Cinnamon Streusel Muffins are one of my favorite dessert breakfasts! They're like sour cream coffee cake muffins with cinnamon streusel topping. These are perfect to grab when you're on the go! And by "on the go", I mean running from your kitchen to your office because you're late for a Zoom meeting…
I like to wash these down with a glass of milk, but they also go great with a cup of coffee or tea! My favorite thing about these muffins is that they have crumbly layers of cinnamon sugar swirled in the middle! It's such a delicious surprise and makes them seem like more of a fancy bakery muffin. However, they're really so easy to make!
Note: This recipe was originally published on February 19th, 2021 and updated on February 2nd, 2022.
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It's hard to beat muffins with cinnamon, but these other muffin recipes are so quick and delicious too!
Ingredients
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Eggs
- Sour cream
- Unsalted butter
- Vanilla extract
- Buttermilk: If you don't have any on hand, you can replace this with kefir or mix ¼ cup of milk with ¾ teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice and then let it sit for a few minutes to curdle slightly. The acidity adds a nice tangy flavor and weakens the gluten, yielding softer muffins!
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Ground cinnamon
See recipe card below for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
This recipe has not been tested with any substitutions. If you do replace any ingredients, please let us know how they turned out in the comments below!
Equipment
Bake these cinnamon swirl muffins in a 12-well muffin pan filled with liners.
A hand mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment is recommended to mix the batter, but isn't necessary.
Step by Step Instructions
STEP ONE (Picture 1 above) - Melt the butter and mix in the flour, light brown sugar and cinnamon. It will dry up into a crumbly mixture while you make the muffin batter.
STEP TWO (Picture 2 above) - In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until its light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Stir in the eggs, vanilla extract and sour cream.
STEP THREE (Picture 3 above) - In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Alternately stir the dry ingredients and buttermilk into the wet ingredients just until combined.
STEP FOUR (Picture 4 above) - Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed so that everything gets mixed together. The batter will be fairly thick.
STEP FIVE (Picture 1 above) - Drop about 1 teaspoon cinnamon streusel crumbs into the bottom of each muffin liner. Follow it up with about a tablespoon of muffin batter.
STEP SIX (Picture 2 above) - Add 2 teaspoons of streusel and then more batter until the liner is about ¾ full. Cover with more streusel. Feel free to sprinkle a little turbinado sugar (or demerara sugar) on the tops for an extra sweet crunch!
Bake the cinnamon streusel muffins at 350°F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 13-18 minutes). Let them cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes and then carefully transfer them to a wire rack.
Recipe FAQs
Streusel is a crumbly topping usually made of flour, sugar and a fat. In this recipe, it's made of flour, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon.
This could be from over-measuring the flour. I always recommend using a food scale to weigh it in grams (see "metric" in the recipe card below) for the most accurate measurements. Scooping and leveling in measuring cups is the next best method. Another reason could be if your oven has the convection setting on.
This could be from inaccurate measuring (more liquid or less dry ingredients than required). It could also be from overmixing the batter.
This recipe should give you about 12 delicious cinnamon crumble muffins!
Storage
Room Temperature: You can continue to enjoy these cinnamon muffins with streusel topping for 2-3 days after baking if they're stored in an airtight container.
Freezing Instructions: Make sure the muffins have cooled completely and then cover them tightly in plastic wrap and a freezer-safe bag. Store them in the freezer for up to 1 month. Don't forget to write "Cinnamon Streusel Muffins" and the date on the bag! When you're ready to enjoy them, heat them in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. This is a great way to have a quick breakfast always on hand!
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📖 Recipe
Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin pan
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Spatula
- Whisk
- Hand mixer optional
Ingredients
Cinnamon Streusel
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
Muffins
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup sour cream room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup buttermilk *see notes below
Instructions
Cinnamon Streusel
- Mix together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Melt the butter and stir it into the mixture. Let it sit and dry out while making the batter.
Muffins
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with liners (or spray with oil if you don't have liners).
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (~3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla and sour cream. Mix well.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Gently stir half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then mix in the buttermilk. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until only a few flour streaks are visible. The batter will be pretty thick.
- Pour 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon streusel into the bottom of each cupcake liner. Then, add a tablespoon of muffin batter over the top of it, followed by 2 teaspoons of streusel. Repeat until the muffin liner is about ¾ full. Try to spread the batter out so it's smooth and then finish by covering the tops completely with streusel. (Optional: sprinkle a little turbinado sugar on the tops too!)
- Bake for 13-18 minutes or until the tops are lightly tan and a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, and then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack.
Layla says
I plan to use this recipe with my math class...Do you have any idea how long it would take to bake mini-muffins? I'm hoping one batch will give all the kids a taste. And would you use maybe a 1/2 or 1/4 tsp for the streusel? Thanks in advance!
Kayla says
Hi Layla! I haven't tried them as mini muffins yet but I'd say start checking them around 8 minutes and once a toothpick comes out clean they should be good to go! You could sprinkle 1/2 tsp streusel on the bottoms and then top with batter and then another 1/2-1 tsp streusel (or skip the bottom streusel). I'd love to hear how they turn out if you try them!
Elaine Skowron says
So delicious. Making them for a second time today. Thank you for a wonderful and easy recipe.
Kayla says
Thank you for your kind review, Elaine! I'm happy you like them so much!!
Amy says
I’m disappointed. Mine turned out dry and just blah tasting. I used my convection oven and kept checking them for doneness. It took about 23-24 minutes for the toothpick to come out clean. I don’t know why they’re dry.
Kayla says
Hi Amy, I'm very sorry to hear that this recipe didn't work out. Convection ovens tend to dry things out more so this could've caused dryness. I'd also recommend using a scale to measure the flour if you aren't doing so already. I hope this helps!
Traci Collins says
These were amazing!! I halved the recipe and made a dozen muffins that turned perfectly!
Kayla says
Thanks, Traci 🙂 I'm glad you liked them!!
Done and Sugardusted says
Baked this recipe last night! It made a beautiful, silky batter and the muffins were delicious! The perfect streusel/cake ratio and also a very light & fluffy muffin! The entire house smelled like delicious cinnamon streusel!
Kayla says
This made my day! I'm so happy you enjoyed them 🙂 thank you for making my recipe!