Raspberry Cream Cheese Breakfast Buns

Few things are better than warm, fresh baked muffins. These best-sellers at the Magnolia Bakery in NYC's Greenwich Village certainly don't disappoint.

If you don't have really big muffin pans, it makes 12 regular sized muffins (I put about a teaspoon of preserves on each one). I attempted to use liners in an effort to be lazy and have easier cleanup. Yeah, don't bother. They puffed up and spilled the raspberry preserves everywhere so I still have a big mess to clean up. Besides, you miss out on more of the crunchy goodness if you use liners. I wouldn't use them next time I make these.


Magnolia's Raspberry Cream Cheese Breakfast Buns
Source: More From Magnolia
Makes 9 buns

BUN:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (one 8-ounce package) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

TOPPING:
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
Garnish
Confectioners’ sugar


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and lightly flour 9 large muffin cups.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the dry ingredients in two parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Drop 3 small dollops (about a teaspoonful each) of raspberry preserves onto the top of each bun and, using the tip of a sharp knife, swirl the preserves into the batter, forming a decorative pattern. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the bun comes out clean.

Allow the buns to cool for about 30 minutes before sprinkling with confectioners’ sugar and serving.


ETA: These are best warm and fresh from the oven. They're still tasty the next day, but they're better fresh.