Coffee Cake Muffins

This quick and easy coffee cake muffin recipe is helping us learn the Muffin Mixing method which is used for muffins, quickbreads (like banana bread or pumpkin bread) and some cakes. It couldn't be easier - combine all of your dry ingredients in one bowl and all of your wet ingredients in another bowl and then combine the two bowls stirring as little as possible which gives you a tender baked good. I've also included a streusel crumb topping like bakery style muffins that is easy to make and adds a professional touch to your muffins. You can add the streusel to any muffin mix or recipe you already use.

Coffee Cake Muffins

Yield: 12 standard sized muffins

Ingredients:

For the muffins

  • 1/4 cup melted butter

  • 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

  • 1 egg + 1 egg white

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • 1/2 cup buttermilk or milk

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar

  • 1/4 cup brown sugar

  • 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Streusel Topping:

  • 1 1/4 cup flour

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar

  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar

  • 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted

  • Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Equipment:

  • three medium sized bowls

  • one silicone spatula or fork

  • measuring cups and spoons

  • one standard 12 muffin pan or a loaf pan

  • paper muffin liners (optional)


Step 1: Wash your hands with soap and water


Step 2: Mise en Place

This means gathering all your ingredients and equipment ahead of time so that you don't have to run around the kitchen while baking.

What if you don't have buttermilk?

f you don’t have buttermilk you have a couple of options.

1: Make your own. To the ½ cup of milk called for in the recipe, add ½ tablespoon of vinegar (white or apple cider) or lemon juice. Let sit until slightly thickened

2. Just use milk in place of buttermilk. The buttermilk is more acidic which helps the baking powder activate better, so using regular milk might make them a little denser, but won’t ruin the recipe.



Step 3: Make streusel topping

Go ahead and make the streusel. You’ll want to bake your muffins as soon as they’re baked so if you already have the topping ready to go you’re closer to your goal.

Streusel Topping:

  • 1 1/4 cup flour

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar

  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar

  • 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted




Combine all ingredients for the streusel in one bowl except for the melted butter. Stir to combine the ingredients. Add the butter and mix with a fork until crumbles start to form.




You can tell it’s ready when you can easily clump it together in your hand and break it apart into smaller pieces. Now set it aside for later.


Step 4: Combine wet ingredients in one bowl and dry ingredients in another bowl

In one bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, corn starch, sugars, salt and cinnamon. We are stirring to make sure ingredients are evenly distributed which will shorten the amount of time we need to stir when the liquids are in.

Dry Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar

  • 1/4 cup brown sugar

  • 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt




In another bowl, add eggs, oil, melted butter, buttermilk (or milk) and vanilla extract. Give it a quick stir to evenly distribute ingredients.


Wet Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup melted butter

  • 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

  • 1 egg + 1 egg white

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • 1/2 cup buttermilk or milk

Step 5: pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir to combine JUST until mixed -- lumps are OK

Gently stir the ingredients together just until mixed. Some lumps are OK, they will bake out and mixing the batter until it is perfectly smooth might do more harm than good by developing gluten and making them tough and chewy.



Step 6: Line a muffin pan with paper liners or spray with cooking spray

If you have paper cupcake liners, use those. If you don’t, spray your cupcake pan with baking spray (like pam)

If you don’t have a muffin pan, you can bake this batter in a cake pan or a bread loaf pan, but you might need to adjust the baking time. Either way, spray with baking spray

Step 7: Evenly divide your batter between the 12 muffin cups

We used a portion scoop to make sure our muffins were even, but if you don’t have one at home, just use a spoon and do your best to make them even.

Step 8: Top with streusel topping

Top with streusel, pile it on, and gently press it in, as your muffins rise in the oven, if it hasn’t been pressed in the topping will fall off.

Step 9: Bake in 375 degree oven for 18-22 minutes

Going in the oven


after 10 minutes -- you can see them starting to rise because of the baking powder which is a chemical leavener.


All done at 20 minutes. I think I could have pulled mine out just a minute or two earlier. To check to see if they are done, just lightly press your finger on the top of a muffin and see if it feels solid and springs back.

Optional - Dust with powdered sugar

I'd recommend carefully removing your muffins from the pan as soon as you can to let them cool, this will keep them from continuing to bake, but life happens. So I added the powdered sugar after my muffins cooled in the pan.

How to store your muffins

If your family isn’t going to eat 12 muffins in 1 day, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature.

You can also freeze them in a large ziploc bag or airtight container for up to 6 months. You can pull out one at a time and re-warm them in the oven or microwave.