These old-fashioned muffins with a cinnamon streusel topping are a prime example of simple recipes that bring joy. No need for fancy ingredients or complicated techniques. With minimal effort, you'll be rewarded with muffins that rise beautifully and bake to a golden brown. They are ready in 45 minutes and freeze wonderfully.
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Triple dose of cinnamon
Cinnamon is a classic spice and the most used in baking. With good reason, everything made with it is fragrant and irresistible, from the ubiquitous cinnamon coffee cake to cinnamon cupcakes or cinnamon bundt cake.
So adding buttery cinnamon bakery-style muffins with streusel topping was a no-brainer, and I'm sure you'll agree it's a must in every home baker's repertoire, especially for brunch lovers.
The defining feature of these small treats is the delightful layer of sweet crunch on top. This crumbly topping forms a golden, sugary crust that contrasts with the moistness of the muffin beneath.
A winning combination!
- Quick and easy: the batter comes together in no time and the crumble can be made ahead so that you can whip them up at a moment's notice.
- Eating them warm: they're great after 10-15 minutes of cooling down.
- Make ahead: they keep well for a day or two at room temperature, covered or in an airtight container, and freeze wonderfully. I suggest warming them in a medium oven (350°F/180°C) before eating.
- Adaptable: use a glaze on top of the crumble for a sweeter twist. Make jumbo muffins or use a mini muffin pan to make bite-sized ones.
FAQ
Absolutely! They can be made and stored for later consumption. Bake and cool the muffins completely before storing them in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap. To maintain freshness, you can freeze the muffins for an extended period and thaw them when needed. Warm them briefly in the oven before eating to get them soft and crunchy again.
Too much mixing or beating the batter is, in my experience, the main culprit. The ingredients have to be lightly mixed *just* until integrated. Use a spatula or whisk for best results, as it's hard to overmix a muffin batter by folding it by hand.
Ingredient list
- Cinnamon: any ground cinnamon you like works fine.
- White granulated sugar.
- Light brown sugar: it's used for the streusel and you can use all white sugar.
- Milk: whole or reduced-fat milk, and even almond milk can be used.
- Unsalted butter.
- Vegetable oil: we use sunflower oil, which is neutral, but coconut oil, canola, or light olive oil can be used.
- Eggs: large, fresh.
- All-purpose flour.
- Baking powder: make sure it's not expired.
- Salt.
- Vanilla extract.
Quantities are listed on the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
Steps to make cinnamon muffins
This is an old-fashioned muffin recipe, where the wet ingredients are mixed in a bowl and the dry ingredients in another. The two are then combined.
- Whisk the wet ingredients together. There's no need to beat. This is not the recipe to use the electric or stand mixer.
- Stir the dry ingredients together. Make sure they're well combined and distributed, especially the baking powder and salt.
Divide half of the cinnamon batter evenly. A cookie scoop will help with this.
Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top. This will create a cinnamon swirl that will add more spice flavor.
Top the cinnamon sugar with the rest of the batter, dividing it evenly. Sprinkle the crumble on top of the muffins. It can be a little messy; that is fine.
Baking muffins
- Muffin tin: I like to use paper liners (also known as muffin or cupcake liners) because it's easier to clean afterward, they keep the muffins moist and are great if you want to transport them. But you can butter or use baking spray for the muffin pan.
- Filling the pan: the batter is divided in two with a layer of cinnamon sugar in the middle. I use an ice cream scoop to fill them evenly. Don't go over ¾ of their capacity before adding the crumble or they will overflow.
- When are the muffins done? Take the baking time given in the recipe as your guide and check five minutes earlier. See if the tester or toothpick comes out clean. All ovens are different, so it might take a few minutes more or less than specified.
Kitchen Notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
- Baking time: consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
- Light mixing: you mustn't overmix the muffin batter.
- Crumb topping: you can make it ahead and refrigerate it for a week or freeze it for a month. To use, let thaw in the fridge. Use it cold from the fridge.
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Cinnamon Muffins with Streusel
Ingredients
Cinnamon crumble:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cinnamon swirl:
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Muffin batter:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- ¾ cup milk, at room temperature
- ¼ cup sunflower oil
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cinnamon crumble:
- Mix the ¾ cup all-purpose flour, ⅓ cup brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl.
- Add the melted ¼ cup unsalted butter and stir with a fork or spoon to integrate until crumbly.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
For the cinnamon sugar swirl:
- In a small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons brown sugar with 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon. Set aside.
For the cinnamon batter:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180ºC).
- Use 12 regular muffin liners in a metal muffin pan.
- In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients: sifted 2 cups all-purpose flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ cup white sugar and ½ cup brown sugar.
- In another bowl, combine 2 eggs, ¾ cup milk, ¼ cup sunflower oil, ¼ cup melted butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Do not beat, but stir to integrate well and no streaks of egg whites remain.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients all at once.
- Stir until just combined, avoiding overmixing.
- Fill each muffin liner halfway, add a bit of the cinnamon mixture, and cover with more batter.
- Sprinkle the crumble on top.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Don't overbake.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack.
Janice says
The muffins came out pretty good, and had a very good flavor but there are some issues with the recipe. For example, the ingredient list for the streusel lists melted butter, but the directions say to add the butter in pieces- not really possible with melted butter, but achievable with softened; the directions say to combine all dry ingredients in one bowl and lists yeast among the flour and sugars, but no yeast is in the ingredient list and there are no yeast preparation instructions. The streusel recipe made about three times as much as I actually needed. This is a good recipe if you already know what you're doing, but a beginner baker might have some problems.
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Janice, thanks for letting me know. I checked the recipe and rewrote the streusel part. And the yeast was a typo. Thanks for the heads up. I sent you an email.
Janice says
I just received your email, and wanted to come and reply. First, thank you so much for your kind gesture. I didn't expect anything anything at all like that, and wanted to make sure to tell you how much I appreciate it.
Second, I've reread the recipe, and it is much, MUCH easier to follow now. Thank you for correcting the inconsistencies so quickly! When I made them, I used the bits of butter for the streusel rather than the melted, and the melted butter will be much easier. When I tried the muffins, I thought they were pretty good, but my family absolutely loved them, so having this version of the recipe to refer back to when I make them again will make things much easier. I do have to admit that I slightly tweaked the recipe, though. I like to add a little bit of ground cloves to any recipe that's very cinnamon, because I find it enhances the flavor without becoming overpowering. I wish I could update my original rating, because the main reson I only put four stars was that I couldn't be sure I'd actually made it correctly.
Paula Montenegro says
Thanks Janice, I really appreciate your feedback! We all have different palates and adjust to what we think is the best overall version, so these comments help me SO much. Funny you mention cloves, it's one of my least favorite spices, so I use it very sparingly. But now I'm intrigued and will certainly try it again in these muffins. Have a great weekend.