the milk gets all cinnamony and sweet.
Great looking muffins!
Diane says
Can I add raisins and crushed pineapple to the muffin batter?
Jocelyn says
That’s a great idea, but I do think the added moisture of the pineapple will affect the bake time. Since I haven’t made this particular recipe with pineapple, I can’t give you an exact time. Definitely keep me posted if you try it this way.
Natasha says
These did not turn out for me. Terrible. But it could just be me.
Jocelyn Brubaker says
I am so sorry to hear that these didn’t work for you. Every oven is different…I wonder if that had something to do with it.
Allyson Zea says
These muffins are incredible! I could eat them EVERY DAY!
Charity says
This is a brilliant idea! It’s like carrot cake with cream cheese frosting for breakfast!
Sarah Skaggs says
Delicious! We loved these!
Toni says
I really loved these muffins! Perfect day starter!
Aimee Shugarman says
LOVE these muffins! And the kids did too!
April H says
These look great! Would there be any reason I can’t use fresh orange juice or zest instead of extract?
Jocelyn says
Orange extract is very concentrated, so it gives a stronger flavor to the muffins. You could use orange juice and zest, but it might not be as strong. Let me know if you make them that way.
Dora Cooper says
Can I use regular milk?
Jocelyn says
You can, but I recommend buttermilk. It gives baked goods a better texture and taste.
Mandy says
I made these today but the cheesecake filling has all disappeared and I am left with muffins with a hole in the centre. They taste amazing but what can I do to rectify next time?
Jocelyn says
Ok, so I’m completely baffled on that. I have made them so many times and never had the cheesecake disappear. Was your cheesecake filling thick when you squeezed it into the muffin batter? And did you add the filling to the muffins twice? I always squeeze half into the center of the batter, then the other half on top of the center of the batter.
Mandy says
No it wasn’t very thick at all. I squeezed some into the muffin and then some on top. Was suggested that I should put an egg into it to bind it more. I will definitely try again hopefully it will be better next time
Jocelyn says
How soft was your cream cheese? If it was too warm, it would not be very thick. Mine is always thick enough to squeeze from the bag. Actually adding an egg would make the filling even runnier. I’ve never done that with these muffins and always had a creamy pocket of cheesecake in the center of the baked muffins. I even used it in these chocolate zucchini muffins and had them bake the same. https://insidebrucrewlife.com/chocolate-zucchini-cheesecake-muffins/
Kathryn Young says
Quick question: I am dying to make the Carrot Cheesecake Muffins; however, I do not have Anise Powder in my cupboard and I cannot even remember baking anything with anise powder ever in my lifetime. I am an old lady who used to have a bakery business and I bake all the time. Could I eliminate that altogether from the recipe or is that absolutely necessary? Thanks for your help. Kind of expensive for just a 1/2 teaspoon.
Jocelyn says
Feel free to substitute cinnamon or all spice in place of the anise. It’s really not that expensive…maybe 3-4 dollars at the grocery store or Walmart. I like the flavor with apple, carrot, or zucchini recipes, so I always keep it on hand.
Delfina Briones says
Look delicious!