Cinnamon Roll Muffins

These cinnamon roll muffins have all the flavors of a classic cinnamon roll, but in easy muffin form. They’re soft, fluffy, swirled with cinnamon sugar, topped with a buttery streusel, and finished with a simple vanilla glaze. No yeast, no waiting — just cozy cinnamon roll vibes in a fraction of the time.

 

If you love cinnamon rolls but don’t always want to deal with yeast, rising, and rolling dough, these muffins are one of my favorite shortcuts.

I’ve made a lot of muffins over the years, but this one might be my all time favorite. It has a warm cinnamon flavor, buttery streusel, and that sweet glaze on top just like a real deal cinnamon roll. And they bake up tall and fluffy like a bakery-style muffin. I’ve got a few tricks for you on how to achieve that bakery style tall muffin. Don’t you worry!

The batter comes together easily, and a few simple techniques (like resting the batter and starting with a hot oven) make a big difference in the final result.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour:
• Granulated sugar
• Light brown sugar: Use my homemade brown sugar recipe.
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Ground cinnamon
• Unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled: Melted butter makes the batter easy to mix by hand and keeps the muffins tender. It’s also used for the streusel.
• Egg, room temperature: Bringing the egg to room temperature helps it mix evenly into the batter. I just place mine in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
• Milk, room temperature – Any type of milk works here.
• Vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar: Use my homemade powdered sugar recipe if need be.

How to Make Cinnamon Roll Muffins

Start by making the streusel. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, and brown sugar.

Stir in the melted butter and vanilla until everything is combined and crumbly.

Spread the streusel onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and place it in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Freezing the streusel helps it stay crumbly instead of melting into the muffins while baking.

To make the muffins, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Spoon and level for best results so the muffins stay light and fluffy. Or use a kitchen scale for best results. Too much flour will result in dry muffin and nobody wants that.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, melted butter, and vanilla until combined. You could use oil in these muffins if that’s all you have but I like the flavor of the butter here to mimic a real cinnamon roll.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently mix with a spatula or wooden spoon just until combined. Be careful not to overmix — a few streaks of flour are fine. Overmixing is what can cause your muffins to be overly chewy or gummy. And there will be large holes in the muffin after baking.

Let the batter rest for about 15 minutes. This resting time allows the flour to hydrate and helps the muffins bake up taller. You can skip this step, but resting the batter helps the muffins bake taller and improves the texture. It’s a small step that makes a noticeable difference.

While the batter rests, preheat your oven to 425°F and line a muffin pan with paper liners. I like to line two muffin pans and fill every other well. Giving the muffins more space helps them rise higher and bake evenly.

Remove the streusel from the freezer and crumble it into smaller pieces with your fingers. Fold the streusel gently into the muffin batter.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin wells, filling them all the way to the top. For those bakery tall muffins you really do want to fill up the muffin cups!

Bake the muffins at 425°F for 5 minutes, then — without opening the oven door — reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for an additional 16-20 minutes until the tops are lightly golden and the centers are set. The initial high heat gives the muffins a quick rise, which helps create tall, domed tops. Lowering the temperature allows them to finish baking evenly.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until smooth and drizzle over the cooled muffins.

Storage & Freezing

Store muffins covered at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

To freeze baked muffins:

Let the muffins cool completely, then place them in a freezer-safe container or bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm gently before serving.

To freeze unbaked muffins:

Fill muffin liners with batter (without glaze) and freeze until solid. Transfer to a freezer-safe container. Bake straight from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the bake time.

More Muffin Recipes to Try

If you’re in a muffin-baking mood after these (very understandable), there are a few more favorites you might want to try next.

My carrot cake muffins are soft, cozy, and packed with warm spices — basically carrot cake in an easy, everyday muffin form. If you love classic bakery-style muffins, the buttermilk blueberry muffins are always a hit, with a tender crumb and plenty of juicy blueberries in every bite. And if you’re looking for something a little different, the pistachio muffins are a fun twist — lightly sweet, fluffy, and perfect when you want a muffin that feels just a little special.