My favorite way to end a meal is to discuss what we should serve at the next one. So get ready, you deliciously cozy Coffee Cake Muffins, ‘cause we’re coming for ya!
One of the infinite reasons I love my family is that we, a group of serious food lovers, never end one holiday feast without a detailed game plan for the subsequent feast.
So naturally, at Thanksgiving, we were debating the Christmas brunch menu and realized the possibilities for sweet breakfast recipes are endless.
From decadent Chocolate Muffins to Apple Coffee Cake, you can find something for everyone.
No one could agree on a frontrunner until one of us mentioned bakery-style coffee cake muffins with streusel topping.
Voilà. Unanimous approval!
5 Star Review
“Literally just finished making these delicious coffee cake muffins!!! HUGE HIT”
— Vikki —
Approval of these fluffy and moist coffee cake muffins isn’t unique to my family.
If you’re looking for a crowd-pleasing brunch recipe, coffee cake is one of the most universally appealing options (hello, Cranberry Coffee Cake).
I mean, what’s not to adore?
A tender, buttery cake base, brown sugar crumb topping, plus a drizzle of glaze and warm cinnamon spices? Sign me up!
While this easy coffee cake muffin recipe does lean more decadent than my usual lineup of healthy muffin recipes, I still managed to squeeze in a few sneaky swaps to make these a healthy coffee cake muffin recipe without sacrificing moisture or flavor.
- Part of the granulated sugar is replaced with honey (the honey’s flavor is divine with the crumb topping).
- I used Greek yogurt instead of making traditional coffee cake muffins with sour cream. It has the same moisture and tang but is higher in protein and lower in fat.
How to Make Coffee Cake Muffins
Everything you love about Grandma’s Coffee Bundt Cake in single-serving muffin form.
The muffins bake up in a jiffy and make it easy for each person to take their own individual serving.
The Ingredients
- All Purpose Flour. For fluffy, soft, and tender muffins that melt in your mouth.
- Whole Milk. Adds just the right amount of richness without being too heavy.
- Greek Yogurt. Instead of sour cream, I opted to use similarly tangy nonfat Greek yogurt (like in these Banana Bran Muffins). With protein and probiotics, Greek yogurt is a very nutritional swap.
- Cinnamon + Nutmeg + Allspice. With its warmth and appeal, cinnamon is a coffee cake essential. Nutmeg takes things a step further by adding a nutty flavor. Allspice adds a homey, holiday taste. (These Gingerbread Apple Muffins have a similar spice profile.)
- Honey. Instead of using all refined sugar in this recipe, I supplemented with honey for some natural sweetness (like in these Zucchini Carrot Muffins).
- Vanilla. Cinnamon coffee cake wouldn’t be complete without the coziness of vanilla.
- Lemon Zest. I love how an unexpected touch of lemon zest brightens everything up.
- Streusel Topping. Flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and butter create our wonderful streusel topping. It’s sweet, crumbly, and packed with warm spices. (I use a similar topping on Blueberry Buckle and Almond Berry Coffee Cake.)
- Glaze. Powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk make up our glaze. It’s truly the “icing” on the (coffee) cake!
The Directions
- Whisk the milk and yogurt together in one bowl and let it sit. Mix the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl
- Make the streusel. Place in the fridge to keep chilled.
- In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
- Whisk the remaining wet ingredients into the milk mixture.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Pour the batter into the wells of a muffin pan and scatter with streusel over the tops.
- Bake coffee cake at 400 degrees F for 18 minutes. Remove and let cool. Stir together the glaze, then drizzle over the top of the cooled muffins. ENJOY!
Storage Tips
- To Store. Muffins can be stored in a paper towel-lined airtight storage container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- To Freeze. Freeze muffins in an airtight freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Thaw and enjoy as desired.
Storage Tips
For even more storage tips and tricks, check out my post on how to store muffins.
What to Serve with Coffee Cake Muffins
Recommended Tools
- Muffin Pan. A must-have for making coffee cake muffins.
- Muffin Scoop. Essential for even baking, and it makes the muffins more fluffy too.
- Whisk. Once you try this smaller, more convenient size, you’ll never want to go back.
- Mixing Bowls. With an array of sizes, this durable set will help you prepare all the ingredients for this recipe.
The Best Muffin Pan
If you’re a fan of muffins and cupcakes, this muffin pan is ideal. The lid makes it easy to store and transport any freshly-baked goods.
These coffee cake muffins with streusel topping make me SO excited for a festive brunch!
(And the planning of our next holiday menu—which I hope includes Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins.)
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Traditionally, coffee cake muffins and other coffee cake recipes don’t actually contain coffee as an ingredient. They get their name because they’re a sweet breakfast treat often served alongside coffee.
I have not tried baking these muffins as a coffee cake loaf, so it would be an experiment. If you attempt, know that the baking time will likely need to increase in order to bake completely. Alternatively, try this Pumpkin Coffee Cake.
I have not made these muffins this way, but I imagine it could be done. Prepare and bake as directed, watching them closely, so they do not overbake in the oven. If you’re looking for a healthy, naturally sweetened muffin, try these Applesauce Muffins.
I have not tried making vegan coffee cake muffins from this recipe, so it would be an experiment. If you’re looking for a vegan-friendly recipe, try these Vegan Pumpkin Muffins.
Coffee Cake Muffins
Ingredients
FOR THE MUFFINS:
- 2/3 cup whole milk at room temperature
- 1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt at room temperature
- 2 cups all purpose flour or swap for a gluten free 1:1 baking flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 5 tablespoons canola oil or light olive oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 small lemon
FOR THE STREUSEL:
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour or swap for a gluten free 1:1 baking flour
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
FOR THE GLAZE:
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a standard 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray or fit the cups with paper liners and coat the liners with nonstick spray (I find these muffins work best with liners, but if you don't have any on hand, they'll still turn out OK).
- Start the muffins: In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk and Greek yogurt. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- Make the streusel: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice. Add the butter, and working quickly with your fingers, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until you are left with irregular crumbs. The dry ingredients should all feel moist; some crumbs will be like crumbs of wet sand; other crumbs can be as large as small peas. Place the mixture in the refrigerator.
- Return to the muffins: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt.
- To the bowl with the milk mixture, add the eggs, oil, honey, vanilla extract, and lemon zest (if using). Whisk until well blended.
- Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients. With a rubber spatula, stir quickly but gently to combine, stopping as soon as the flour disappears. It will look a little lumpy.
- Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling them no more than 3/4 of the way to the top.
- Remove the streusel from the refrigerator and scatter the crumbs over the top of the muffins (Go ahead, use it all!).
- Bake the muffins for 18 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Place the muffin pan on a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Gently remove the muffins from the pan (a butter knife can help) and place them on the wire rack to cool completely. Do not let them sit in the muffin pan for longer than 5 minutes, or they may become soggy. The muffins will be very delicate at first but will firm up as they rest.
- Make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Drizzle over the top of the cooled muffins. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- TO STORE: Muffins can be stored in a paper towel-lined airtight storage container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- TO FREEZE: Freeze muffins in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Thaw and enjoy as desired.
Nutrition
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Hi, could you also make this as a coffee cake (maybe an 8×8 or 9×9)? Love your recipes! Thank you.
Hi Renee! I haven’t tried this myself, but you could experiment with it. If you decide to play around with it, I’d love to hear how it goes!
Literally just finished making these delicious coffee cake muffins!!! HUGE HIT with four kids and their friends – 18, 16, twin 12’s all a mix of boys and girls. Even the hubby loved them! Thank you!!!! Keep them coming!!!
I’m so happy that they were a hit, Vikki! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Loved the lemon zest! Very tasty and decadent muffins. Didn’t realize the streusel was supposed to be refrigerated until the recipe said to take it out of the fridge. Also, does the flour need to be sifted for your muffin recipes? Does it matter? And would all purpose flour result in more batter than 1:1? Ended up with enough batter for 14-15 muffins even though I used a standard muffin pan. Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed them, Lisa! Thank you for sharing this kind review! You do not need to sift the flour, and all-purpose flour should yield the same results.
Can you use skim milk?
Hi Nanci! You can experiment with skim milk, but the muffins likely won’t taste as rich and may be drier. I hope you enjoy the recipe if you try it!
These had a delicious flavor but ended up pretty dry. Any suggestions on where I went wrong?
I’m sorry that these turned out dry for you, Nicole. It’s so hard to say what might’ve happened without being in the kitchen with you. Did you make any adjustments to the recipe? I’m happy you still enjoyed the flavor though!
don’t think there is any coffee in the recipe?? i’m so confused! these look so yum and halfway through baking but where is the coffee?!
Hi Lili! There actually isn’t any coffee in this recipe (coffee cake is typically served alongside coffee or tea). I hope you enjoyed the muffins!
Made these muffins for the first time for a group of ladies. Made on Friday morning, served on Sunday morning. Stunningly delicious, but it was reported that they felt they were too dense. Not sure what I may have done wrong, but would definitely make these muffins again. Normally, I don’t like to tackle recipes with as many ingredients as these require, but they are a very special treat!
Hi Nancy! I’m sorry to hear that there was a problem with the muffins. It’s hard to know what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you. Were any ingredients substituted? Were the ingredients measured correctly. I’ve tested these multiple times before putting them here on my site and have not had this problem.
Lovely! The streusel topping got crunchy, and I love the warm spices! For anyone curious about substitutes, I used oatmilk instead of whole milk and flax eggs for the eggs, and they still came out tender and delicious with a cup of hot tea :)
Hi Lisa! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Yum!
Hi Anna! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank for this kind review!
Great!! I made a batch for my husband’s birthday breakfast. You may not know this but not all recipes adapt to diabetic-friendly well these were perfect and easy to adapt.
Hi Tabitha! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!