This quick and easy cinnamon chip muffin recipe is the perfect breakfast or brunch treat for cinnamon lovers. These muffins are soft, tender, and speckled with sweet chunks of cinnamon-sugar goodness, complete with fluffy muffin tops that have just the right amount of subtle crunch. And in true muffin fashion, you can have these in the oven in under 30 minutes!
As a gal who likes - but definitely doesn't LOVE - cinnamon, let me just say right off the bat that these cinnamon chip muffins are simply fantastic. They check all of my boxes - they're soft and moist, they're sweet but not too sweet, and they bake up with perfectly rounded muffin tops like every good muffin should.
Like my gluten free chocolate chip muffins, they're essentially a very simple, classic muffin recipe done right. They also happen to pair amazingly with a cup of black coffee or a creamy brown sugar latte - a must for any breakfast baked good!
The BEST Cinnamon Chip Muffins Recipe
After many rounds of testing to get them just right, here's what makes these cinnamon muffins oh-so-perfect.
- Texture: These are soft, tender, light and fluffy muffins, with a perfectly-moist crumb thanks in large part to the buttermilk in the batter. By baking the muffins at a slightly-higher temperature than normal (375ºF), we also allow the muffin tops to develop just the slightest bit of crunch, the perfect contrast to the fluffiness of what's underneath.
- Flavor: The buttermilk in these muffins adds just enough tang to balance out their sweetness, creating a muffin base that has such good flavor, you could enjoy them even if there were no cinnamon chips included. But when you add them into the picture - especially homemade cinnamon baking chips - the sweet pockets of cinnamon sugar make these muffins twice as good.
- Ease: If you can operate a mixer, you can make these muffins! It's simple. The basic formula goes something like this - whisk dry ingredients, beat wet ingredients, combine, bake. Even if you're not the fastest baker, you should be able to easily get these in the oven within 30 minutes.
Muffin Ingredients
Let's talk ingredients. Here's what you'll need to make these cinnamon muffins:
And here's what you need to know about the aforementioned ingredients:
- Flour: You can make these with regular all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour.
- Almond Flour: Take note that this is technically not the same thing as almond meal, which is made from unblanched almonds and is typically a bit more coarse in texture. While either should work fine, almond meal could make your muffins just a bit more dense. Almond flour tends to be better for baking, especially in recipes like my blueberry muffins where it's used in larger quantities.
- Coconut Oil: I used refined coconut oil, which I would recommend if you want to be certain there's no coconut flavor in your muffins. If you need to substitute, I'd try softened (unsalted) butter.
- Buttermilk: Here's how I make an easy buttermilk substitute for those times when I don't have any on hand. Whether you use the real deal or a substitute, make sure it's at room temperature before you start baking.
- Eggs: These should also be at room temperature.
- Cinnamon Chips: Although you can buy these (Hershey's is the brand most commonly found at your average grocery store), I highly recommend taking a little extra time to make your own cinnamon chips. They have a much better flavor and melt into the most perfect little bursts of cinnamon in these muffins.
How to Make Cinnamon Chip Muffins
Whip out whatever type of electric mixer you've got and let's make some cinnamon muffins!
Step one: Preheat your oven to 375ºF and line a standard 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. (Need a better muffin pan? This OXO pan is my go-to.)
Step two: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
Step three: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a large bowl and handheld mixer), beat together coconut oil and granulated sugar on medium-high speed until creamy and slightly "fluffier".
Step four: Beat in 2 eggs one at a time, mixing each in until fully and smoothly incorporated. Don't forget to scrape down your bowl and beater with a spatula as needed!
Step five: Stir vanilla extract into buttermilk. With the mixer on low speed, add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the bowl, followed by ½ of the buttermilk. Continue in this pattern until all ingredients have been incorporated. DO NOT OVERMIX. Finally, add the cinnamon chips, folding them in with a spatula just enough to disperse them into the batter.
Step six: Divide batter evenly between the muffin cups in your prepared pan, filling each nearly to the top. I like to lightly smooth out the top of each muffin with my fingertip before baking. Then, sprinkle chopped up cinnamon chips over each muffin.
Step seven: Bake your muffins at 375ºF for 17-20 minutes, or just until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Let them cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before carefully moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
If you find that the muffins are sticking to the pan around the top edge, use a small butter knife or offset spatula to loosen the edges before removing the muffins.
Storing and Freezing These Muffins
I like to store these muffins in a lidded container or zip-top bag at room temperature. They should stay fresh for up to 5 days.
If you want to freeze your muffins, wrap each one individually in plastic wrap and then store them inside a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag. Freeze for up to 3 months and defrost at room temperature before serving.
Recipe FAQ:
Absolutely! Just use your favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour instead of the regular flour in this recipe, and add ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum.
Follow the recipe! Sorta kidding, but really, there's a reason I make these cinnamon chip muffins with buttermilk: it's great at making baked goods tender. In addition, make sure you're measuring your flour correctly, and be careful not to overmix the muffin batter once the flour has been added.
Hershey's cinnamon chips are usually available in local grocery stores, especially during the holidays, but can also be purchased online. A few other brands are also available online, but if you can't find them/don't want to pay for shipping, just make them at home!
More Cinnamon-y Muffin Recipes You'll Love
The beauty of cinnamon is that it pairs well with so many other flavors. Whether you're looking for fruit-forward muffins or chocolate chip muffins, here are a few of my favorite recipes that include cinnamon!
Have you made this recipe?
If so, I'd love to hear your feedback; you can leave a rating and review in the comments section below! It's also so helpful if you help spread the word by sharing this post on your favorite social media channel. If you happen to snap a photo of what you've baked, be sure to share it on Instagram and tag me (@brighteyedbaker) so I can give you a shoutout!
Cinnamon Chip Muffins
These soft, tender, and fluffy cinnamon chip muffins are begging to be served for breakfast tomorrow with a hot cup of coffee. They're quick and easy to make, so why wait?!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 17 minutes (up to 20 minutes)
- Total Time: 37 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: muffins
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 ⅓ cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (37 grams) almond flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅔ cup (132 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (113 grams) coconut oil
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup (156 grams) buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (170 grams) cinnamon chips (store-bought or homemade), plus extra for muffin tops
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line a standard 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a bowl and handheld electric mixer), beat the sugar and coconut oil together until creamy and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down bowl and beater as needed with a spatula, until all ingredients are smoothly incorporated.
- Mix together the buttermilk and vanilla. With mixer on lowest speed, add ⅓ of the dry ingredients followed by ½ of the buttermilk mixture, continuing to alternate in this manner until everything has been added. Fold in cinnamon chips with a rubber spatula, mixing just until all ingredients are evenly incorporated.
- Divide batter evenly between each cavity in the prepared muffin pan, filling each nearly to the top. Smooth out tops if needed with a fingertip or spatula. Sprinkle muffin tops with extra (chopped) cinnamon chips.
- Bake muffins in preheated oven for 17-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Cool in pan for about 20 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:
- Replace all-purpose flour with a gluten-free all-purpose blend and add ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum for gluten-free cinnamon chip muffins.
- For best taste, use refined coconut oil. This can also be substituted with softened unsalted butter.
- Homemade buttermilk can be used in this recipe.
Storing and Freezing:
- Muffins are best kept in an airtight container or zip-top bag at room temperature, and will stay fresh for up to 5 days.
- To freeze, wrap individual muffins in plastic wrap and store inside a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag. Freeze for up to 3 months and defrost at room temperature before serving.
Marylou
Can the Almond flour be replaced with regular flour?
Alexandra Azary
Sure, it might change the texture just a bit but should work fine! I would only use an additional 1/4 cup of flour since regular flour is more dense than almond flour. Let me know how it goes!
AlexA
The deliciousness of these simple cinnamon chip muffins was so irresistible that I couldn't help but enjoy them as both my breakfast and evening dessert every day throughout the week.
Great pictures too!
Sandra
Wow are these the best or what ??? Awesome! They’re so moist and packed with flavor. Thank you once again for outdoing yourself!!
Matea
The crumble-topping is my favorite part of coffee cakes! Making it in muffin form makes it so much better :)
alexandra
My favorite too! Really the main reason to eat a coffee cake ;)
Ashley
haha I did the same thing with cinnamon chips about a year ago ... I have soooo many still! These muffins look like the perfect way to put them to use!
alexandra
Haha it's like a weird thing where you convince yourself you NEED them and you totally don't, right?! Thanks Ashley!