I am actually not a coffee drinker but I do love a piece of cinnamon coffee cake with my tea!

These cinnamon swirl muffins are easy for anyone to make and they don’t take long at all. With 3 ways to customize them, you are sure to find an option for the whole family.

With that being said, I’m not the best at consistently eating breakfast but I do LOVE a sweet for breakfast! Craving a cinnamon roll? These light & fluffy cinnamon swirl muffins with easy vanilla glaze will do just the trick. They are super easy to make on a weekend morning and have fresh with your tea or coffee. These muffins are also perfect for a mid afternoon snack!

ally oneil cinnamon swirl muffins coffee cake baking with ally

A few things about this recipe:

ONE: There are 3 different ways that you can make these, keep reading for details!

TWO: The trick to keeping muffins from drying out is to make sure that you pick recipes that have oil and/or sour cream in the ingredients and don’t overcook them. Like cupcakes and cakes muffins can dry out quickly!

THREE: Have a glass of hot water and leave a butter knife in it. When you get to the end and you need to swirl the cinnamon around, a warm slightly wet butter knife will glide easier through the batter as it is very thick.

Ally’s Tips:

Make sure your ingredients are all room temp, and mix your butter and sugar well at the beginning
When using unsalted butter than add 1/8 – 1/4 tsp of salt to the recipe
If adding the crumble, make sure to add it to the top of the muffins BEFORE cooking them. If adding the glaze, then add it after they have cooled for a min of 10 minutes (if not longer!) or it will just melt right away.

Storage:

Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days, best if eaten within 3-4 days. Can be frozen up to 3 months.

Change it up:

Add an easy vanilla glaze to the top! Craving a cinnamon roll? Well this is a quick way to get all the same flavours but in a muffin. Mix in a bowl (just with a spoon or whisk) 1 cup of icing sugar, 2 teaspoons water and 1/4 tsp of vanilla. Add more water or sugar if needed until you reach the desired consistency.

Ready to make these muffins? Let’s do this!

cinnamon swirl muffins with easy vanilla glaze

Print Recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

cooling before adding glaze 10

Total Time 45

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Equipment

Whisk
Spatula
Large Mixing Bowl
Small Mixing Bowl
Small Bowl or Ramekin
Electric Mixer
Microwave Safe Dish
Muffin Pan
12 Baking Cups

Ingredients

Muffin Base

1/3 cup butter salted, softened to room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup flour all purpose
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup sour cream

Cinnamon Swirl

2 tbsp granualted sugar
1/2 tap cinnamon

Cinnamon Crumble

1/4 cup butter salted, melted
3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
1/2 – 2/3 cup flour
1 tbsp cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.
Add all dry ingredients to small mixing bowl (flour, baking powder and baking soda), whisk for 20-30 seconds and set aside.
Add room temperature butter and sugar to large mixing bowl and beat until well combined.
Add vanilla a vegetable oil, scrape down sides of the bowl to make sure that the butter is evenly mixed into the batter.
Add in eggs one at a time, mixing until mostly combined between each egg. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add in half of the flour mixture, mix for 2-3 seconds, and then add 1/2 cup of sour cream. Mix until mostly combined then repeat the order with remaining half of the flour mixture, then the last of the sour cream. Mix until well combined but don't over mix or muffins will be tough vs. light and fluffy!
In a muffin pan, line with baking cups and fill each cup half way (or 1/3 of the way) with batter.
In a small bowl or ramekin, make the cinnamon swirl mixing cinnamon and sugar together.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture then divide remaining batter up in 12, filling each baking up 1/2 of the way.
Using a butter knife, swirl the cinnamon mixture throughout each muffin by moving the knife in a figure 8 motion in each baking cup.
Make cinnamon crumble. Melt butter in a microwave safe dish (microwaving about 30-45 seconds). Stir in flour, sugar and cinnamon and mix well forming crumbly clumps.
Divide crumble mixture evenly between 12 muffins.
Bake for 20-22 minutes until toothpick comes out clean in the centre.
Let cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
If adding vanilla glaze then you can do so when muffins are mostly cool and removed from the hot pan. Ingredients and instructions above in recipe notes.

Notes

Easy Vanilla Glaze: Mix in a bowl (just with a spoon or whisk) 1 cup of icing sugar, 2 teaspoons water and 1/4 tsp of vanilla. Add more water or sugar if needed until you reach the desired consistency.

Keyword cinnamon, cinnamon swirl, coffee cake, muffins