Here’s an impressive muffins recipe that no one can resist: these Cinnamon Streusel Muffins! We love healthy muffin recipes, but this one is straight up indulgent: ideal for impressing guests at brunch. It’s light, fluffy and moist, sparkling with a glittery streusel topping. The secret? A surprising ingredient brings just the right texture to these little cakes: cottage cheese! It’s unexpected but stands in for a bit of the oil and makes for perfectly moist muffins.
Ingredients in this cinnamon muffins recipe
These cinnamon muffins are sweet and crunchy: the perfect impressive treat for a brunch and much easier than cinnamon rolls! But you could almost argue a healthy spin with the benefits of our secret ingredient! Ever since we created these Cottage Cheese Pancakes, we’ve been experimenting with adding this healthy cheese to bake goods. Here it makes an ultra-fluffy crumb in these cinnamon muffins. Here’s what you’ll need:
All-purpose flour Granulated sugar Cinnamon Baking powder and kosher salt Egg Neutral oil: grapeseed or organic vegetable oil (substitute melted butter if you prefer) Cottage cheese Milk
The secret ingredient: cottage cheese!
You might already have all the ingredients on hand for these cinnamon muffins, except for the magic ingredient: cottage cheese! This high protein cheese brings a moist texture to these muffins that makes the ultra delicious. The protein content spread out between 12 muffins isn’t large, but it’s more than a regular muffin! Even better, using this cheese helps to cut back on the oil content that a standard muffin would use. Other ways to use cottage cheese? Try these cottage cheese recipes, like Cottage Cheese Mac and Cheese, Cottage Cheese Pancakes, Cottage Cheese Dip, and Whipped Cottage Cheese.
Making the cinnamon streusel topping (and sweetness variations)
Do you prefer a lightly sweet muffin? Make these cinnamon muffins plain, without the streusel topping. They’re lightly sweet and delicious. But we love them with the cinnamon streusel! It brings just the right texture contrast. Here are a few notes about the topping:
Use half the streusel if you’d like. This also makes a lightly sweet muffin. Mix well until a crumbly texture forms. You’ll mix melted butter with sugar, flour and cinnamon until a crumbly mixture forms. Then sprinkle onto each muffin before baking! It makes the best crunchy texture to the muffin tops. Just make sure you follow the storage recommendations to preserve the topping texture (see below).
Variation: make cinnamon roll muffins
Do you love a very sweet muffin? Turn these muffins into Cinnamon Roll Muffins by adding a drizzle of icing to the tops! It looks absolutely impressive and adds even more sweetness. It’s almost a little too sweet, in our opinion, so we’d use half the streusel topping if you’re planning to add icing. Go to our 1 Minute Powdered Sugar Icing, then use a fork to drizzle it over the muffins. This drizzle adds some moisture to the muffins, so if you’re planning to store them, try to only ice the muffins you plan to serve.
Storage info for cinnamon muffins
Because of the streusel topping, these Cinnamon Muffins should be stored carefully. Ideally you should serve them the day of making, as they’re best fresh. Here’s what to know about storage:
The muffins taste best freshly made. If you can, try to make them 30 minutes before you plan to serve. Room temperature: Store at room temperature up to 2 days loosely covered in foil: allowing for some airflow helps the topping stay crunchy. The muffins will become lightly drier. Refrigerator: Store refrigerated in a sealed container lined with paper towel for up to 5 days. Let stand on the counter to come to room temperature before eating).
More muffin recipes
Looking for more muffins? We’ve got lots of healthy muffin recipes in addition to these tasty treats! Here are a few you might enjoy:
Go for Classic Blueberry Muffins or Lemon Blueberry Muffins Try our fan favorite Healthy Banana Bread Muffins, or rich Easy Chocolate Muffins Opt for Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins or Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins Grab Apple Muffins with Streusel Bake up tasty Sweet Potato Muffins
This cinnamon muffins recipe is…
Vegetarian. 5 from 2 reviews
2 cups all-purpose flour 2/3 cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon kosher salt 1 egg ¼ cup neutral oil (grapeseed or organic vegetable oil; substitute melted butter if you prefer) 2/3 cup cottage cheese (small curd if possible) 1 cup milk
For the streusel topping*
¼ cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons flour ½ tablespoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
