Easy and Moist Cinnamon Streusel Muffins

These cinnamon streusel muffins are one of my favorite easy breakfast treats. They taste like moist cinnamon coffee cake muffins with a buttery, crunchy cinnamon streusel topping. These are perfect for breakfast or a quick snack when you're about to head out the door to take on the go.

If you're more of a mini muffin fan, try mini cinnamon streusel muffins!

These fluffy cinnamon streusel muffins are the best muffins to serve with a hot cup of coffee or tea in the morning. The moist cinnamon muffin base has a sweet, crumbly swirl of cinnamon streusel in the centers and on the domed tops!

These muffins are moist, fluffy, and have sky-high muffin tops just like the bakery-style muffins served at coffee shops. However, they're easy to make at home with simple ingredients and no mixer needed!

Cinnamon muffins are a hard muffin recipe to beat, but my white chocolate chip muffins, blueberry chocolate chip muffins, small batch blueberry muffins, and almond flour pumpkin muffins are super tasty too.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Cinnamon in the batter- These delicious muffins have so much sweet cinnamon flavor. The muffin batter has a whole tablespoon of ground cinnamon in it!
• Crumbly streusel- The crisp cinnamon crumb topping is made with all purpose flour and brown sugar for extra crunch. It's on top and in the middle of each muffin. Layering the different components creates a super delicious cinnamon swirl almost like a cinnamon roll.
• Easy to make- My favorite thing about this recipe is that you don't need an electric mixer, food processor, or any other special equipment! You only need pantry staple ingredients and basic baking tools.
• Take on the go- You can easily grab a muffin before heading out the door as a quick breakfast, afternoon snack, or weekend brunch treat.

Ingredient Notes

Here are some notes about the ingredients used. See the recipe card below for the quantities and full instructions.

For the streusel topping.

For the muffins.

• Unsalted butter- I like to use unsalted butter for a rich flavor and to control the amount of salt in the muffins. We don't want them getting too salty! Muffins don't rely on the structure of creamed butter like cupcakes do, so melted butter is totally ok to use.
• All purpose flour- Makes up the structure of the streusel and muffin base. Measure it in grams with a digital kitchen scale for the best results or use the spoon and sweep method.
• Brown sugar- This is for the cinnamon brown sugar crumble. You can use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar depending on your preference, just make sure it's moist and fresh.
• Ground cinnamon- Use whatever kind of cinnamon you have on hand.
• Granulated sugar- Sweetens the batter and helps to hold on to moisture. Don't reduce the sugar or the muffins won't turn out right.
• Eggs- 2 large eggs help bind all of our ingredients together. Make sure they're room temperature so they're easy to mix. Pull out of the refrigerator 1-2 hours before you start baking.
• Vanilla extract- Use pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste for the best flavor. It makes a huge difference!
• Greek yogurt- Plain Greek yogurt has acid that tenderizes the gluten strands and makes muffins super fluffy and light. You can use full-fat or reduced-fat yogurt. Make sure it's room temperature too- take it out of the refrigerator with the eggs.
• Baking powder and baking soda- These leavening agents work together to help the muffins get fluffy and rise in the oven. Check the expiration date on both before using since they lose potency over time. Ideally you should replace your baking powder and baking soda every 6 months.
• Salt- A pinch of salt helps balance the sweetness and activate the leaveners.

Substitutions and Variations

• Butter substitute- Melted vegan butter is ok to use, but avoid oils like vegetable oil and coconut oil. The muffins won't have the same rich flavor if you use oil.
• Gluten free option- To make this recipe gluten-free, try substituting the all purpose flour with a gluten-free flour. My favorite for baking is Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour.
• Egg substitute- The best substitute for eggs are flax eggs made with flax meal and water. Here's a helpful article on how to make a flax egg!
• Greek yogurt substitute- The best substitute for Greek yogurt is sour cream. You can also use buttermilk or plain kefir.
• Add almond extract- Try adding a little bit of almond extract (¼ teaspoon) to the batter for a sweet, nutty flavor.
• Add-in options-You can mix in ½-1 cup of chocolate chips, chopped nuts ( pecans or walnuts), or dried fruit for extra flavor and texture.
• Sugar sprinkle- I recommend sprinkling cinnamon sugar or coarse Turbinado sugar on top of each muffin before baking for more crunch and a pretty shine!
• Glaze- Try making a simple glaze with ½ cup of powdered sugar and 1-2 tablespoons of whole milk or low-fat milk to drizzle on top.

Helpful Equipment and Tools

Bake the muffins in a 12-well muffin tin lined with muffin liners or sprayed with baking spray. I recommend light colored aluminum muffin tins because they conduct heat the best. Don't use a silicone pan because your muffins will burn.

Step by Step Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (220 degrees Celsius). Place paper liners in every other well of your muffin pan or spray the wells with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

Step 1: First, make the streusel mixture by combining melted butter, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl with a fork or pastry cutter until the mixture looks like wet sand. Chill in the freezer while you make the muffin batter.

Step 2: Next, whisk the melted unsalted butter and granulated together in a large mixing bowl. Then vigorously whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract.

Expert Baking Tips

1. Measure the flour correctly. Make sure the flour is measured correctly, ideally in grams with a food scale. If you don't have a scale, gently fluff up the flour, scoop it into a measuring cup, and swipe the excess back into the flour bag with a butter knife.
2. Don't overmix the batter. Overmixing will result in tough, dense muffins instead of fluffy, moist muffins.
3. Bake at an initial high heat. I always bake muffins at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for a few minutes. This initial high temperature encourages the batter to puff and rise rapidly, creating taller muffin tops.
4. Let the muffins cool completely before storing. If they aren't completely cool, condensation can form inside the storage container and make the muffins and streusel topping soggy.

Frequently Asked Questions