Mini Muffins (4 Different Ways!)

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These Mini Muffins deliver a burst of caramel-like sweetness from light brown sugar, rounded out with a subtle hint of warmth from cinnamon. The rich sour cream-and-vanilla-infused batter forms a tender, moist crumb, while the cinnamon-sugar topping provides an irresistible crispy, sugary crunch.

View of two Mini Muffins stacked on a countertop

Mini Muffins — Four Different Ways!

We’re muffin fanatics at my home, but let me tell you, Mini Muffins really take the cake. (Pun intended!) They’re adorable, easy to snack on, and completely irresistible. These mini muffins are hands down the best I’ve ever tasted. They’re bursting with flavor, incredibly moist, and finished with a crispy, buttery, sugary topping that’s to die for. And the best thing about them? You get a higher ratio of that scrumptious topping to muffin base!

Although we can’t get enough of these Mini Muffins with their cinnamon-sugar-donut-inspired topping, we’ve also experimented with several other variations and I’m excited to share them all in this recipe. Whether you’re a fan of mixed berry, blueberry, or chocolate chip, there’s a flavor for everyone!

Process shots-- images of the wet and dry ingredients being mixed in separate bowls

Mini Muffins Ingredients

  • Eggs: Use fresh, room-temperature eggs for the best results. They’ll mix more evenly into the batter, and give your muffins a lighter texture.
  • Vegetable or canola oil: Both of these oils are neutral-tasting and won’t interfere with the flavors of your muffins.
  • Full-fat sour cream: Full-fat sour cream gives your muffins an extra tender and moist crumb. You could also substitute it with full-fat Greek yogurt in a pinch.
  • Pure vanilla extract: Use real vanilla extract instead of imitation. It makes a noticeable difference in the depth of flavor.
  • Milk: Whole milk is preferred for the richest flavor and texture, but you could use 2%, 1%, or skim milk if it’s what you have on hand.
  • Soft light brown sugar: This gives your muffins a moist texture and adds a mild molasses flavor. Make sure it’s fresh and soft, not hard or lumpy.
  • White, all-purpose flour: The key to nailing that perfect muffin texture? It’s all about how you handle the flour. If you pack in too much, you’ll end up with muffins that are dense and dry. My tip? Grab your mixing bowl and place it on a food scale. Spoon in the flour until you hit the magic number of 225 grams. Trust me, it’s faster and more accurate than messing around with measuring cups!
  • Baking powder: Make sure it’s fresh for the best rise in your muffins. Here’s how to test if your baking powder is fresh!
  • Cornstarch: This is our secret weapon to make the muffins tender and soft!
  • Fine-grain sea salt: A little salt enhances the other flavors and helps to balance the sweetness.
  • Ground cinnamon: Scale the amount of cinnamon in these mini muffins up or down based on preference. We love lots!

Why You Should Use Room-Temperature Ingredients

Before you dive into making your Mini Muffins, make sure to take the cold ingredients out of the fridge and let them adjust to room temperature. Here’s why this matters:

  • Better integration: Room-temperature ingredients blend together more evenly to create a uniform texture throughout your dough or batter. Cold ingredients, especially fats like butter or eggs, don’t mix as well. They can result in a chunky or curdled batter, which may lead to an unevenly baked product.
  • Emulsification: Room-temperature fats such as butter or eggs can trap air while you’re mixing. This air then expands while baking, helping to leaven your baked goods and make them lighter and fluffier.
  • Temperature consistency: If all ingredients are at the same temperature, your batter will bake more evenly. Cold ingredients can cause your batter to be at a lower temperature when going into the oven, which can affect the baking time and final texture.

Process shots of Mini Muffins-- images of the wet and dry ingredients being mixed together and it all being added to the muffin tin

How To Make The Best Mini Muffins (Tips)

  • Room-temperature ingredients: As we’ve discussed, using ingredients that are at room temperature can help to ensure that your muffins bake evenly and have a light, fluffy texture. So, try to remember to take your cold ingredients out of the fridge about an hour before you start baking.
  • Don’t over-mix: When combining the wet and dry ingredients, stir just until you can’t see any more flour. Over-mixing can develop the gluten in the flour and make your muffins tough.
  • Use a food scale: To get the most accurate measurement of flour, use a food scale. This can help to ensure that your muffins aren’t too dense. When you’re making small things like Mini Muffins, a slight variance can make a significant difference.
  • Test for doneness: Since oven temperatures can vary, start checking your muffins a few minutes before the suggested baking time is up. They’re done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
  • Cool before topping: Let your muffins cool completely before dipping them in the melted butter and cinnamon-sugar mixture. If they’re too warm, they could absorb too much of the butter and become soggy.

QUICK TIP

Why Cool Muffins On A Cooling Rack?

The design of a cooling rack allows air to circulate all around the mini muffins, which can help prevent them from becoming soggy from the steam that they release while cooling.

Process shots-- images of the muffins being baked up and then dipped in cinnamon sugar

VARIATIONS

Switch Up Your Mini Muffins!

  • Mixed berry muffins: Follow the original recipe to prepare the batter. Next, pulse ½ cup of frozen mixed berries in a food processor until they’re broken into small pieces. Distribute the batter into the mini muffin cavities and spoon the crushed berries over each. Using a toothpick, gently swirl the berries into the batter. Bake as instructed, but allow a couple of extra minutes due to the cold berries.
  • Blueberry muffins: Muffins and blueberries are an unbeatable pair, but we want to make sure that large blueberries don’t overtake the miniature muffins. Use frozen wild blueberries, which are much smaller in size. After preparing the batter, add it to the muffin cavities and top each with about 6-8 wild blueberries. Swirl them into the batter using a toothpick. (For an extra burst of flavor, you can also add some lemon zest to the muffin batter.)
  • Chocolate chip muffins: Simply add 1 cup of mini chocolate chips to the dry ingredients and proceed with the recipe as directed. 

Feel free to experiment with your favorite flavors and ingredients. You could try adding different types of nuts, dried fruit, or spices.

STORAGE

Storing Mini Muffins

  • At room temperature: Store completely cooled muffins in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
  • In the refrigerator: In an airtight container, they’ll last for about a week. Warm slightly before serving, if desired.
  • In the freezer: Freeze cooled muffins on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature or microwave briefly.

For optimal flavor, add the butter and sugar topping just before serving if stored for an extended period.

Two Mini Muffins

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Mini Muffins

5 from 3 votes
These Mini Muffins deliver a burst of caramel-like sweetness from the light brown sugar, rounded out with a subtle hint of warmth from the cinnamon. The rich sour cream-and-vanilla-infused batter forms a tender, moist crumb, while the cinnamon-sugar topping provides an irresistible crispy, sugary crunch.
Print Recipe

Mini Muffins

5 from 3 votes
These Mini Muffins deliver a burst of caramel-like sweetness from the light brown sugar, rounded out with a subtle hint of warmth from the cinnamon. The rich sour cream-and-vanilla-infused batter forms a tender, moist crumb, while the cinnamon-sugar topping provides an irresistible crispy, sugary crunch.
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack, treat
Cuisine American, Vegetarian
Keyword Mini Muffins
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 11 minutes
Total Time 31 minutes
Servings 34 miniature muffins
Chelsea Lords
Calories 79kcal
Cost $7.67

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • ½ cup vegetable or canola oil
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • ½ cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
  • ¼ cup milk (whole milk preferred), at room temperature
  • ¾ cup soft light brown sugar, packed

Dry Ingredients

  • cups white, all-purpose flour (Note 1)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cinnamon-Sugar Donut-Inspired Topping (OR Make a different muffin variation -- See Note 2)

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Instructions

  • PREP: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Generously coat a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
  • WET: In a medium-sized bowl, add the eggs. Whisk. Add the remaining wet ingredients and whisk until smooth and emulsified.
  • DRY: In a separate, larger bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Stir to mix.
  • COMBINE: Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Whisk together until combined. Use a spatula to scrape the edges of the bowl. Be careful not to over-mix.
  • BAKE: Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin filling cavities nearly to the top. Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Remove the muffin tin from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes. Gently remove the muffins from the tin and place them onto a cooling rack. Allow the muffins to fully cool on the rack.
  • SUGAR TOPPING: In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. In another bowl, stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Dip the top of each cooled muffin into the melted butter, letting the excess drip off. Then dip the buttered muffin top into the cinnamon-sugar mixture, shaking off the excess. (Depending on how generously you top your muffins, you might have a bit leftover. Save any excess; once the butter hardens, spread it on toast and sprinkle with any remaining cinnamon-sugar!) Enjoy!

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Flour: The key to nailing that perfect muffin texture? It's all about how you handle the flour. If you pack in too much, you'll end up with muffins that are dense and dry. My tip? Grab your mixing bowl and place it on a food scale. Spoon in the flour until you hit the magic number of 225 grams. Trust me, it's faster and more accurate than messing around with measuring cups! If you don't have a food scale, use a large spoon to spoon the flour into the measuring cup then use the back of a butter knife to level off the top.
Note 2: Muffin variations:
  • Blueberry Muffins: Muffins and blueberries are an unbeatable pair, but we want to make sure that large blueberries don't overtake the miniature muffins. Use frozen wild blueberries, which are much smaller in size. After preparing the batter, add it to the muffin cavities and top each with about 6-8 wild blueberries. Swirl them into the batter using a toothpick. (For an extra burst of flavor, you can also add some lemon zest to the muffin batter and replace 1 teaspoon vanilla with 1 teaspoon pure lemon extract.)
  • Chocolate Chip Muffins: Simply add 1 cup of mini chocolate chips to the dry ingredients and proceed with recipe as directed. 
  • Mixed Berry Muffins: Follow the original recipe to prepare the batter. Next, pulse 1/2 cup of frozen mixed berries in a food processor until they're broken into small pieces. Distribute the batter into the mini muffin cavities and spoon the crushed berries over each. Using a toothpick, gently swirl the berries into the batter. Bake as instructed, but allow a couple extra minutes due to the cold berries.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 79kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 65mg | Potassium: 21mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 79IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 0.3mg

We do our best to provide accurate nutritional analysis for our recipes. Our nutritional data is calculated using a third-party algorithm and may vary, based on individual cooking styles, measurements, and ingredient sizes. Please use this information for comparison purposes and consult a health professional for nutrition guidance as needed.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

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Decorate your mini muffins for a holiday! Here is our favorite Thanksgiving-inspired “Turkey Muffin!” 

Cute and healthy Thanksgiving treat - a snack-sized mini muffin decorated like a turkey!

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16 Comments

  1. I am new to your blog and absolutely love it! I’ve made a bunch of your recipes and I’m addicted!! Thank you so much for all the great dinner posts especially the salads and the crockpot ones..so much easier when you just don’t have the time but way better than cereal! Ha!! Got the kids & happy hubby. Cool video too. Thanks!!

    1. This comment made my day!! So, so great to hear! 🙂 Haha — happy kids and happy husband is the best 🙂 Thanks again Claire!

  2. 5 stars
    These are adorable and I love how they don’t look easy, but after watching the video, I think I could do this! 🙂 I have read your ebook (awesome!) and I love your blog and photography! The short videos are so fun. What editing software do you use or camera? I have heard that go-pros work great but I haven’t tried one yet but really want to. Maybe you could do a post about it!

    1. You are so sweet, thank you Adell! 🙂 Thank you so much for your kind compliments, they mean so much to me!! I use a 6d camera and edit in photoshop for blog photos. For the videos, I would love to do a post sometime when I feel like I’ve learned enough to!! This turkey video was my very first time ever doing a video and editing and I recognize I have SO much to learn! 🙂 I actually did it super budget — just used my iphone, built a tripod out of PVC pipe (tutorial here: http://thecraftyblogstalker.com/diy-overhead-camera-mount/) and then I edited on imovie on my phone. I hope that helps. As I learn more, I will keep some notes going to hopefully write about it all!

      1. Thanks for the info! I can’t wait to try a video, such a fun element to add. And I think people will really love the quick, short videos. I am like you, a little impatient 😉 but if that means cute turkey muffins in October, no complaints here!

        1. They are so much fun to make!! Thank you so much! Haha, yeah as fun as long recipe videos are, I just rarely have the patience to finish them! ?

  3. Very cool! This would make it a nice treat to a friend’s son coming up birthday party! The video makes it easy to follow too. Thanks.

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