Super Cinnamon-Sugar Snickerdoodle Muffins Recipe

Muffin recipes seamlessly walk the line between breakfast and dessert, which makes them baking MVPs as far as we're concerned. Mashed recipe developer Patterson Watkins wholeheartedly agrees and raves, "I am so pro muffin! I always feel like I'm getting away with having a sweet treat first thing in the morning." While fruits and veggies feature in many breakfast muffins, Watkins takes a different approach in this recipe that can be enjoyed anytime, anywhere.

"These snickerdoodle cookie-themed muffins have that cinnamon-sugar breakfast appeal going for them," she explains, with a clever variation that transforms the familiar chewy texture into a moist, cakey muffin: the inclusion of yogurt. "The crunchy topping makes for some fun palate play, while the sweet, maple-y, cinnamon-y aromas are super satisfying," Watkins describes. Served with a pat of butter and a warm cup of coffee, these cinnamon-sugar snickerdoodle muffins rival any savory breakfast offering on the table.

For the snickerdoodle muffin batter, you'll need all-purpose flour, ground cinnamon, baking powder, salt, baking soda, eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, melted butter, plain yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract. The crumbly topping comes together with yet more brown sugar, granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, ground cinnamon, and melted butter.

If you don't have yogurt on hand, Watkins notes that sour cream works too. "It really just depends on what you have the most of — yogurt or sour cream. They both achieve the same results, which are moisture and richness," she explains.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Line a muffin tin with paper liners and lightly spritz all over with cooking spray.

Place flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, melted butter, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and whisk to combine the batter. Set aside.

To make the topping, place brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, and melted butter in a small bowl.

Using a fork, stir until crumbly. Set aside.

Pour batter into the muffin tin, filling each liner ⅔-full.

Top batter with the crumble topping (about 1 heaping tablespoon per muffin).

Using your hands or the back of a spoon, gently press down on the crumble to help it adhere to the tops of the muffins.

Bake muffins for 20-30 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside on a wire rack to cool.

Serve.

You can serve these muffins with butter to layer on the richness, or just munch on them with no extras since they're already topped with a sweet crumble. They'll make a great breakfast or mid-morning snack when hunger strikes. Watkins also notes, "Since this recipe makes a hefty amount of muffins, I like baking up a batch for either busy weeks (when I need a nice bite on the go) or when I have a breakfast/brunch event and need to feed a group."

If you're not finishing off the whole batch at once, Watkins says, "I keep my leftover muffins in the fridge (once they've cooled completely at room temperature), loosely wrapped in foil or plastic." In these conditions, she says, "They will typically hold up for 4+ days." Of course, warm muffins are all-around better, and Watkins adds, "I like reheating them in my toaster oven (which makes for easier butter application)."  

Meanwhile, if you want to bake a batch of muffins in advance or save a few portions for a longer period, you can freeze them too. "I recommend a double wrap (plastic and foil) to keep freezer burn at bay," Watkins instructs and adds, "Thaw them in the fridge before toasting."

Baking is inherently messy, but a few simple tips can help reduce the cleanup so you can enjoy your muffins in peace. For starters, your instinct might be to load up as much batter as possible into the paper-lined muffin tins. However, considering the batter contains leavening agents, they will quickly overflow as they bake, getting batter all over the top of the pan. For this reason, stick to filling each muffin hole ⅔ of the way — they'll still puff up into full-sized muffins, promise.

While muffin batter is annoying to clean, it's not as bad as cooked sugar. "I do NOT like doing dishes," Watkins shares, explaining, "History has shown that cooked sugar (no matter the grain) can be painful to clean out of cookware (or, even worse, the bottom of an oven)." To prevent this outcome, she says, "I like pressing my crumble into the batter to avoid a headache later. This gentle smush ensures that most of the crumb will stay on the muffin."