Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins with Cream Cheese

While skimming over my Cooking Light magazine, I came across this recipe and was instantly intrigued to make it. I'm always on the lookout for healthy versions of dishes that I love without having to sacrifice too much on flavor. Also, it helped that my husband has a weak spot for blueberry muffins so I knew that he would love having one of these for breakfast. Plus, I made a big batch of these for Eric to bring into work, and I knew his coworkers would appreciate a sweet breakfast surprise. Sneaking in the wheat flour and oats sounded like a great way to help our (and everyone's) waistlines, too.

These muffins were easy enough to prepare, and you can easily substitute the oil in the recipe for applesauce or use all wheat flour to cut some extra calories. For a hidden surprise I added a little bit of cream cheese frosting in the middle that I had leftover from my red velvet chocolate chip pancakes and topped them with a cinnamon sugar mixture. (I wanted just a touch of sweetness to it!) Overall, the blueberry oatmeal muffins were light, fluffy, and full of blueberries with a little cream cheesy surprise in the middle. This was an awesome healthy alternative to the typical blueberry muffin.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins with Cream Cheese
Inspired by Cooking Light August 2010
Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups quick-cooking oats
3 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2/3 cup)
2.33 ounces whole-wheat flour (about 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil or applesauce
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 cups frozen blueberries

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons Cinnamon sugar (1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon mixed)

Cream cheese Frosting

4 ounce cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup of powdered sugar
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon of milk
Mix all ingredients until combined, add a little bit of more milk if needed.

Preparation: 

Preheat oven to 400°. Add muffin liners to your pan or spray nonstick cooking spray on pans.
In a food processor, place the oats and pulse a couple times until it looks like oatmeal. Place in a large bowl.

In the same large bowl, add the wheat and all-purpose flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and cinnamon and stir to combine. Make a hole in the center of the mixture.

Add the buttermilk, oil, eggs, lemon juice and zest to the flour mixture; stir just until moist.

In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with the 2 tablespoons flour and fold gently into the batter.
Carefully spoon 1/4 cup muffin mixture into the pans and add a teaspoon of cream cheese mixture in the middle. Add another 1/4 cup muffin mixture on top. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the batter.

Bake for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when lightly touched in the middle. Remove from pans and place on cooling rack. Enjoy!

Review: This reminded me of a blueberry cream cheese danish but in the form of a muffin, and these would be perfect to start your day. These have a great texture, and stay moist and tender for days - if they last that long at your kitchen. The little bit of cream cheese in the middle is a sweet surprise. I know the regular blueberry muffins are the best, but these are just as good for those watching their figure. Healthy and delicious for ya!