Coffee Cake is great but coffee cake to-go is even better. These delicious Coffee Cake Muffins take all the things you love about coffee cake and pack them into easy-to-serve muffins.
The cake is moist, light and flavorful. The streusel topping is spicy and rich with brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. These muffins even have the “surprise” of another layer of streusel filling just like regular coffee cake. Everyone that tried these muffins loved the texture and flavor.
The secret to light, moist muffins is to carefully fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined. The other trick involves the streusel: place a 2 3/4″ round cookie cutter over the muffin-tin cup filled with batter and sprinkle the topping inside, carefully lift the cookie cutter then gently pat the streusel down onto the batter. Voila! No mess!
Here is how you can make your own:
Coffee Cake Muffins (adapted from the Cook’s Illustrated Holiday Baking ’09)
Makes 12 muffins
Streusel
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
4 Tablespoons butter cut into 1/2″ pieces and chilled
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts
Muffins
2 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons butter, softened
For the streusel topping & cinnamon filling:
Pulse 5 tablespoons sugar, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter in food processor until just combined. Reserve 3/4 cup of this sugar mixture for Cinnamon Filling and set aside.
Add nuts and remaining sugar to the food processor with remaining sugar mixture and pulse until the nuts are coarsely ground. Transfer to bowl and set aside for Streusel Topping.
For the muffins:
Line a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin papers and spray with Pam. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 365 degrees.
Whisk together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla and set aside. Pulse flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in food processor until mixture resembles wet sand.
Transfer to large bowl. Using rubber spatula gradually fold egg mixture into the flour mixture until just combined. Do not over mix.
Place 1 tablespoon batter into each muffin cup. Top each with 1 tablespoon Cinnamon Filling and press lightly into batter with back of spoon then top with remaining batter.
Sprinkle with Streusel Topping: place a 2 3/4″ round cookie cutter over the muffin-tin cup filled with batter and sprinkle the topping inside, carefully lift the cookie cutter then gently pat the streusel down onto the batter.
Bake muffins for 22 to 28 minutes until golden brown and tester comes out with only a few crumbs attached. Cool in tin for 30 minutes then transfer muffins to rack and cool completely. Muffins will keep in airtight container for 3 days.
