Coffee Cake Muffins

Tender & sweet glazed coffee cake muffins filled with a brown sugar streusel are the perfect breakfast treat!!

I’ve always been a huge fan of Coffee Cake, so to have it in a muffin form with a glaze sounds even more amazing. The sweet aroma of Coffee Cake Muffins will have you drooling!!

Muffin-sized coffee cake!

These coffee cake muffins with brown butter glaze that I am sharing today are amazing! This is one of those recipes that will have your house smelling beyond delicious and good.

We love these muffins because they have a light and tender coffee cake base, with a sweet and crumbly pecan streusel mixed in and a to-die-for brown butter glaze over the top.

I made these using a reverse creaming method (not scary—trust me!), which I think made them extra tender and moist. It really reduces over-mixing and results in a lighter baked product overall, which is perfect for these muffins!

These coffee cake muffins are sure to be a new family favorite, and would be wonderful for a special breakfast or brunch. I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as I did!

How to make coffee cake muffins

PREP. Preheat the oven to 325. Line 12 muffins cups with paper liners.

STREUSEL. In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and pecans. Add the melted butter and mix until combined. Set aside.

BATTER. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or two knives, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl or a measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, Greek yogurt, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

BAKE. Scoop one tablespoon of batter into each of the muffin cups. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of the streusel mixture over the batter, then top with remaining batter. Sprinkle the tops of the cupcakes with the remaining streusel. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Remove and let cool.

GLAZE. While the cupcakes are cooling, add the tablespoon of butter to a small skillet and cook over medium low heat until lightly browned and fragrant. (Watch carefully so that it does not burn.) Add the powdered sugar to a medium bowl and add the brown butter. Whisk to combine. Whisk in the vanilla and add milk until the glaze is a thick honey consistency. Drizzle over the cooled cupcakes.

Tips, Variations + Storing Info

This recipe uses the reverse creaming method. Basically, you mix the fats (butter) with the flour and other dry ingredients which ultimately minimizes gluten formation as well as reduces the size of the air pockets creating a finer crumb. Then, you mix in the liquid ingredients. 

Variations: 

• Instead of mixing the streusel into the batter you can layer it or sprinkle it on top. 
• Make them mini: Line a mini muffin tin with paper liners and pour the batter. Bake for about 14-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Different Nut: Pecans are my first choice, but you can also use walnuts or almonds. If you can’t have nuts try using chopped coconut flakes or oats
• Low sugar: You can cut the amount of sugar up to half
• Reduce the amount of butter by up to 3 tbsp for a more dry cake.

STORE the muffins in a covered container at room temperature for 3-5 days or in the fridge for about a week.

FREEZE these coffee cake muffins the same way you would other muffins or cupcakes. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil or place them together in a freezer bag. Ideally, if you are planning to freeze your muffins it would be better to wait to add the glaze until right before you are ready to eat them, but freezing frosted leftovers also works. Freeze for up to 3 months.

To REHEAT: Thaw at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Wrap them in tin foil and heat until warm. You can also heat them in the microwave.

for Other fun breakfast foods, try:

• Homemade Poptarts
• Mini Cinnamon Rolls
• Chocolate Muffins
• Homemade biscuit donuts
• Cinnamon Twists
• Sour Cream Coffee Cake
• Monkey Bread Muffins