This recipe for Coffee Cake Muffins was inspired by a recent trip I took with my daughter. But before I get into that story, let me show you how delicious these cinnamon muffins really are!
Amazing right? After our trip, I just knew I had to make these at home.
My daughter and I were visiting LA when we found this adorable coffee shop in Long Beach. We stopped by for a yummy breakfast, and my morning coffee fix.
The muffins on display were gigantic blueberry muffins and these scrumptious crumble muffins with cinnamon swirl.
Those inspired me to make this recipe so that we could enjoy these epic muffins again, without a trip across the country.
Easy Coffee Cake Muffins
By the look on her face, the crumbly topping was calling out her name. Ok, and mine.
A few coffees, a hot chocolate, and a few (more) more muffins later, we decided we were going to replicate the recipe at home.
Being in the kitchen with my daughter reminds me of the many times I would bake with my grandmother.
Recipes like Healthy Banana Oatmeal Muffins are long-time family favorites and perfect for baking together.
I remember wanting to lick the bowl after we were done transferring the batter or sneak a spatula lick on the way to the kitchen sink.
The batter for the recipe comes together rather easily in a large mixing bowl. However, you’ll need a medium and small bowl to combine the crumble topping and the optional cinnamon swirl.
Actually, when baking with kids it’s always a good idea to have an extra bowl handy, since they always want to crack the eggs and therefore, having a separate bowl to crack the eggs into is a better idea than directly into the batter to avoid shells.
What I love about making our own baked goods is that I can see the ingredients that go into the recipe. The ingredients are basic staples, I have them in my pantry, and it’s a great way for the kids to practice their cooking skills and enjoy time with me in the kitchen.
The Cinnamon Swirl
This muffins are delicious all on their own, but this swirl makes them the best ever!
Mix cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.
Pour 2 tablespoons of muffin batter into each muffin cup.
Place 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon sugar mixture on top, giving it a quick swirl with your spoon.
Top with more muffin batter.
Then you’ll pile on the crumb topping and bake.
How to Make the Crumb Topping
The sweet, cinnamon muffins are stacked high with glorious crumb topping. Trust me, you don’t want to skip this part!
To bring this crumbly goodness together grab the flour, sugars and cinnamon and mix together in a medium bowl.
Stir in melted butter with a fork until it the mixture starts to look like wet sand.
I know, sand isn’t the yummiest comparison, but when you taste this buttery, cinnamon crumble, you’ll know it was more than worth it.
After trying it on these coffee cake muffins, be sure to try my pear muffins with crumbly cinnamon topping next.
While the muffins are baking, I usually begin to brew a cup of coffee for me and take the time to talk to my kids.
For me, the kitchen is the perfect place to make these moments special, to start conversations with them about life, things, and the little thoughts that run through their minds.
These muffins were made with a lot of patience and much love by my daughter with each turn of the spoon in the mixing bowl and I’m excited to share the recipe with you.
I’m happy knowing your house will fill with a deliciously sweet cinnamon smell as the muffins bake in the oven.
This recipe is the keepsake of our amazing time together and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it for you.
If you can’t get enough of that cinnamon-y goodness this time of year, try my incredible cinnamon roll pancakes for your next breakfast treat!
Do you have a favorite recipe to bake because the aroma fills the house and brings memories?
Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake Muffins
This delicious coffee cake muffin recipe is made with a tasty swirl of cinnamon all the way through. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 – 17 minutes
- Total Time: 25 – 27 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch salt
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Crumb Topping
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
Cinnamon Swirl
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Vanilla Glaze
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons cream (if using milk, use 1 tablespoon)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line muffin tin with paper liners, set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center and set aside.
- In a smaller bowl, or large measuring cup, whisk milk, butter, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Pour wet mixture into the dry bowl and mix (with a hand blender or by hand) until you have a thick but smooth batter.
- For the crumb topping, stir together the flour, sugars, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly and resembles wet sand.
- For the cinnamon swirl, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- Begin to assemble the batter inside the lined muffin tin by scooping 2 tablespoons of batter into each muffin cavity. Place a teaspoon of cinnamon sugar mixture on top, give it a quick swirl, and top with more muffin batter, filling the tin 3/4 to the top.
- Sprinkle about a heaping tablespoon of crumb topping on top of each muffin top, covering the tops.
- Bake muffins for 15-17 minutes until the crumbly tops are golden and when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow muffins to cool down to room temperature in the pan prior to transferring them to a wire rack to glaze.
- Once cooled, drizzle a little glaze over cooled muffins.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 224
- Sugar: 17g
- Sodium: 245.5mg
- Fat: 8.8g
- Saturated Fat: 5.2g
- Carbohydrates: 32.9g
- Fiber: 0.9g
- Protein: 3.7g
- Cholesterol: 52.3mg
Keywords: coffee cake muffins, cinnamon swirl muffins, coffee cake muffin recipe, easy coffee cake muffins
Can I make these the evening before?
Absolutely!
This was such a great recipe to make with my two boys! The multiple steps assembling it in the muffin tins made it even more fun for them to help! We made mini muffins and they were delicious!!! This recipe is a keeper!! thank you
I’m so glad they were a hit, Pennie!
Coffee cake muffins with cinnamon swirl..sound great! I’m looking forward to making them but can’t see coffee in ingredients..?! please advise…x
★★★★
They are muffins meant to be served with coffee because of the “crumb” at the top. Enjoy
Super tasty and popular at our house, but some of the amounts were definitely off. I only got 8 muffins from the recipe with 3 Tbsp of batter per cup. I made a 2nd batch of batter and using 4 Tbsp batter in each muffin I got 16 fluffy muffins.
Also, make double the cinnamon swirl mix or only add 1/2 tsp to each muffin–otherwise you run out about 9 muffins in.
I will definitely make this again and triple the batter batch to get 2 dozen muffins.
Is it possible the flour amount in the topping is off? It couldn’t clump together and I kept adding butter to help it bind, though I’m not sure how much. It also made a lot more than I could fit on the muffins. Thanks!
Hi Mel, the recipe definitely makes more crumb topping than needed. I just adjusted it for you. Enjoy!
I baked these yesterday and they were all gone bu the end of the day. They were really yummy, but a few things about the recipe didn’t quite work. I bake a lot so it was fine for me to adjust as necessary, but maybe someone who doesn’t might have a problem. 1. The crumb topping doesn’t crumb if you make the recipe as stated. It is kind of a gooey liquid- I just added about 1/8 cup more flour until the mixture would crumble, you could probably add less butter too. 2. For the cinnamon swirl mixture, if you put 1 teaspoon of the mixture into the middle of each muffin as stated, you run out at about muffin 9- no biggie but you just need to use less than a teaspoon per muffin or make more of the mixture. Thanks for a great recipe, my family enjoyed it.
Hey Laura! I made this recipe today for Mother’s Day. I was a bit confused at how liquidy the batter was and how non-crumbly the crumble was (more like a paste). It ended up sinking into the center of the liquidy batter. However, the end result was actually really tasty– but not as expected at all. Very fluffy, with the filling at the bottom of the cupcake. Tasted like monkey bread.
★★★★
Hi Julie, I’m sorry you had trouble with the crumble. Shux! The great news is that it turned out great regardless.
Just made these for breakfast, and they came out pretty good. I modified the instructions slightly and whipped the sugar with the eggs to get more air into the muffin batter instead of adding it to the flour. I also did not get 12 muffins but other than that I’d say this recipe is on the money. Sugar content was perfect, which I always worry about.
For whoever asked if they can rest the batter, I don’t recommend it but if you do, try to avoid stirring it. It will release air produced by by the initial activation of leavening agents such as baking powder.
★★★★
These muffins were pretty good, The crumb topping was super good, and the swirl was super fun!
★★★★
I made these cinamon swirl coffee cake muffins and they were amazing! Thanks for a delicious recipe.
★★★★★
I found them to be pretty bland, and not sweet enough for my taste. The crumb topping was phenomenal though!
★★★
Hi! This looks like a great recipe, I was just wondering if it’s possible to make these without cupcake liners? I just recently ran out.
Hi Isha, you can definitely make these without the liners, just make sure to grease your pan. Enjoy!
These are ok! The crumb top is absolutely delicious but the actual muffin itself is a little bland. It needs more cinnamon or sugar or something. I’ll just need to tweak it a bit
★★★★
These muffins were amazing!! I read the comments before I made them so I knew what to watch out for – I filled all 12 muffin liners with about 2 tablespoons of batter then I sprinkled on the cinnamon/sugar mixture to ensure there was enough to go around. I also added chopped walnuts to the crumb topping – and I used it all!! I will definitely be making these again. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
★★★★★
Just made these lovely muffins for my sweeties birthday. I liked how easy they were to make, the fact that I did not have to use a mixer (so I wouldn’t wake anyone up). Agree the swirl was short on amount for 1 teaspoon per 12. Otherwise I found the amount of batter and streusel topping to be perfect amounts.
If I was changing anything, I’d add pecans to the streusel topping and another pinch of salt. They’re a keeper here!! Thanks