Farmer Cheese and Raspberry Muffins

These beautiful and tasty muffins were inspired by thumbprint cookies, which have a tasty jam center.

Here I’ve decided to use homemade raspberry filling instead of the jam, something the small cookies would not be able to hold well while baking. The bigger muffins held the filling well and the muffins were a great success. They were perfect for brunch and I will definitely make them again. I’m sure you will too, once you’ll try them.

 

Notes:
* I prefer to keep the raspberries seeds in, as I find they add texture and nuttiness. For a smoother filling, pass the mixture through a sieve.
* Make sure to use low fat Farmer cheese, not non-fat, or the dough will end up too dry.
* If you can’t find Farmer cheese, substitute it with well drained small curd cottage cheese.

Makes: 18
Prep time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
For the raspberry filling:
1½ cups fresh raspberries (or frozen, thawed)
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbs cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbs water
For the muffins:
2 L eggs
1¼ cup sugar
¼ cup oil
1 lb (455 grams) no-salt Farmer cheese
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs lemon zest
2/3 cup semolina
1½ cups flour
1 Tbs baking powder
½ tsp salt

1. The raspberry filling: mix the raspberries and sugar in a small pot, and cook on medium heat until the mixture bubbles gently and the sugar dissolve. Add the cornstarch and water mixture, mix well and cook for about a minute, until the mixture thickens. Bring to room temperature before using.

2. Preheat the oven to 340F (170C). Line two muffin pans with 18 paper baking cups
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs with the oil and sugar. Add the cheese and mix well. Add the vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest and semolina, and mix again. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix with a spatula to combine. The mixture will be fairly stiff, compared to most muffin batters, but that’s how you want it for this recipe.

4. Fill 18 muffin baking cups with the mixture. Press the tops with the back of a spoon, to create a fairly deep indentation, and fill each with 1 heaped teaspoon of the raspberry mixture.

5. Bake for 35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the dough part comes out clean. Let stand in the pan for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.