Coffee Cake Muffins

These impressive coffee cake muffins are worth the effort. They are topped with a crunchy crumb topping and have a hidden cinnamon-sugar filling.

Yields 12 muffins

Ingredients:

Muffin Batter

• 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 ¾ cups sugar

• 3 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• ¼ tsp nutmeg

• 2 eggs

• 1 ¼ cup buttermilk (1 cup milk + ¼ cup white vinegar)

• ½ cup canola oil

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

  
  

  Cinnamon Sugar Filling

• 3 tbsp salted butter, melted

• ⅓ cup brown sugar

• 1 ½ tsp cinnamon

  
  

  Crumb Topping

• ¾ cup all-purpose flour

• ⅓ cup brown sugar

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• ¼ tsp salt

• ¼ cup salted butter, melted

  
  

  Glaze

• ¼ cup powdered sugar

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

1. Prepare the cinnamon sugar filling: In a small bowl, add 3 tbsp melted butter, ⅓ cup brown sugar and 1 ½ tsp cinnamon until combined. Set it aside while you make the muffin batter.

2. Let's make the muffin batter: In a mixing bowl combine 3 ¾ cups flour, 1 ¾ cups sugar, 3 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Set aside.

3. In a larger mixing bowl combine the 2 eggs, 1 ¼ cup buttermilk, ½ cup canola oil and 2 tsp vanilla extract. Gradually add in the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. The batter will be thick! Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes.

4. During the 15 minute rest, make the crumb topping: In a mixing bowl combine ¾ cup flour, ⅓ cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ cup melted butter with a fork or a rubber spatula. The mixture will be thick and you must stir well to combine all the ingredients. Continue to combine until the mixture looks wet and crumbly. It’s okay if the mixture is “sandy” in texture. Set the crumb aside until ready to use.

5. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a 12 count muffin pan with 6 muffins liners, meaning you’ll only fill every other muffin well with batter. Filling every other well allows the muffins to spread and rise without running into each other.

6. Fill the liners halfway with the batter. Drop 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon sugar filling in the center of each muffin. Add more muffin batter until each liner is full of batter. Take the crumb topping and crumble it into fine crumbs over each muffin, pressing it on slightly.

7. Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake for 7 minutes at 425ºF, then keep the muffins in the oven, and turn the temperature down to 350ºF and bake for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing. Repeat with the remaining batter, making sure to bump the temperature back up to 425ºF.

8. Make the Glaze: In a small mixing bowl, combine the ¼ cup powdered sugar, ½ tsp vanilla extract, and 1 tsp milk. Pour into a plastic sandwich bag, cutting a small hole in the corner of the bag. Drizzle over the cooled muffins.

ENJOY! I like to freeze half of the muffins in a plastic container. I'll pull them out the night before to have fresh muffins in the morning.