Good For You Muffins Recipe

Preheat your oven to 350 °F. In a large bowl, using either a handheld or standing mixer, beat together the neufchatel cheese, sugar, and butter on medium speed until the mixture is well blended and lightened.

Mix the wet ingredients well to combine everything. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and cereal until everything is evenly distributed. Keep the cranberries aside for now.

Gradually add the combined dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until just moistened. Be careful not to overmix; a few lumps are fine. Reserve about 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredient mixture in the bowl.

Add the cranberries to the reserved dry mixture and toss to coat them lightly. This helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins. Gently fold the coated cranberries into the batter with a spoon until they are evenly distributed.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. The tops should be golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed.

Let the muffins cool in the tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

These make 12 generously sized, puffy muffins, or up to 18 normal-sized muffins. If you prefer orange over lemon, you can swap in the zest of half to a whole orange and about 2-3 tablespoons of orange juice instead of lemon.