My inspiration for these brunch worthy savory smoked salmon and cream cheese muffins came from Andrew at Angling Unlimited in Sitka, Alaska. I had visions of bagels, lox and cream cheese in a muffin and stumbled onto Andrew’s recipe. In payment, I offered some virtual Baja sunshine to the Alaskan fishing crew, next winter when the skies turn gray.

Sitka is a beautiful city and the salmon fishing is fabulous. I actually caught a rare ivory king salmon last year while sailing with Sound Sailing You can read about that trip here.

These muffins were delicious but I would recommend using silicone cupcake cups because they stick to the paper cups. Next time I will put capers in the cream cheese mixture. I thought that the dill and chives were enough seasoning but the taste was very subtle.

To make these fiesta ready for the Baja I want to try them with minced jalapeno and smoked Marlin, which is more readily available. Stay tuned.

[lt_recipe name=”Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Filled Muffins ” servings=”12 muffins ” prep_time=”20 MINUTES” cook_time=”33 MINUTES” total_time=”53 MINUTES ” difficulty=”Moderately Easy ” summary=”Smoked salmon nestled in a dill and chives scented muffin and filled with cream cheese. A great brunch recipe. ” print=”yes” image=”http://mybajakitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/image-87-225×300.jpeg” ingredients=”Dry Ingredients:;2 cups flour;2 tsp baking powder;1/2 teaspoon course ground black pepper;1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese;4 oz smoked salmon lox;1/4 cup chopped fresh dill;1/4 cup chopped chives;;Wet Ingredients: ;1 egg;1 cup buttermilk;1/2 cup olive oil;8 oz cream cheese ;1 tablespoon buttermilk ” ]Preheat oven to 350F. Chop salmon into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces. Finely chop fresh dill and chives. Combine softened cream cheese and 1 tablespoon on buttermilk until smooth. ;;Combine dry ingredients through chives. Lightly beat egg, buttermilk and olive oil. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients in the center. Mix until just combined. The batter will be think. ;;Use silicone or paper cupcake papers in a muffin tin. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of batter into each paper cup. Top each with a tablespoon of cream cheese mixture and fill with more muffin batter to enclose the cream cheese. ;;Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. ;Optional: Serve with capers and more cream cheese. ;[/lt_recipe]