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.
PREP: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Generously coat a Mini Muffin Pan 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!
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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: 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.