Cheesy Eggs and Little Citrus Muffins

It's the day before Easter, and though I have a lot to do today, I can hardly resist making a fun breakfast. Tomorrow morning will be rushed, so this is my early Easter breakfast.

I love eggs, especially this recipe for cheesy eggs. It may be my favorite way to eat eggs. With sauteed garlic, Parmesan cheese and cream cheese, these eggs are transformed into a savory, creamy blend of yumminess. OK, maybe that wasn't a good description, but you get the idea -- I really love these eggs! Look how these pretty eggs from a local farm matched my napkin (the right one is light blue):

Cheesy Eggs
from The Schwarzbein Principle Cookbook by Diana Schwarzbein

4 eggs
3 oz. cream cheese, cut into ½-in. cubes
1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 1/2 Tbsp. butter
1 minced garlic clove

In a small bowl, beat eggs with cream cheese cubes, Parmesan cheese and black pepper. Set aside. In a nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. When butter is hot and bubbly, add garlic and sauté about half a minute. Pour egg mixture into skillet. Stir and fold gently until cream cheese is melted and eggs are cooked to your liking. Serve immediately.

These citrus muffins can be made with orange, lemon, or lime, but lemon is my favorite. They're very easy to whip up. Once you start eating them, decide beforehand how many you want to eat, otherwise you may end up eating most of them. They're so easy to pop in your mouth that you don't feel like you're eating much. You've been warned.

This time I made one into a regular sized muffin to see if the texture held up. It did - the muffin was very light and airy. So if all you have is regular-sized muffin tins, this recipe will still work great. My guess is the recipe would yield 8 regular muffins (it makes 24 mini muffins).

Little Citrus Muffins
adapted from the Pampered Chef

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp orange, lemon, or lime zest

Glaze
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 orange, lemon, or lime, juiced

Preheat oven to 375. To make muffins, grease a 24-cup mini muffin tin. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; mix well.

In medium bowl, whisk butter and sugar until well blended. Add egg; whisk until smooth. Mix in sour cream, vanilla, and orange zest. Add flour mixture; mix until dry ingredients are moistened, but don't overmix.

Using a small scoop or spoon, drop a rounded scoop of batter into each muffin cup. Bake 12-13 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 3 minutes in pan, then remove. Cool slightly.

While muffins are baking, combine glaze ingredients and whisk until smooth (you may want to add half the orange juice and then taste and adjust by adding more). Dip tops of warm muffins into the glaze. Serve warm.