As we begin December, I want to give a nod to one of my absolute favorite holiday traditions: brunch. That's not to say there aren't other meals, tree trimming events, cookie exchanges, and more in store for this month of heavy culinary and entertaining bliss, but I really adore having friends and family over to enjoy a lovely meal together at the beginning of our days. We're fresh and starting our days, enjoying what can only be described as some of our favorite foods, and we're bidding farewell by the early afternoon to give ourselves time and space to tackle the hundreds of other things on our lists without needing to rush to get everything done in minutes before trying to grab enough sleep in a month where there is just so much to do. So this week, I'm sharing some fun and fabulous breakfast and brunch recipes to enjoy during the holiday season and beyond!
I recommend not tweaking the recipe and saving your creative flair for your choice of berries to use in these muffins. A combination is lovely, but the ones pictured here were made with chopped fresh strawberries and every bite had a burst of strawberry cheesecake flavor. How are you gonna argue with something as lovely as that? Pairing bright red berries and darker berries can give you a bit of color interest, but chopped strawberries or cherries with whole soft berries like raspberries can be a fun combination as well. Of course, you could double the recipe and make half with one kind of berry and half with another … what a fun brunch treat!
These muffins are equally at home with a cup of coffee or tea first thing in the morning or as an afternoon pick me up or on an elegant brunch buffet during the holiday season. What's more, being packed with fresh fruit, they are a gentle reminder of the seasons we've left behind with a nod to the decadence of the season before us. I almost always make a double batch because we're always looking for more. Enjoy!
Cheesecake Berry Swirl Muffins
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
- 8 oz. package refrigerated crescent rolls
- 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ cup berries - chopped strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or chopped cherries (or a combination) will all work
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush a muffin pan with melted butter generously and set aside. You’ll have 6 rolls.
On a silicone baking mat or sheet of parchment paper, unroll the crescent dough sheet. Seal the perforation to make a large rectangle.
Mix the softened cream cheese with the sugar and vanilla; then mix in the egg. Spread the mixture over the dough.
Scatter the berries over the cream cheese.
Starting from the wider side, roll the dough into a log. Slice the log into 6 pieces. The log is soft, so you can slice it with a serrated knife. This will be pretty messy, but just cup each piece together and fit it into a buttered opening in the muffin tin. They will get prettier as they bake!
Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool the muffins for 5-10 minutes in the pan before gently removing them from the pan. And cooling completely.
- Yields: 6 muffins
- Preparation Time: 30 minutes