These lemon raspberry muffins are loaded with bright lemon zest, juicy raspberries, and pockets of tangy cream cheese. It's like your favorite muffin and cheesecake in one!
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly spray a standard 12-cup muffin tin with baking spray then place a paper muffin cup in each cavity. Set aside.
Use your hands or a knife to break the cream cheese into small chunks. Set aside.
Have one medium and one large mixing bowl ready. Wash the lemon and then use a citrus zester or Microplane to finely grate all of the zest into the medium bowl. Slice the lemon in half and squeeze out as much juice as you can into the large mixing bowl (approximately ¼ cup).
Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the medium-sized bowl with the lemon zest. Whisk well to combine and set aside.
Add the vegetable oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla to the bowl with the lemon juice. Whisk well to combine.
Add the dry flour mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients. Gently stir the mixture until it's about halfway mixed. Add the frozen raspberries and cream cheese chunks. Continue to stir until the berries and cream cheese are well distributed and the flour is just mixed in.
Spoon the muffin batter evenly between the 12 prepared muffin cups. Top each muffin with a sprinkle of coarse sugar if using.
Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for 14 to 16 minutes more. Transfer the muffin tin to a wire rack and cool the muffins for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins from the tin and place them directly on the rack to cool completely.
Notes
You can make this recipe by hand, or use a hand or stand mixer.
Starting the muffins off at a higher oven temperature encourages a higher rise but it doesn't always work. Regardless of how tall your muffins are, they will be delicious.
I find baked muffins can turn soggy the second day when stored at room temperature in a plastic zip-top bag or container. To prevent this, I place fully cooled muffins in a large zip-top freezer bag and store them in the freezer right away. Thaw on the counter for 20-30 minutes or heat gently in the microwave to serve.