Love a good coffee cake, with a tender, moist crumb and a cinnamon crumbly topping? Then you must try this coffee cake muffins recipe! These muffins taste just like coffee cake, but they’re quicker and easier to make. Buttermilk makes a beautifully tender crumb, and they’re topped with a sweet cinnamon streusel that gives a crunch to each bite. You won’t want to put these down! They’re ideal for breakfast or a sweet afternoon pick-me-up.
Ingredients in this coffee cake muffins recipe
Coffee cake muffins are a fun sweet treat; honestly, they’re really more like cupcakes! But call them a muffin and they work for breakfast too. They’re ideal paired with a cup of coffee to cut the sweetness. The secret ingredient? Buttermilk is essential for a tall and fluffy muffin. Outside of that, you’ll need the typical cast of baking characters. The ingredients for coffee cake muffins are:
All-purpose flour Granulated sugar and brown sugar Baking powder, baking soda, and salt Buttermilk Butter Neutral oil Eggs Vanilla Cinnamon
Tricks for baking coffee cake muffins
This coffee cake muffins recipe incorporates a few tricks from one of our favorite bakers: Sarah Kieffer and her new baking cookbook, 100 Morning Treats. Sarah is an author and trained baker, and we’re lucky enough to have her as a real life friend too (she lives in Minnesota where I’m from originally!). This recipe is not in Sarah’s book, but we took a few pointers from her muffins method. Here are a few tricks to why this recipe works:
Use real buttermilk. Buttermilk is crucial to making a light and fluffy crumb. Don’t be tempted to use even a buttermilk substitute here! Milk and lemon juice works in a pinch, but it doesn’t make the rich beautiful texture of real buttermilk. Use both butter and oil. Butter and oil work uniquely in baked goods. Butter adds richness in flavor and oil adds moisture. Use tulip muffin liners. It’s not required, but using tulip muffin liners helps the streusel topping to stay on top of the muffins and not melt down the sides.
Keys to tall muffins
These coffee cake muffins are tall with lovely domed tops. They look like a bakery style muffin, which can be tricky to achieve in at-home baking! Here are a few keys to how to achieve tall muffins:
Fill every other cup in two 12-cup muffin tins. This results in a more even bake and beautiful domed muffin tops. It’s not required, but helpful for perfect muffins. Fill the muffin cups up to the top. This recipe is optimized so you have plenty of batter; you’ll fill the muffin cups very full up to the top. This avoids stubby muffins! Baking at 375°F makes a taller muffin. Many muffin recipes are baked at 350°F, but a slightly hotter oven makes a taller and fluffier muffin. This recipe also has a hefty amount of leavener (baking powder and baking soda) for a good rise.
Storage info
These coffee cake muffins taste best the day they’re baked. But they hold up well over time, making them ideal for making ahead. You’ll want to keep them refrigerated because of the crunchy topping, which can become soggy stored at room temperature. Here’s what to know:
Refrigerator: Store refrigerated for up to 1 week! Let them stand at room temperature for a few minutes before eating. Freeze: Freeze in a sealable container and store up to 3 months.
More muffin recipes
This coffee cake muffins recipe is a favorite sweet treat of ours: it’s perfect for special breakfasts or brunches! Here are a few more muffin recipes to try:
Go for Zucchini Muffins, Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins or Chocolate Zucchini Muffins Go simple with a Basic Muffin Recipe Mix it up with Morning Glory Muffins or Carrot Cake Muffins Opt for Easy Chocolate Muffins, Lemon Blueberry Muffins or Carrot Cake Muffins
This coffee cake muffins recipe is…
Vegetarian. 5 from 3 reviews
¼ cup light brown sugar ¼ cup granulated sugar ½ cup all purpose flour 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
For the muffins
2 cups [280 g] all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon baking soda ¾ teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup granulated sugar ¾ cup buttermilk* 5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter ⅓ cup neutral oil 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
**Baking in every other muffin cup makes for a more consistent bake. If all you have is a 12-cup muffin tin, you can use that too.
