Cinnamon Muffins

Published: Mar 10, 2023 by Kate · This post may contain affiliate links

These are the BEST cinnamon muffins you will ever eat! They are not only easy to make, but pack a strong cinnamon punch. There's cinnamon in the batter, as well as a swirl of cinnamon brown sugar running through the middle of the muffin. And, there's cinnamon sugar baked on top too, of course!

Note: this post was originally published in 2021 and updated in 2022 and 2023 with improved instructions and photos.

Cinnamon may be considered somewhat of a "common" flavor, but I think it deserves to be celebrated! And in this cinnamon muffin recipe, cinnamon really is at the forefront.

Why these are the best cinnamon muffins

In my humble opinion, these are the best muffins for anyone who really loves cinnamon! In fact, cinnamon has found its way into these muffins in THREE different ways!

First, the muffin batter itself includes cinnamon (of course!).

Then, there is a nice crunchy topping of cinnamon brown sugar. This cinnamon brown sugar topping is baked into the top of the muffin, which gives the tops that irresistible crackly crunchy texture that is so fun to bite into.

And finally, for an added cinnamon surprise, there is a ribbon of cinnamon brown sugar running right through the middle of the muffin!

The muffins themselves are super tender and moist, because this muffin recipe uses oil and brown sugar in the batter, both of which add a ton of moisture to the batter.

I hope you can see that this easy cinnamon muffin recipe is a match made in heaven for all you cinnamon lovers out there!

Jump to:

Why these are the best cinnamon muffins
Recipe ingredients
Equipment needed
Step by step photos
Tips and tricks
Storage and reheating instructions
Substitutions and additions
Recipe FAQs
Related recipes
📖 Recipe

Recipe ingredients

cinnamon muffin ingredients on white tray with text labels

Ingredient notes

Oil: you can use any neutral oil you have in your cabinet for these muffins. I used canola oil, but any vegetable oil would work fine, or even grapeseed oil if you have it.

Milk: I used 2% because that's what I had in my fridge, but whole milk or skim milk would also work well.

Brown sugar: I used dark brown sugar for these cinnamon muffins because I prefer the extra molasses-y flavor. But, light brown sugar would be ok to use too.

Equipment needed

In addition to the basics (bowl, whisk, measuring cups/spoons), a few additional pieces of equipment will come in handy for this cinnamon muffin recipe:

12-cup muffin tin: you just need the standard-size cupcake/muffin tin that makes 12 muffins.

cupcake liners (optional): you can use any type - either paper, foil, or reusable silicone. If you don't have liners, you can just grease the muffin tin very well.

kitchen scale (optional): in the recipe card, I provide both volume and weight measurements, so a scale is optional. But, if you have a kitchen scale, I prefer to use the weight measurements because it's more accurate and efficient.

Step by step photos

Here is a step by step breakdown on how to make this cinnamon muffin recipe. If you would like to see a brief slideshow of these steps, you can check out my web story!

1. First, fill a 12-cup muffin tin with liners, or grease the muffin tin well. Set aside. Also, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).

hand placing brown paper liners in muffin tin

2. Then, mix together the cinnamon and brown sugar for the cinnamon sugar topping. Set it aside for now.

small container of cinnamon sugar being mixed with metal spoon

3. Next, whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

dry muffin ingredients being whisked in glass bowl

4. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients with the brown and granulated sugars.

whisk mixing wet muffin ingredients in glass bowl

5. Then, add the dry ingredients into the wet in a few batches, whisking gently in between each addition. Whisk just until the flour is incorporated - don't overmix! There will be a couple lumps still and that's ok.

whisk mixing flour into wet muffin ingredients

cinnamon muffin batter being whisked in glass bowl

6. Retrieve the prepared muffin tin. Fill each muffin tin about ⅓ of the way full.

metal measuring cup pouring muffin batter into paper liners set into muffin tin

7. Then, sprinkle some of the cinnamon sugar mixture across the surface of each partially-filled cinnamon muffin.

small spoon sprinkling cinnamon sugar over muffin batter in muffin tin

8. Now just top off the muffins with the rest of the batter.

metal measuring cup pouring muffin batter overtop cinnamon layer in muffin tin

9. Distribute the rest of the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the muffin batter.

hand sprinkling cinnamon sugar over muffin batter in muffin tin

10. Bake the cinnamon muffins until the tops are firm, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with no wet batter. The muffin tops should look a little crackly and nicely browned, like this!

baked cinnamon muffins resting in metal muffin tin

Tips and tricks

How to measure flour for baking

One of the best ways to baking success, for cinnamon muffins or any baked good, is to properly measure the flour. If you add too much, this can result in dry baked goods. There are two good ways to measure flour: by weight, or using the spoon and level technique.

Measuring by weight, using a kitchen scale, is the easiest and most accurate way. And, you don't even need to dirty a measuring cup!

To measure by weight, just place the mixing bowl on the scale, zero it out, and add in the flour until it reaches the correct amount in grams. For this recipe, you need 248 grams.

If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level technique to measure by volume. Just place spoonfuls of flour into the measuring cup until it's full, then sweep the excess off with a flat edge (like a butter knife).

If you use the measuring cup to scoop the flour out of the container, the flour will compress and you will get too much flour in the recipe.

Other tips and tricks

Before adding it to the rest of the wet ingredients, inspect the brown sugar. If it has a lot of lumps, break them up first with your fingers or a fork. Once the brown sugar is in the batter it will be really difficult to break up those lumps.

If you really like cinnamon, you can up the amount of cinnamon in the cinnamon sugar topping from 1 ½ teaspoons to a full 2 teaspoons. I've made the cinnamon muffins both ways, and I kind of like the lesser amount while my husband prefers the more cinnamon-y version!

To create a pleasing "ribbon" effect of cinnamon sugar running through the center of the muffin, it helps to apply the center layer of cinnamon sugar evenly across the surface of the batter, rather than just in the center. But, it will taste amazing either way so don't sweat it too much!

Storage and reheating instructions

These muffins will keep for 2 - 3 days at room temperature, stored in an airtight container.

After about a day, the brown sugar cinnamon topping on the muffins can lose some of its crispiness. To bring back some of that delicious crunch, you can re-heat the cinnamon muffins in a toaster oven for 1 - 2 minutes.

If you want to keep the muffins for longer, you can freeze them! They will keep for 2 - 3 months in the freezer. I like to wrap them individually, or store them in a quart or gallon zip-top bag. Here is a good resource on how to freeze muffins.

Substitutions and additions

I like using oil in muffins because it gives a nice soft texture to the muffins. But, if you like the flavor of butter, you can replace half or all of the oil with melted and cooled butter. If using butter, use room-temperature eggs and milk in the batter.

If you don't like or don't have nutmeg, feel free to leave it out. Or, you can replace the pinch of nutmeg with another warm spice, such as ground ginger, cloves or allspice.

To take your cinnamon muffin experience to the next level, try mixing a handful of raisins, mini chocolate chips, or chopped nuts into the batter.

Recipe FAQs

Do my eggs and milk have to be at room temperature?

For some of my baking recipes, like this one for Brown Butter Apple Muffins, I call for the eggs and milk to be at room temperature. While that certainly won't hurt anything here, I did use the eggs and milk straight from the fridge for this cinnamon muffin recipe.

Usually adding cold milk and eggs to anything with butter will cause the batter to curdle, but since oil is used in this recipe instead, I was still able to get a smooth batter that rose well, even with cold milk and eggs.

How do I make sure the cinnamon muffins are moist and fluffy?

First, make sure to measure the flour accurately. Too much flour in the muffin batter can make the muffins dry. So, spoon the flour from the container into the measuring cup, rather than using the measuring cup to scoop the flour out of the container. Or, better yet, use the weight measurement provided in the recipe card. I talk more about these techniques in the Tips and tricks section above.

Also, do not overmix the muffin batter. Overmixing the batter can make the muffins tough. Stop mixing once the flour is all moistened, even if there are a few lumps left.

Finally, do not overbake the muffins. Overbaking the muffins can also make them dry.

Do I need to use cupcake liners for this recipe?

I prefer to use liners - it takes the stress out of wondering whether you greased the tin enough for the muffins to come out! But, I have been able to remove these cinnamon muffins fairly easily from a well-greased, unlined tin (unlike my recipe for blackberry buttermilk muffins!).

If you don't want to use liners, just grease the tin well with non-stick cooking spray, including the top of the tin. This is to prevent the edges that puff up over the top of the cup from sticking.

Can I double this recipe?

Yes, you can very easily double the recipe. This cinnamon muffin recipe makes 12 large muffins. If you have two muffin tins, you can bake them at the same time (if you have the oven space). If not, you can mix up the double batch of batter, and then bake them in two batches.

cinnamon muffin on white surface with cinnamon sticks on the side

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