honey and neufchatel cheese-filled fig muffins

preheat oven to 425 degrees
line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or coat with cooking spray

thoroughly combine:
3/4 cup neufchatel cream cheese
2 Tbs honey
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
1/4 tsp vanilla
in a small bowl. set aside.

whisk:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
in a large bowl

lightly beat:
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
in a medium bowl.

add:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
whisk until sugar dissolves, about a minute

gradually whisk in:
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup olive oil
until smooth

add wet ingredients to dry. stir until just combined
fold in:
1 1/4 cups chopped dried figs (chopped dates would also work great)

spoon half the mixture into prepared muffin cups
add 1 generous tsp of reserved cheese filling to the center of each muffin
cover w/ remaining batter. filling should not be visible
sprinkle the muffins with 3 Tbs turbinado sugar

bake 13-15 minutes until edges start to brown and tops spring back when lightly pressed
cool in pan 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool

ps: leftover cream cheese mixture tastes great spread on graham crackers! like cheesecake!