Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins

A homemade baking mix gets jazzed up with two forms of chocolate and a cheesecake like topping. Delicious and easy to pull together!

As you may know, we’re in the midst of a Pantry Challenge over here. While I’ve not completely sworn off grocery shopping this month, I am “shopping my closet” as it were before buying something more. I love the Pantry Challenge because it really encourages me to be creative with what I already have. These muffins are a great example.

I had a bag of homemade muffin mix in the freezer just begging to be used. And I’d been wanting to choco-fy it for some  time. So, in went cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Then, to gild the lily — and use up one of many cream cheese packages in my fridge — I added a cheesecake topping.

We tested these muffins twice this week. I say “we” because my kids all had opinions about it. Yesterday’s cheesecake topping was better than today’s. But, today’s chocolate mixture was better than yesterday’s. So, I’m giving you the best of both worlds.

This recipe is an awesome way to jazz up a homemade baking mix.

HOW CAN I MAKE IT EASY TO MAKE MUFFINS MORE OFTEN?

Having mixes premade is such a happy thing for me. No measuring too early in the morning, no flour flying. And I especially love it that I can customize mixes. Since it’s so easy to prepare baked goods with a homemade mix, I feel a little added inspiration to get creative.

This homemade muffin mix allows you not only to have a homemade mix at the ready, but it also offers you a lot of freedom in your baking. Add whatever “mix-ins” sound good to you. And you can use that mix to turn them into so many scrumptious muffin recipes. How about a yummy raspberry muffin?  Or maybe Blueberry Muffins with Nutmeg. 

Ingredients for chocolate cheesecake muffins

• cream cheese
• sugar
• egg
• vanilla
• milk
• sour cream
• oil
• Mix and Match muffin mix
• Cocoa powder
• Chocolate chips

How do I make chocolate cheesecake muffins?

• Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a 12-cup muffin cups with muffin papers.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the neufchatel cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl combine the milk, oil, sour cream, and eggs. Whisk until well blended.
• In a bowl, whisk together the muffin mix and cocoa powder. Add this to the liquid ingredients. Add the chocolate chips. Fold just until combined.
• Divide the batter among the muffin cups. It’s okay if the cups overflow. Divide the cream cheese mixture among the cups.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
• Cool the baked muffins on a wire rack.

CAN YOU FREEZE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE MUFFINS?

Muffins are great for freezing. Why buy one at the coffee shop when you can bake them yourself for 40 cents each? Freezing helps you keep up your muffin habit for a lot less cash.

To freeze:

• Prepare the muffins according to the recipe. Cool completely on a rack.
• For individual freezing, wrap each in plastic or beeswax wrap and place them all in ziptop freezer bag.
• For freezing many, place them in a large container with a lid, tucking parchment, deli wraps, or beeswax wrap around them as a layer of protection against the cold.
• To serve: place the desire number of muffins on the counter about an hour before serving. They will thaw at room temperature. 

DO YOU NEED SPECIAL EQUIPMENT TO MAKE MUFFINS?

After years of weekly muffin baking, I’ve come across a few tools that I absolutely LOVE for muffin baking:

• parchment muffin papers – I prefer using muffin papers since we’re such an on-the-go household. Muffin liners make it easier for transport as well as serving. I’ve found that parchment is the best for not sticking to the muffin.
• USA muffin pan – Whether you use papers or not, the USA pan is the best for easy clean up since there’s no need to grease the pan. Everything cleans up easily.
• Rubber spatula – I like to get every last bit of batter to make sure my muffins are big. A rubber spatula makes that easy.
• stainless steel mixing bowls – A good set of mixing bowls makes baking such a pleasure!
• 1/4 cup scoop – This scoop is ideal for dividing the dough easily and with less mess.

How I make this good and cheap:

Follow the Good Cheap Eats system and you’ll be able to shave more off the price of these delicious, homemade muffins. 

• Visit the store with the best prices. There is a wide range of prices charged for the exact same product, depending on where you shop. Be sure that you’re frequenting the store that offers the best prices overall.
• Check the sales and clearance. The highest priced items here are the coconut milk, yogurt, and chocolate chips. Watch for sales on these items and stock up so you can make budget muffins whenever you want. The holidays time is great for having sales on chocolate chips.
• Opt for lower price alternatives. As mentioned earlier, you can swap out the coconut milk for a different milk. Using regular dairy milk would reduce the cost of this batch down by 87 cents, making your muffins 33 cents a piece.

If you prepare this recipe, be sure to take a picture and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up!

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Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins

A homemade baking mix gets jazzed up with two forms of chocolate and a cheesecake like topping. Delicious and easy to pull together!

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate cheesecake muffins, chocolate muffins

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 293kcal

Author: Jessica Fisher

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Topping

• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese softened; neufchatel cheese can also be used
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Muffin Batter

• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup neutral oil
• 2 egg
• 1 batch Mix and Match Muffin Mix
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a 12-cup muffin cups with muffin papers.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the neufchatel cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl combine the milk, oil, sour cream, and eggs. Whisk until well blended.
• In a bowl, whisk together the muffin mix and cocoa powder. Add this to the liquid ingredients. Add the chocolate chips. Fold just until combined.
• Divide the batter among the muffin cups. It's okay if the cups overflow. Divide the cream cheese mixture among the cups.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
• Cool the baked muffins on a wire rack.

Notes

To make ahead: Baked and cooled muffins can be stored in a ziptop freezer bag in the freezer. 

Nutritional values are approximate and based on 1 muffin.

Nutrition

Calories: 293kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 107mg | Potassium: 139mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 345IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 1mg