Cinnamon Muffins | Cookies & Cups

Things to Love About These Cinnamon Muffins

Ah, cinnamon muffins, how I love you. Let us count the ways. This recipe makes big, fluffy breakfast muffins bursting with wholesome oats, chocolate chips, and all the flavors of a freshly baked cinnamon roll. They’re soft and buttery, complete with a gooey cinnamon sugar layer inside. Here’s why they’re a morning treat to have on repeat:

• Cinnamon roll-inspired. Whenever I don’t feel up to the task of making classic yeasted cinnamon rolls, these cinnamon muffins are a delicious (and very close) second. They even have that gooey filling I crave in the real thing!
• Easy to make. These muffins have a buttery oat topping, cinnamon sugar filling, and the muffin itself (plus a glaze, because I couldn’t resist). The recipe is very beginner-friendly, though, and each step takes just a few minutes. 
• Baked in 20 minutes. With a quick, 20-minute baking time, these muffins are perfect for a weekend morning. You’ll need to budget another 15-20 minutes of prep time, but you can have soft, fluffy cinnamon muffins ready for the breakfast table in under an hour.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Many of the ingredients for the filling, topping, and muffin batter overlap, and almost all of them are pantry staples. Here are some notes to get things started. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for the full ingredients list, amounts, and recipe details.

For the Muffins

• Butter – Salted or unsalted, melted in the microwave. 
• Milk – This can be whole milk, 2%, or any dairy or non-dairy milk you have on hand.
• Eggs – You can bring these to room temperature.
• Flour – All-purpose flour works perfectly here.
• Oats – I recommend using old-fashioned (rolled) oats. Avoid instant oats as they tend to be mushy.
• Cornstarch – The secret to extra soft, fluffy, and tender muffins.
• Baking Powder and Salt – Be sure to check the dates on your baking powder to ensure it’s not expired.
• Spices – Since there’s plenty of cinnamon in the filling, I flavor the muffins with ground nutmeg. You can also use cinnamon here.
• Chocolate Chips – I use white chocolate chips, but any kind goes. You can use milk, dark, or semisweet chocolate chips, or leave them out altogether if you prefer.
• Streusel – I make a variation of a streusel topping with oats, brown sugar, flour, softened butter, and cinnamon.
• Glaze – I finish these cinnamon muffins with a simple (optional) glaze made from powdered sugar, softened butter, and milk. 

For the Filling

• Butter – Also melted.
• Brown Sugar – This can be light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, it’s up to you. Granulated sugar will also work in a pinch.
• Cinnamon – Ground cinnamon, or you can use a blend of warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice.

How to Make Cinnamon Muffins

A few steps are involved in making these cinnamon sugar-filled cinnamon muffins, but don’t worry. All of them are super easy! Follow below and scroll down to the recipe card for the printable instructions.

Recipe Tips

• Preheat the oven. Make sure that your oven is fully preheated to 400ºF before you bake your cinnamon muffins (or any muffins, for that matter). Muffins need high heat to get those tall, beautiful domes just like you see in the bakeries!
• Don’t overmix the muffin batter. As is the case with most baked goods, overmixing the batter for these cinnamon muffins will yield dense, tough, chewy muffins instead of light, fluffy ones. Fold the ingredients together gently and be careful not to overwork the batter once you’ve combined the wet and dry ingredients.
• Adapt the consistency of the glaze. If you’re glazing your cinnamon muffins, you can add more milk to thin out the glaze, or more powdered sugar to help thicken it.
• More add-ins. These muffins are pretty fully loaded as-is, but if you want to, you can substitute the white chocolate chips with different add-ins like blueberries, cranberries, or chopped nuts, like pecans.

How to Store Homemade Muffins

• At room temperature. These cinnamon muffins are at their freshest when stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can keep them in the fridge, but I suggest taking them out ahead to enjoy them at room temperature.
• Freeze. I recommend freezing these cinnamon muffins unglazed. Let the muffins cool completely and store them in a freezer bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months, and thaw at room temperature for serving.