Easy Cinnamon Roll Muffins Recipe (with Sour Cream)

Who can resist the warm, cozy aroma of cinnamon rolls? These Easy Cinnamon Roll Muffins with sour cream bring all that irresistible flavor to your table—without the hassle of rolling dough! Soft, tender, and swirled with gooey cinnamon-sugar goodness, these muffins are the perfect treat for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon pick-me-up.

Best of all, these bakery-style muffins come together quickly, making them a fuss-free way to enjoy the flavors of a classic cinnamon roll any day of the week!

We adore a good cinnamon roll. Our homemade Cinnamon Rolls and overnight Brioche Cinnamon Rolls are divine! However, sometimes we want the taste of a cinnamon roll without having to use yeast and waiting for them to rise just like this recipe for cinnamon roll muffins or our Cinnamon Sugar Popovers and Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread recipes. 

Ingredients for Cinnamon Roll Muffins

All of the ingredients are listed on the recipe, but I wanted to share a couple of important notes here.

We used light brown sugar. Light brown sugar has more white sugar and has a less molasses flavor. Dark brown sugar has a more intense flavor. There are times when you want that extra molasses and times when you don’t. To be honest they are always interchangeable and you get to pick based on your preference.

We prefer to use full-fat salted butter in our Cinnamon Roll Muffin Recipe. It adds a richness and the added fat makes them creamy. If you use unsalted butter add an additional 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the dry ingredients.

 We recommend full-fat dairy in our baking. For this recipe whole milk, butter, and sour cream which help to keep our muffins moist. It also acts as an acid that activates the baking soda and baking powder which helps the muffins rise with a soft and tender crumb. You can substitute it with plain yogurt.

Using fresh grade A large eggs creates structure and stability within the batter and adds moisture to our muffins.

How To Make Cinnamon Roll Muffins

Please note, that the printable recipe card has the full list of ingredients, quantities, complete instructions, and nutritional information. The following is a quick overview of the recipe.

You’ll notice I always recommend preheating the oven. Just make it a habit when you walk into the kitchen to bake. Your muffins will thank you for it. Also, pulling all of the ingredients out ahead of time makes the whole process go quicker and smoother. Muffin tin liners are your friend. They make them easy to grab for a delicious breakfast at work or school and make cleaning your muffin pan a breeze.

Make the Streusel Topping

We make our streusel topping first. Melt the butter in a mixing bowl in the microwave. Add the remaining ingredients and gently mix them together with a fork for Danish Dough Hook. Set aside.

Muffin Batter

Whisk the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Using a large mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients – melted butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Once combined add the sour cream, eggs, milk, and vanilla.

Fill the prepared muffin pan. We use a medium-sized 1½ tablespoon scoop. To create the ribbon of gooey cinnamon goodness, top each muffin with streusel. We use a small 2-teaspoon scoop and crumble it with our hand before spreading it over the muffin batter. Apply another medium-sized scoop of batter over the streusel. Optionally, you can top the muffin with more streusel. However, it’s never optional in our house. We love the crunchy sweetness it adds.

Note: I scoop the streusel into my hand and then crumble it over each muffin.

Bake the muffins. Muffins are finished baking when a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin, has just a few crumbs on it when removed. We check our muffins at least 5 minutes before the minimum baking time is up and then note it on the recipe card for the next time we make them.

Once baked, allow the cinnamon roll muffins to cool in the pan 3 to 5 minutes. They will set up as they cool. Remove them to a cooling rack to finish baking.

Glaze

Making a glaze is totally optional but recommended. Something about a simple glaze takes these muffins over the top.

While the muffins are baking, combine the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract together. To thin the glaze add a very small amount of milk. To thicken, add powdered sugar. Drizzle over cooled muffins.

Hostess Tips and Variations

• This recipe is very versatile, the streusel added on top is great, but not necessary. You can also add chopped nuts to the streusel and/or muffin batter. Walnuts or pecans would be our choice.
• You can have fun with different glazes, add different extracts, a pinch of cinnamon, or use vanilla paste. Let me just tell you now, in the Fall, maple extract is the bomb. I know I said sour cream was the secret ingredient, but Maple extract is the new secret ingredient. Use it in place of vanilla.
• When making muffins, there are a whole bunch of things you should not do. For instance, don’t overmix the batter. Use a Danish dough hook, because these are the perfect mix between a whisk and spoon and allow you to gently blend the ingredients without overmixing. Also. Don’t overfill the muffin tins. Use a cookie scoop to measure the perfect amount every time. Definitely avoid overbaking or underbaking your muffins. Set your timer to check them at the lowest time on the recipe card. Add thirty seconds at a time and check again, removing once the knife or toothpick comes out mostly clean.
• Make sure you grease the pan with butter or shortening or use cupcake liners. We don’t recommend non-stick cooking spray because it gums up on your pan and is difficult to get off.
• If your powdered sugar is clumpy, use really hot water to make your glaze. It will break up the clumps and allow you to get a smooth glaze once you use a whisk on it. Wait for it to cool a little bit before drizzling so that it doesn’t run right off the muffin.

How to Serve Cinnamon Roll Muffins

Warm or cold. By themselves or as part of a larger spread. As breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner or dessert. In picnic baskets, lunch boxes, paper bags, and plastic containers. I cannot think of a single moment of my day in which I would not welcome one of these muffins in my mouth. Yes, please.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the secret to moist muffins?

The most perfect muffins are made with sour cream (I did say it was the secret ingredient!) If you want your muffins to be perfectly moist and evenly crumbed, use full-fat sour cream. Plain unsweetened yogurt is a reasonably close substitute.

Can this be made ahead of time?

Yes. Make muffins one or two days ahead of time or make them well ahead of time and freeze them to enjoy later. We have over thirty muffin recipes on our site If you made each of these recipes you’d have over 300 muffins in the freezer to grab and go on your way out the door. It’s an easy, guaranteed breakfast. Frozen muffins thaw in the microwave in about thirty seconds.

Can I make mini muffins?

Yes, you can make mini muffins for the perfect bite-sized treat. Watch baking time because they can take 1 to 2 minutes less than a regular muffin recipe. Mini muffin tins hold about 1/3 to 1/2 the amount of batter as a regular muffin tin, so doubling the yield is a good rule of thumb, or 24 in this case.

How To Reheat & Store Muffins

Best way to store Cinnamon Roll Muffins

Once the muffins are completely cool and drizzled with glaze, place them in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature for storage. These muffins freeze great. Within one or two days, move your muffins to the freezer so they don’t go to waste.

How to reheat Cinnamon Roll Muffins?

If you want a hot muffin place them in the microwave for 15-second intervals. The glaze will seep into the muffin. You can also keep extra glaze in the refrigerator to glaze over the muffins before serving.

If you’ve got hungry people, we’ve got more muffin recipes.

I wasn’t kidding when I said we had over thirty recipes! It’s a growing collection of the busy persons favorite easy and homemade breakfast treat. Whether you make Apple Cider Donut Muffins or Easy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins they are sure to be a crowd pleaser. Try fresh peach muffins in summer and Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffins in the winter. Once you’ve tried one of these recipes you will keep coming back for more.

I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe as much as we do. Drop me a comment below, and don’t forget to give it a star rating. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Your comments and ratings help others decide if this recipe is for them too.

Did you enjoy this recipe? Don’t forget to pin it for later and follow me on Pinterest for more delicious recipes like this one!