Coffee Cake Muffins

There is a tray of these coffee cake muffins sitting on my countertop as I write this, and yes, I need to clear something up right away –there is no actual coffee in coffee cake. What you get instead is a swirl of cinnamon filling running through the center of a tender muffin, topped with a thick crumb of buttery streusel, then drizzled with glaze. Jim’s idea of a good start to the day is one of these with an actual cup of coffee, and I don’t disagree. They come together in under an hour, and I like keeping a batch in the freezer for quick weekday mid-morning snacks.

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Key Ingredients and Substitutions

These three ingredients make the biggest difference in how the muffins turn out.

The complete ingredient list and measurements are listed in the printable recipe below.

• Sour cream: To keep the muffins tender rather than dry and add fat with a bit of tang without thinning out the batter, we use sour cream. Not a fan of sour cream? Full-fat Greek yogurt works as a substitute.
• Cold butter for the streusel: Keeping the butter cold and cutting it into the dry mixture, rather than melting it, gives the streusel its crumbly texture. If it softens too much as you work, pop the bowl in the refrigerator for a few minutes before pressing it together.
• Room-temperature eggs: Cold eggs can cause the butter-and-sugar mixture to seize, resulting in denser muffins. Pull them out of the fridge as you prep the streusel and filling so they have time to come to temperature.

How to Make Coffee Cake Muffins

Here are the quick, step-by-step instructions with visuals; you can find the full instructions, including the exact ingredients, in the recipe card below.

Pro-tip: Keep the streusel in the fridge while you make the batter so it stays crumbly instead of melting into the muffins as they bake.

Prep the pan and oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. The cinnamon filling can stick to a bare pan, so liners save you from having to fight muffins loose after baking.

Mix the cinnamon filling. Whisk together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl, then set aside. The flour keeps the filling from turning into a puddle of melted sugar as it bakes, so it stays put in a distinct swirl instead of sinking to the bottom.

Make the streusel. Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the cold butter and use your fingers to press and crumble it into the dry mixture until it resembles wet sand, then squeeze some of the mixture into larger clumps for bigger crumbles.

Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then set aside.

Cream the butter and sugars. Beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. The mixture should turn pale and increase noticeably in volume, which gives the muffins their rise. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition, then mix in the sour cream and vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until just combined, scraping down the bowl to catch any streaks of flour. Overmixing at this stage is the most common reason muffins turn out tough, so stop as soon as you no longer see dry flour. The batter will be slightly thicker than traditional muffin batter.

Layer the muffins. Spoon half the batter into muffin cups, filling each about a third full. Sprinkle the cinnamon filling evenly over the batter, then top with remaining batter to fully cover the filling. If any filling peeks through, tap the pan lightly on the counter to settle the batter.

Bake. Finish with a generous layer of streusel, pressing gently so it holds on during baking. Bake for 22 to 24 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops are domed and golden brown. The streusel should look set and slightly darker at the edges, not pale. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack, since the muffins are fragile straight out of the oven and can fall apart if moved too soon.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: You can mix the cinnamon filling and streusel up to 2 days in advance. Keep the streusel in the fridge to keep the butter cold, and store the filling at room temperature until you’re ready to bake.

How to Store: Once fully cooled, keep the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. To freeze, wrap the cooled, unglazed muffins individually in plastic wrap, place them in a freezer bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and glaze before serving.

Recipe Tips and Notes

• Use a cookie scoop for even muffins. Portion the batter with a spring-loaded scoop keeps every muffin close to the same size, so they finish baking together instead of drying out while the others continue baking.
• Use an offset spatula for the top layer. Spreading the second layer of batter with a small offset spatula covers the cinnamon filling evenly without disturbing it, so you don’t end up with filling poking through before it bakes.
• Let the batter rest before baking. Letting the finished batter sit for 10 minutes before filling the tin gives the flour time to hydrate, resulting in taller domes.
• Add a glaze. Whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth, then drizzle over cooled muffins. Wait until the muffins are fully cooled before glazing, or the glaze will melt into the streusel instead of setting on top.

Frequently Asked Questions