All of the flavors of classic coffee cake wrapped up in a streusel-topped muffin. PLUS tips on how to bake perfect muffins!
Yesterday, I was trying to decide what to make for breakfast and I just couldn’t decide between coffee cake or muffins—then it hit me: Why not combine all the flavors of a soft, moist coffee cake in a muffin form? Bingo. Coffee cake muffins were born.
It’s just mind-boggling to me HOW much these muffins taste like actual coffee cake!! From their super-soft and moist texture, to their crunchy, cinnamon-laced pecan streusel topping, these muffins are a dead ringer for classic coffee cake.
These muffins are made in half, yes, half the time it would take to make actual coffee cake. Now that’s an awesome time-saver if I ever saw one. I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to go back to regular coffee cake again after making these muffins!
Think these muffins are going to derail your diet? Think again! Hard to believe, but these muffins are actually on the lighter side. ♥ Unbelievable but true.
For all you newbie muffin makers, I explain below in detail the science behind making perfect muffins:
For you muffin-maker pros, just skip past all the nerdy muffin science to get to the recipe:
Let’s start with the batter—Several key ingredients are involved in ensuring that your muffins turn out soft and moist. Sour cream, buttermilk, eggs, (only 2) and oil. (only 1/4 cup!!) The reason we don’t need a lot of oil in these muffins, is because the sour cream and buttermilk make up for most of the moistness and softness that you would get from using just oil or regular milk, while the eggs and little bit of oil provide structure for your muffins. Don’t forget to add your vanilla extract for flavor!
Dry ingredients are as follows: Flour, (I use white whole wheat) coconut sugar, (brown sugar would be a fine substitute) baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon.
When you’re combining the liquid ingredients with the dry, make sure that you gently stir until the batter is just combined. (Any extra stirring will result in dry, tough muffins that you definitely do not want.) Your muffin batter will be very thick, like spoonable.
My favorite kind of muffin always involves a streusel topping, and what’s a coffee cake with out streusel, anyway? My streusel topping literally takes less than 5 minutes to throw together and just adds the perfect finishing touch to these muffins. — Chopped pecans, (or any nut you prefer!) flour, coconut sugar, ground cinnamon, and melted butter get tossed together until crumbly….
And they are then generously sprinkled over your filled muffin batter cups. Gently press crumbs on top of batter to make sure they stick while they bake.
Wondering how I get my muffins so nice and tall? There are 3 simple steps you must do to achieve sky-high muffins:
- Use a fairly large amount of baking powder in your muffins. I always use 4 teaspoons (yes, 4!) of baking powder in a 1 dozen batch of muffins. It helps the muffins rise nice and high, and provides a soft, fluffy texture.
- When you’re filling your muffin cups with batter, fill them to the brim for super-sized muffins.
- Bake your muffins at 400F for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 375F for an additional 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Those 5 minutes of bake time in a 400 degree oven will help your muffins rise faster and higher. (don’t try to bake your muffins at 400F for the entire bake-time, unless you’re fond of burned muffins)
Call me weird, but I just LOVE all the science behind making perfect muffins—My family has even dubbed me the “Master Muffin-Maker.” But believe me, it took me a long time to earn that title—I had to go through TONS of trial and error to discover the secrets of perfect muffin-making. My first muffins were slightly less than edible….*blush*
But lucky for you, you don’t have to go through trial-and-error muffin making—I have all the world’s greatest muffin tips right at your fingertips! So um, what are you waiting for? Pull out your muffin tin and get baking!
May I suggest that you try these coffee cake muffins, first?? A perfect start to your weekend!
Coffee Cake Muffins
Ingredients
- MUFFINS:
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 2-1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- STREUSEL TOPPING:
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs, sour cream, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla until smooth. In another large bowl, combine coconut sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Combine dry ingredients with liquid, gently folding until just combined.
- Fill prepared muffin cups to brim with batter and smooth tops. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, toss pecans, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over individual muffin batter, gently pressing on top of batter.
- Bake muffins at 400F 5 minutes, then reduce heat to 375F and continue baking 15-18 more minutes, or until just golden. Cool muffins in pan 10 minutes, before removing to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Looking for more muffins? Try these recipes next!
Pumpkin Pecan-Streusel Muffins
Jessica says
Where’s the buttermilk part in the recipe? In the detailed explanation above you had mentioned it.
Recipe looks delicious, I plan on making these for next week grab and go breakfast
Sarah says
So sorry about that, Jessica! Added the buttermilk part back into the recipe. I hope you enjoy these muffins! 😉
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
How good do these look? Love that crunchy crumb topping on top. And hurray that these cook twice as fast! If I’m baking for breakfast, I want it to be done as fast as possible so I can start eating it : )
Sarah says
You sound exactly like me, Natalie—I get very impatient waiting around in the morning for breakfast to finish baking and even when it is ready I have to do a photoshoot before I can eat! I think it drives my family crazy..LOL. Food blogger problems. 😉
What Jessica Baked Next... says
These look delicious, Sarah! Would make a great breakfast 🙂
Sarah says
Thank you, Jessica! 🙂
Allie | Baking a Moment says
Love those puffy tops and love that crumbly streusel! These muffins are picture perfect and your tips are so useful! Love!
Sarah says
The streusel on muffins gets me every time—I’m that kind of person who picks all the streusel off to eat it first and THEN eats the muffin. LOL. Thanks so much, Allie! 🙂
Shannon {Cozy Country Living} says
These look delicious! I would just love these muffins and so would my family! Pinned:)
Sarah says
Thanks for the pin and for the sweet compliments, Shannon! 🙂
Gloria // Simply Gloria says
Sarah, diet or not, I’d eat all of them. (Hate diets, by the way… they are over rated. Lol)
I am in love with how puffy they are on the top. Yep, I get excited about the little things! Have a great Saturday, my friend!
Sarah says
Sounds like you and I are on the same page as far as diets are concerned, Gloria—Who needs ’em anyway? 😉 Thanks for the sweet comment and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Rebecca @ Dorm Room Baker says
These muffins may be the perfect breakfast food. It’s basically single-serving coffee cake, which means that I won’t end up ‘accidentally’ eating half the cake all by myself haha. Awesome tips on muffin baking by the way :).
Sarah says
Haha! Your comment made me giggle. 😉 Totally agree with you—it’s just mind-boggling how coffee cake can disappear so quickly! Thanks, Rebecca! 😀
Kathy @ Olives & Garlic says
Sarah, I made these last night for a family get together. They were such a huge hit. I was hoping I’d have a few left but they’re all gone. Thanks for the recipe.
Sarah says
That just made my entire day, Kathy! I’m so thrilled you and your family loved the muffins! 😀
Sarah says
How does it get the coffee taste? Because I noticed that you don’t really put in anything to do with coffee.
Sarah says
It’s not actual coffee granules in these muffins, but rather the tastes and textures of actual coffee cake which doesn’t have coffee in it. 😉
Janelle Smith says
Im not the biggest fan of whole wheat flour, can I use regular all purpose flour in place of the wheat? if so do I need to change the amount?
Sarah says
Hi Janelle! I haven’t tested this recipe with all-purpose flour so I’m unsure of the exact measurements. However you can certainly try it! Just make sure the batter is fairly thick. Hope this helps!