Coffee Cake Muffins

These coffee cake muffins have all the buttery cinnamon streusel and tender crumb of a classic coffee cake, portioned into a handheld muffin you can pull from the pan in under 30 minutes.

I made these on a Sunday morning for brunch and they were gone by afternoon. The streusel stayed crunchy even after cooling, which I was not expecting from a muffin. Definitely making a double batch next time.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Renata

Coffee cake has always been one of those things that is delicious and comforting. These muffins hit that spot exactly, warm cinnamon, buttery topping, soft middle, and nothing in the recipe that requires too much work.

They’re a natural fit for a weekend brunch spread or a slow weekday morning with a cup of coffee, which is honestly how I eat most of them. If you’re a fan of this kind of crumbly, cinnamon-forward bake, my Berry Coffee Cake is worth bookmarking for your next weekend bake.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• All-Purpose Flour
• Granulated Sugar: It sweetens the batter and helps the muffins bake up with a soft, even crumb. Brown sugar is used in the streusel alongside it, so keep both on hand.
• Brown Sugar: It goes into the streusel topping and adds a deep, caramel-like sweetness that plain granulated sugar can’t replicate on its own.
• Ground Cinnamon: It flavors the streusel and gives these coffee cake muffins that warm, spiced quality that makes them taste like actual coffee cake. If you love a stronger cinnamon flavor, you can nudge the amount slightly, but the recipe is well-balanced as written.
• Unsalted Butter: It appears twice here, once cold and cubed for the streusel and once melted and cooled for the batter. Cold butter in the streusel is what creates those distinct, crumbly clumps rather than a paste, so don’t skip the chilling step if your kitchen runs warm.
• Low Fat Buttermilk: It keeps the muffin crumb tender and moist by reacting with the baking soda to create a light, even lift. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, stir a teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice into regular milk and let it sit for five minutes before using.
• Vanilla Extract
• Large Egg
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda:

Variations for Coffee Cake Muffins

• Blueberry Streusel: Fold a cup of fresh or frozen blueberries into the batter just before filling the muffin cups. The berries add pockets of jammy sweetness that work really well against the cinnamon streusel.
• Apple Cinnamon: Stir in a half cup of finely diced apple and a pinch of extra cinnamon into the batter. If you want to go all in on the apple flavor, a spoonful of Apple Pie Filling Recipe layered into the center of each muffin before adding the streusel is a great move.
• Cream Cheese Swirl: Drop a small spoonful of softened cream cheese mixed with a little sugar into the center of each muffin cup before adding the streusel. It bakes into a tangy, creamy center like these pumpkin cream cheese muffins!
• Change the spice: You can make this with my apple pie spice or pumpkin spice recipe! Swap 1:1 with the cinnamon.

Professional Tips for Perfect Coffee Cake Muffins

• Don’t skip the cold butter in the streusel. The crumbly, clumpy texture of a good streusel depends on the butter staying cold as you work it in. If your kitchen runs warm, cube the butter and pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes before you start, and work quickly with your fingers or a fork so your hands don’t melt it.
• Stop mixing as soon as the batter comes together. Overmixed muffin batter develops too much gluten and bakes up tough and rubbery instead of tender. A few visible lumps in the batter are completely fine, and that’s exactly what you want to see before you start filling the cups.
• Press the streusel gently into the batter before baking. Just a light press with your fingertips helps the topping adhere so it doesn’t slide off or scatter around the pan as the muffins rise. You want it anchored enough to stay put, but not packed down so tight that it loses its crumbly texture.

How to Make Coffee Cake Muffins

Use these step-by-step instructions to make tender, streusel-topped coffee cake muffins with a soft crumb and crunchy cinnamon topping. Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Preheat and prep your pan. Preheat your oven to 375°F conventional and line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Make the streusel topping:

Step 2: In a small bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon and stir them together with a fork. Add the cold cubed butter and use a fork or your fingertips to work it into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse, clumpy crumbs, with some pea-sized pieces still visible. That uneven, shaggy texture is exactly what you’re after. Set the bowl aside. (photos 1 & 2 above)

Make the batter:

Step 3: Whisk the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined. (photo 3)

Step 4: Whisk the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted and cooled butter, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and egg until the mixture looks smooth and uniform. The butter needs to be cooled rather than hot so it doesn’t scramble the egg when they come together. If the mixture looks slightly curdled at first, keep whisking; it will come together. (photo 4)

Step 5: Combine wet and dry. Pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and gently stir with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. The batter will look a little lumpy, and that’s completely fine! Stop mixing the moment you no longer see dry streaks of flour. A few lumps in the batter are a sign you’ve done this right, not a sign something went wrong. (photo 5)

Assemble and bake:

Step 6: Fill the muffin tin. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin liners, filling each cup about two-thirds full. The batter is thick, so a cookie scoop or two spoons work well here to keep the portions consistent without making a mess. Don’t be tempted to fill them fuller — the streusel and the muffin both need room to rise.

Step 7: Add the streusel. Sprinkle the streusel topping generously over each muffin, then press it lightly into the batter with your fingertips. That gentle press keeps the crumbs anchored during baking so they don’t slide off when the muffins rise. You want a generous layer, not a flat dusting. (photo 6)

Step 8: Bake. Bake the muffins for 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean with no wet batter clinging to it. The streusel will deepen in color and smell of warm cinnamon when the muffins are nearly done. Check at 18 minutes and add a minute or two only if needed.

Step 9: Cool and serve. Remove the muffins from the oven and let them rest in the tin for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack. That short rest helps them firm up just enough, so they don’t fall apart when you lift them out. Once cooled, serve as-is or drizzle with vanilla glaze if you’d like a little extra sweetness. (photo 7)

Recipe FAQs

Before You Go

These coffee cake muffins are the kind of bake worth keeping on repeat, and there’s plenty more where they came from. Browse our Breakfast & Brunch Recipes or make these buttermilk pancakes next!