I love whipping up a batch of these quick cinnamon-scented muffins when I have guests over. The no-fuss batter comes together with humble pantry ingredients and no special baking equipment: You just need a few bowls, a whisk, and a muffin tin for this easy recipe! For more tasty muffins you can nibble on for breakfast, try my pumpkin muffin recipe, recipe for bran muffins, and easy oatmeal muffins.
What You Need to Make this Recipe
Sugar — I used granulated sugar, but you could use a mixture of granulated and brown sugar for more moisture and a rich caramel-like flavor. Leavening — baking powder helps the muffins rise. Spices — plenty of ground cinnamon and a hint of ground nutmeg are used to flavor these muffins. Milk — I used whole milk, but 2% milk would work as well. Butter — melted butter adds moisture to the muffins. You need unsalted butter for this recipe, but if you only have salted butter on hand, reduce the amount of salt by about ½ teaspoon so your muffins don’t turn out salty. You can also use vegetable oil in the batter. Eggs — they need to be room temperature, so set them out of the refrigerator about an hour before you start these easy cinnamon muffins. Vanilla extract — choose a good vanilla extract, not vanilla essence (which is synthetically flavored) Cinnamon sugar topping — granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, and melted unsalted butter are all you need. You must use unsalted butter for this part or the muffins will be more salty than is desirable.
How to Make Cinnamon Muffins
- In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the milk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir until just incorporated. Do not over-mix.
- Grease a non-stick 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. You could also use muffin liners instead of greasing the pan. Divide the muffin batter among the muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Bake the cinnamon muffins for 20 minutes at 350°F or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.
- Make the cinnamon sugar topping by combining the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. While the muffins are still warm, brush the tops with melted butter.
- Dip the top of the muffins generously in cinnamon sugar. The butter will help it stick to the muffins. Allow the muffins to cool completely on a wire rack and enjoy.
Pro Tips for Making this Recipe
Measure the flour. Using too much flour can result in dry, dense muffins. The most accurate way to measure flour is by using a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, fluff up the flour with a spoon in its bag or container, sprinkle it into a measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off. Don’t scoop directly from the bag, as you will likely end up using too much flour. Use freshly grated nutmeg. This isn’t absolutely necessary, but I find that freshly grated nutmeg has a superior flavor to the pre-ground kind. And since you only need a little, it takes just a few seconds to do! Room temperature eggs and milk are a must. Room temperature ingredients will give you a smooth batter and fluffy muffins, as they are easier to incorporate than cold ingredients. Use muffin tin liners. If you don’t want to deal with greasing the muffin pan and worrying about whether the muffins will stick, use muffin cups instead. Don’t over-bake the cinnamon muffins. They are ready the moment a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Overbaking will make them dense, dry, and chewy.
If you’ve tried this cinnamon muffins recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
