Cinnamon Roll Muffins

Your childhood cinnamon rolls, in muffin form.

I was on a cinnamon roll kick for a while. As a family tradition, I made cinnamon rolls over the holidays; and not the Pillsbury ones, but the real deal (will post recipe soon). Growing up, every Christmas, we would make the packaged cinnamon rolls from Pillsbury, and the house would smell amazing.

This cinnamon roll muffin recipe has all the flavors you crave from a cinnamon roll and the convenience of baking a muffin! This is the perfect sweet treat, and is ideal for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.

Not to brag, but these cinnamon roll muffins are everything they claim to be. They taste like those coffee shop cinnamon rolls that dreams are made of.

Making a batch of these muffins is like taking a short-cut to oven-fresh cinnamon rolls!

True cinnamon rolls are a favorite of mine to make, but I get it, some people just don’t get along with yeast and I can totally respect that.  So, if you are a fan of cinnamon rolls but aren't down with the finicky yeast, this Cinnamon Roll Muffin recipe is for you.

The other upside to these cinnamon roll muffins is that they come together a lot quicker than regular cinnamon rolls do, because you don’t have to let the dough rise.  So next time you get a hankering for some cinnamon rolls and don’t have the time or inclination to deal with yeast give this muffin version a try.

CINNAMON ROLL MUFFINS

Serves 12

INGREDIENTS

1. 3/4 cup sugar

2. 1 egg

3. 1/3 cup oil

4. 1 cup buttermilk*

5. 1 tsp vanilla extract

Dry ingredients:

1. 2 cups all-purpose flour

2. 1 tsp baking powder

3. 1 pinch salt

Cinnamon sugar mix:

1. 1/4 cup granulated sugar

2. 2 tsp cinnamon

3. 1/4 cups crushed nuts (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Line a 12 cup standard muffin pan with baking cups and set aside.

3. In a small bowl mix the cinnamon sugar ingredients and set aside.

4. In a large bowl, mix the wet ingredients using a whisk until all ingredients are well blended.

5. In a smaller bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.

6. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and using a rubber spatula, gently mix the batter together, do not over mix it (no need to worry about some lumps in the batter).

7. Using a tablespoon measure (or small spoon), place 2 tablespoons of batter at the bottom of each muffin cup, top with a teaspoon of cinnamon sugar mix and then top with a tablespoon more of batter.

8. Bake for about 18 minutes or until done; a cake tester should come out pretty clean.

Serve and enjoy!

NOTES

*A dairy free version can be made by using plant milk with 1 tbsp of lemon juice or white vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Chopped nuts are totally optional, but they add a little crunch to the cinnamon-streusel mix. Pecans or walnuts would be best.

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