Cinnamon Roll Muffins! All the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon of a yeasted roll but with the convenience of a muffin.
Morning Indulgence
Most mornings we rush to get organized and on to our activities - Zoom school or a conference call. The usual weekday breakfast is a quick bowl of cereal or maybe a rushed banana and a glass of juice. I think of it as sustenance. It will stave off hunger and get us moving in the morning. But if I am honest, it is a little boring.
I miss the days of lingering meals at a favorite breakfast joint. With the free and easy spirit of the weekend ahead, enjoying a hearty, flavorful meal, is what I crave.
Does anyone order breakfast appetizers? Occasionally, my sister-in-law would meet us for breakfast after her morning of Iron Man training. She would be ravenous, wanting something to nibble while waiting for her entree. Hence, the breakfast appetizer tradition. A huge cinnamon roll, warm and gooey, would often do the trick! Cut into pieces, everyone would lunge for their piece of a cinnamon roll.
What if we had this morning indulgence during the week also?
Quick bread recipe
I enjoy making quick breads. So much bang for your buck in the least amount of time. Dependent on chemical leaveners, quick breads don't require the proofing of a yeast roll. Don't get me wrong, baked goods made with yeast are a beautiful thing, fluffy and soft. However, a quick bread is immediate gratification. That is the idea of the cinnamon roll muffins. I want to enjoy that fissure of a brown sugar and cinnamon filling in the center of the muffin. I want the aroma of warm spices in the kitchen as the muffins bake. But most of all, I want to enjoy a warm and gooey muffin without waiting.
Texture
There are a couple of textures competing for your attention in these muffins. On the top is streusel made with oats for a delightful crunch when you bite into the muffin.
But probably my favorite part is the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon filling. For a different flavor note, I add a teaspoon of cardamom. It plays very nicely with the cinnamon and adds a floral note to the filling.
It is important when folding the filling into the batter, only give it about 3 turns. The idea is to have some pretty healthy streaks of the filling in the muffins. It should remind you of pulling a cinnamon roll apart and seeing all the goodness.
Lastly, there is cream cheese icing for a creamy and tangy contrast to the sweet and sugary muffin.
Weekend treat any day of the week
The beauty of these muffins is that they take less than 30 minutes to bake. If you want to streamline the process in the morning, mix the dry ingredients the night before. The filling and the streusel can be assembled the night before as well.
Don't wait until the weekend to enjoy a sweet treat for breakfast. These Cinnamon Roll Muffins will the bright spot of your weekday!
Cinnamon Roll Muffins
Equipment
- muffin tin
- paper liners
Ingredients
Cinnamon Filling
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsalted melted butter
Oatmeal Streusel
- 2 tablespoons unsalted melted butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons oats
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Muffin Batter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted melted butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Icing
- 4 ounces softened cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line the muffin tin with the paper liners.
Cinnamon Filling
- Combine cinnamon, cardamom, and kosher salt. Add the spice mix to the brown sugar and mix until thoroughly combined. Add the melted butter and stir until the sugar is completely moistened.
Oatmeal Streusel
- Mix the flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon, and salt together. Add the melted butter and mix until dry ingredients are completely moistened. It will be a loose mixture.
Mix the batter
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients - flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon of salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter with the eggs. Mix until the eggs are completely incorporated. Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract and whisk together.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Only mix until all ingredients are combined.
- Add the cinnamon filling to the top of the batter. Using a spatula, fold the cinnamon filling into the batter. Only fold about 3 times. The filling should be in big streaks in the batter. It should be completely incorporated.
- Fill each cup of the muffin tin about ¾ full. There should be enough batter for all 12 cups.
- Top each muffin with the streusel, about 2 tablespoons.
- Bake for approximately 23 minutes.
Cream Cheese Icing
- While the muffins bake, mix the cream cheese with the powdered sugar. Add the heavy cream a tablespoon at a time until the icing is loose enough to be spread with a knife.
- Spread the cream cheese icing on the muffins after cooling for about 10 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Leave a Reply