Coffee cake muffins will impress any houseguest! My perfected version has rich and moist vanilla-flavored crumb and a hefty crown of spiced, buttery streusel. Great with a cup of coffee! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Coffee Cake in Muffin Form
Coffee cake muffins have everything there is to love about coffee cake (do you see that hefty pile of crumbly, spiced streusel?), but they bake up in half the time. Essentially the handheld version of my sour cream coffee cake, these are absolutely perfect for serving to houseguests or as an afternoon pick-me-up (with or without a cup of coffee).
Why This Recipe WORKS
- Adjusted to perfection: I’ve tweaked and adjusted this recipe several times over the years, and this most recent iteration is my absolute favorite! I’ve added more brown sugar and cinnamon for depth of flavor AND more fat to help the muffins maintain their moisture longer. I also reduced the streusel amount just a bit after some complaints of too much streusel (as if there’s such a thing!).
- The easiest streusel (and plenty of it!). While many streusel recipes start with cold butter, mine begins with melted butter. It’s much easier and there’s no pastry cutter needed.
- Two tricks for fluffy texture and tall rise: rest the batter before baking and use two oven temperatures. I do this with quite a few of my muffin recipes now, and the results speak for themselves. If you want bakery-style muffins, this is the recipe for you!
Ingredients
Before we get started with the recipe, I want to highlight a few of the key ingredients that really make these coffee cake muffins shine ✨
- Cornstarch. A small amount of cornstarch replaces part of the flour to help lower the overall protein content. Thhis helps make the muffins (and other baked goods) soft and tender. This is a technique I use in many of my recipes, from cakes to my best chocolate chip cookie recipe.
- Oil & butter. I’ve recently adjusted this recipe and increased the amounts of both fats to up the moisture level in the muffins. This helps them stay tender and moist longer (but it won’t make them greasy or heavy!). A balance of both oil and butter (rather than just one or the other) gives us the perfect balance of moisture in the crumb (from the oil) and rich flavor (from the butter).
- Sour cream. Just like in my blueberry muffin recipe, I now prefer to use sour cream rather than buttermilk; it adds an moisture and depth of depth of flavor (without making the muffins taste like sour cream). Plain, full-fat Greek yogurt would also work, but sour cream has the edge in terms of flavor.
- Vanilla. We’re using plenty of vanilla here for classic cinnamon coffee cake flavor. If you’d like to make your glaze a vanilla glaze, you can add ⅛ teaspoon of vanilla extract. Just be careful not to add too much, or you could make it too sweet.
- Cinnamon. I’ve recently increased the amount of cinnamon in this recipe to make the muffins taste even more like coffee cake.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
SAM’S TIP: Room temperature ingredients will make the smoothest batter, so try to bring your eggs and sour cream out of the fridge ahead of time if you can.
How to Make Coffee Cake Muffins
- Step 1: Prep & rest the batter. Stir together the dry ingredients and sugars in a large bowl, then whisk together the wet ingredients in a large measuring cup or separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, then gently fold everything together until combined. The batter will be thick! Cover and let the batter rest while you preheat your oven and prep the streusel.
- Step 2: Make the streusel. Melt the butter, then set it aside to cool a bit while you whisk together your remaining ingredients. Once it’s no longer hot, use a fork to toss the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs (like in the photo above). Don’t overwork it or you’ll end up with a paste rather than a crumble.
- Step 3: Portion the batter. When your batter has rested and your oven is preheated, you’re ready to go! Note, the batter will be VERY thick at this point; I use an ice cream scoop for clean and even scooping, but two spoons will work too.
- Step 4: Add the streusel. Grab a handful of streusel and sprinkle/press it over each muffin. It will seem like a lot; try to make sure you pile it on the actual muffins and not on the edges of your pan.
- Step 5: Bake. Bake for 8 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature (don’t open the door!) and bake for another 12-14 minutes or until the muffins pass the toothpick test. Let them cool in the pan for a few minutes before carefully removing to a cooling rack.
- Step 6: Add the glaze (optional). Whisk together the glaze, then drizzle overtop; I recommend letting your muffins cool for a little bit before doing this, otherwise it will melt off.
SAM’S TIP: Let the glaze solidify before you dig in; it weirdly tastes too sweet if enjoyed while it’s still wet.
Frequently Asked Questions
I often get a lot of questions about the coffee when I share coffee cake recipes (like my coffee cake cookies!). Coffee cake is typically just a treat that’s served as a nice complement to your coffee, not one that’s made with coffee. Coffee cake and coffee-cake-inspired baked goods never actually taste like coffee.
This is intentional! A thicker batter creates a thicker, taller, fluffier muffin and we lean into this even more by resting the batter. After resting, you’ll notice it’s even thicker (I also do this with my buttermilk pancake recipe and it makes them SO thick and fluffy)!
More Recipes for Streusel Lovers
If you love streusel-topped muffins, try my pumpkin muffins, apple muffins, or banana muffins next!
Enjoy!
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Coffee Cake Muffins
Ingredients
For the muffins
- 1 ¾ cups (220 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- ⅓ cup (75 g) unsalted butter melted
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) neutral cooking oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240 g) sour cream
For the streusel topping
- 5 Tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (66 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- ⅓ cup (66 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
Glaze (optional)
- 1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons whole milk as needed
Recommended Equipment
- Muffin liners
Instructions
Prepare the muffin batter
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.1 ¾ cups (220 g) all-purpose flour, ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon table salt
- In a separate medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter and oil until smooth. Whisk in egg and vanilla extract followed by sour cream. Whisk until smooth and well combined.⅓ cup (75 g) unsalted butter, ⅓ cup (80 ml) neutral cooking oil, 1 large egg, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 cup (240 g) sour cream
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and use a spatula to gently fold together until just combined, no flour streaks remain. Set batter aside while you prepare the streusel topping.
- Preheat the oven. Preheat your oven to 425F (220C) and line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners, set aside. For best results, the coffee cake muffin batter should be allowed to rest in the bowl for at least 15-30 minutes. Prepare your streusel and let the oven preheat during this time.
Prepare the streusel
- Cut butter in pieces and melt. Set aside to cool slightly.5 Tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt.1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour, ⅓ cup (66 g) light brown sugar, ⅓ cup (66 g) granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon table salt
- Feel the bottom of the bowl your butter is in, it should not feel warm to the touch. Drizzle this over the dry ingredients and use a fork to claw the ingredients together until you have a crumbly streusel (do not stir or you’ll turn it into a paste, just toss/claw with a fork so you have a mixture of large and small clumps).
Assemble and bake
- Once batter has rested for at least 15-30 minutes, evenly divide the batter into prepared muffin tin. Divide the streusel evenly over the muffin batter.
- Transfer to center rack of 425F (220C) preheated oven and bake for 8 minutes. Once the 8 minutes has passed, do not open the oven door but turn the oven temperature down to 350F (175C) and continue to bake an additional 12-14 minutes until tops are beginning to turn a light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow muffins to cool in the tin for 7-10 minutes before carefully removing to a cooling rack to cool completely (if left in the tin for too long the bottoms could get greasy).
- Glaze: If desired, whisk together powdered sugar and milk until mixture is smooth and ribbons off the whisk. Drizzle glaze evenly over muffins (you can do this while the muffins are still warm). Allow to set before serving.1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar, 2-3 Tablespoons whole milk
Notes
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The muffins can also be frozen. Cool completely, wrap individually in plastic, and place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
This recipe was originally published in April of 2018. I’ve since (in 2026) updated it to improve the flavor and texture. If you’re looking for it, you can find the original recipe here.
Ginger Jordan
I doubled this recipe and it was very good. However, the amount of crumble topping was borderline ridiculous. I mean, I LOVE a good crumble, but it was so much I could barely pile it on top of the muffins, and then a lot of it fell off after baking when I took them out of the muffin pan or when people were eating them.
So, I’d say, delicious, but have your Dustbuster handy for crumbs…those that you don’t eat right off the floor with your fingers.
Cheryl
Delicious! But I think I overbaked a bit. 23 min and bottoms were too brown. Wonder if just less time or bake at 350 degrees instead.
Sam Merritt
I’m glad you ultimately enjoyed them! They may have just needed a minute or two less in the oven. 🙂
Gail
Best muffin recipe ever
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Gail! 🙂
Lisa
Hi! Can you add a cream cheese filling like the Blueberry Cream Cheese muffin?
Thanks!
Sam Merritt
Hi Lisa! I haven’t tried it, but I think that filling could work here. 🙂
Farah
Hi Sam,
These are amazing, like all of your recipes I’ve tried! I would love to make these jumbo, would I use the same instructions as you have in the blueberry muffin ones as far as cooking temps? I have successfully made those several times.
Thanks so much!
Sam
Hi Farah! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed them so much! I haven’t personally tried it, but I think the bake times on the jumbo blueberry muffins would be a good place to start when making these jumbo. 🙂
Martina Garizio
Need ing. list and amounts
Sam
Hi Martina! The ingredients and amounts are all listed above where you leave comments. 🙂
Kim
Can I add cinnamon chips to these coffee cake muffins?
Sam
Hi Kim! That should work. 🙂
Lizzie
When I bake I love making at least a double batch to have plenty to share with friends, family, and neighbors. Everyone immediately told me how much they loved them but to me, being a bit more picky as a good baker/chef should be, thought they were a bit on the dry side. Had great flavor, just dry, to me at least. Any tips on how to moisten them up a bit? I tried them warm fresh from oven, left covered in fridge after cooled a bit but still warm enough to leave a little condensation, and waited a day warmed in microwave. No change. Any tips/tricks would be much appreciated. Thanks for all the wonderful recipes. Keep them coming!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone has enjoyed them so much, Lizzie! If they are a bit dry they may have just needed a minute or two less in the oven. 🙂
Sabrina Popat
Oh my gosh this tastes so amazing I can’t share with anyone. Thank you so much for this recipe! ❤️
Paula
Hello-
As I love your coffee cake cookies and your blueberry muffin cookies, I was thinking of making these muffins and adding some fresh blueberries to the batter. What do you think? I prefer this crumble topping to a sugar/cinnamon topping which I seem to usually find in blueberry muffin recipes. Thank you!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Paula! That should work just fine here. We hope you love them!
Christine
Loved these! I accidentally switched the brown sugar and white sugar amounts and still turned out great! Love the crumb topping!
Ella
Hi this is the best recipe ever. Thank you for all your hard work. I had no problem making these muffins and my family loved them. Is there a way I can double the recipe?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad you love it, Ella! Yes, you can double the recipe without issue. Enjoy ☺️
Deb
I noticed this recipe uses buttermilk but does not call for baking soda. Some of your other recipes do call for baking soda when using buttermilk. What determines when to use baking soda along with the buttermilk, and when the baking soda is not needed? Just wanting to learn more about the science of baking when it comes to buttermilk in recipes😊
Thank you for all your great recipes!! 😊
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Deb! In recipes like this, the buttermilk is added to enhance the flavor and moisture of the final product. In recipes where baking soda is also used, the acidic buttermilk helps with leavening. We talk more about this in our baking powder vs. baking soda post and our buttermilk substitute post, if you’d like to read more 😊
Lynn
can you use all butter instead of half butter, half oil? I don’t like tasting the oil flavor in baked goods.
Sam
Hi Lynn! If you use a neutral oil you shouldn’t taste the flavor, with that being said, you can use all butter, but just note that the muffins may be a little more dry. 🙂
Deb
Sam, I have made your banana muffins and they are yummy 😊 I would like to make some of your other muffin recipes as well, all of which are made using buttermilk. Your banana muffin recipe and your pumpkin muffin recipes call for both baking soda and baking powder, which I realize is the norm when baking with buttermilk. But your chocolate chip muffins and coffee cake muffins recipes call only for baking powder, no baking soda. Is that because those two recipes have cornstarch in the recipes? Just curious 😉, absolutely not criticism meant 😊
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Deb! The banana muffins and pumpkin muffins use baking soda to create extra lift, since adding moist ingredients like the bananas and pumpkins could cause dense muffins. The chocolate chip and coffee cake muffins are fine with just the baking powder. Hope that helps! 😊