Cinnamon Roll Muffins
intro
Soft, fluffy no-yeast muffins swirled with cinnamon-sugar and drizzled with cream cheese glaze, delivering classic cinnamon roll flavor without lengthy yeast proofing.
Ingredients
Steps
Preheat Oven Prepare Muffin Tin
Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F) and line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners, or lightly coat each cup with non-stick cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix together the 100g packed light brown sugar and 8g ground cinnamon until fully combined to make the cinnamon swirl filling, then set aside.
Whisk Dry Ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 240g all-purpose flour, 100g granulated sugar, 10g baking powder, and 1g fine sea salt until evenly blended, breaking up any small lumps of flour with the whisk.
Whisk Wet Ingredients
In a separate medium bowl, whisk the 50g room-temperature large egg until smooth, then add 180ml room-temperature whole milk, 57g cooled melted unsalted butter, and 5ml vanilla extract, whisking until fully combined with no streaks of egg remaining.
Stir Batter Until Combined
Pour the wet ingredient mixture into the large bowl of dry ingredients, and stir gently with a rubber spatula only until no dry flour streaks remain—do not overmix, as lumps are normal and will keep muffins tender. Scoop 1 tablespoon of batter into each lined muffin cup, sprinkle roughly 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon-sugar filling over the batter (using about two-thirds of the total filling for middle layers), then top with another 1.5 tablespoons of batter to fill cups 2/3 full, and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar evenly over the muffin tops.
Bake Muffins Until Done
Bake the muffins on the middle oven rack for 18–20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with 1-2 moist crumbs (no wet batter). Remove the tin from the oven and let muffins rest in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 more minutes before glazing.
Make Cream Cheese Glaze
While muffins cool, make the glaze: beat 113g room-temperature full-fat cream cheese in a small bowl with a whisk until smooth, then add 120g sifted powdered sugar and 30ml heavy cream, whisking until silky and pourable. Drizzle roughly 1 tablespoon of glaze over each cooled muffin, then serve immediately.
Tips
2.Use room-temperature egg, milk, and cream cheese for best results: cold ingredients do not emulsify smoothly, leading to lumpy batter, uneven rising during baking, and a grainy, lumpy cream cheese glaze.
3.For a more defined cinnamon swirl, drag a clean toothpick through the top cinnamon-sugar layer and underlying batter in each cup in a small circular pattern before baking, to mimic the classic spiral of a yeast cinnamon roll.
OMG these cinnamon roll muffins are a GAME CHANGER for busy school mornings! I whipped them up in 35 minutes flat before the bus came, and my kids loved them — no complaints about breakfast for once, which is basically a miracle. SO good, even my picky 4 year old asked for seconds. 10/10 will be adding these to my weekly meal prep rotation!
Took these to my office potluck last week and people were begging me for the recipe before I even left. The cinnamon sugar swirl is perfect, not too sweet, and the crumb is so soft. Way easier than making actual cinnamon rolls, no rising time required? Total win.
Made these for our weekend camping trip snack stash and they held up perfectly! No messy frosting dripping everywhere (I did a light glaze instead of the full cream cheese one) and they tasted just as good on day 3 as they did fresh out of the oven. Super easy recipe even for someone who burns toast half the time.
Wait, so I don’t need any fancy equipment to make these? I’ve been intimidated to try cinnamon rolls because of all the kneading and rising, but 35 minutes total cook time sounds too good to be true! Has anyone tried this with whole wheat flour?
These are the perfect pairing with my morning latte! I added a tiny bit of extra cinnamon to the swirl because I’m obsessed with cinnamon flavor, and it was chef’s kiss. Only note is that my muffin tin is a little smaller than standard so I got 14 muffins instead of 12, so adjust cook time down by 5 minutes if that’s you!
How well do these freeze? I make big batches of breakfast items on Sundays to grab and go for work during the week, and I’m always looking for new options that don’t get soggy in the freezer.
I made these for my grandma’s 82nd birthday brunch and she said they tasted better than the cinnamon rolls her mom used to make! High praise coming from her, trust me. I did the cream cheese glaze on top like the recipe suggested and it was *chef's kiss*.
Uh oh, I think I overfilled my muffin cups! The cinnamon sugar bubbled over and made a sticky mess on the bottom of my oven, lmao. The muffins that didn’t get burnt edges were so good though, definitely worth the oven cleanup. Next time I’ll only fill the cups 2/3 full like the recipe says, oops.
Has anyone tried making these vegan? I’m dairy free and I’ve been craving something cinnamon roll adjacent without having to drive 20 minutes to the fancy vegan bakery across town. Thinking I’d swap the milk for oat milk and use vegan butter, but curious if anyone’s tested it!
My daughter’s soccer team had a post-game snack sign up and I almost panicked because I can barely make mac and cheese without burning it. This recipe was so easy even I couldn’t mess it up, and the whole team was cheering when I passed them out. Coach even asked for the recipe! Total dad win.
I was skeptical that muffins could hit the same as a homemade cinnamon roll, but I stand corrected! The cinnamon swirl in the middle is exactly what I was craving, and the crumb topping adds that perfect little crunch. I will say, I added a tiny pinch of nutmeg to the cinnamon sugar and it elevated the flavor so much, 10/10 recommend.