Cinnamon Sugar Cream Cheese Muffins

These cinnamon sugar cream cheese muffins are full of sugar, spice, and everything nice. Oh, and they're stuffed with cream cheese! They are delicious anytime of year, but especially as the weather gets cool and we all start craving those nostalgic, warming spices.

Ease into Fall with these Cinnamon Sugar Cream Cheese Muffins

September, my birthday month, is when I first created these muffins. The last month of summer and the always premature "Happy Fall, Y'all," Pumpkin-Spice-everything craze. Stop. Just please wait until it's actually Fall and it's actually pumpkin season, people!! September is more summer than it is Fall. It is the beautiful in-between month, when we say goodbye to summer, but we still have a few delicious tomatoes and peaches lingering at the markets. Apples start to come into season. Mornings get cooler and crisper. The light changes. Slower cooking dishes find their way into our kitchens. Warm spices find their way into our baked goods (like these cinnamon muffins). I love it. I love late Summer/early Fall. Pumpkins will get their chance come October. Let's just enjoy what we have right now and not rush anything, okay?

This doesn't mean I'm not excited about Fall; It's my favorite season and I've always identified as a Fall baby even though technically I'm a summer baby. I just love to experience all the little changes as they come rather than jumping ahead.

What is the secret to making moist muffins?

The secret to a moist, tender muffin is to mix your dry and wet ingredients in separate containers before adding wet to dry and mixing very lightly. Do not overmix your muffin batter if you want a moist, tender muffin. Also, full fat milk and either butter or oil in the batter will keep the muffins moist. Lastly, don't overbake. Err on the side of caution and start checking when there are about 5 minutes left on the baking time.

How to make Cinnamon Sugar Cream Cheese Muffins

More detailed instructions can be found below in the recipe card.

1. Preheat oven.
2. Prepare Muffin pan.
3. Mix dry ingredients.
4. Mix wet ingredients.
5. Pour wet mixture into dry and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until just combined. Don't overmix. The secret to the best muffins is to have a really ugly, shaggy, barely mixed batter.
6. Fill muffin cups half way, add a piece of cream cheese and really press it down into the batter. Fill the rest of the way with batter. I use a leveled two tablespoon cookie scoop for the first layer of batter and again for the second layer of batter.
7. Bake in preheated oven
8. Once baked, remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer muffins to cooling racks.
9. Combine melted butter and vanilla extract for topping. Stir together remaining topping ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
10. Brush each muffin top with melted butter mixture and roll in cinnamon vanilla sugar mixture. If you didn't use liners you can brush the entire muffin and roll the whole thing in the sugar mixture but you may need to double the topping ingredients.

This post was originally published in September 2019. It was updated on October 1st, 2023 with an updated recipe card and a bit more body text. The original recipe made 24 muffins, I adjusted and reduced the amounts to make 12. I also removed the baking soda as it was not necessary to the recipe.

I have a thing for muffins

I have often said, "muffins are the friendliest of baked goods." Creating muffin recipes is a passion of mine and I've been making them since my first born was just so little. This cinnamon muffin is just one example of a recipe creation that became a tradition in our home. They are easy to make and everyone loves them. Perfect for breakfast on the go, lunchboxes, after school snacks, or with a cup of tea or coffee anytime of day. Make sure to check out my other muffin recipes. Here are a few that are perfect for Fall:

Apple Butter Muffins

Pumpkin Banana Muffins

Cardamom Spiced Blueberry Jam Muffins

Chocolate Olive Oil Muffins

I hope you'll give these sweet little cinnamon sugar muffins a try and let me know if you do by leaving a comment and star rating below. Happy muffin making! xo - Anita

Cinnamon Sugar Cream Cheese Muffins

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Sugar, spice, and everything nice. These muffins are soft, moist, scented with cinnamon and vanilla, and stuffed with tangy cream cheese. After baking they are brushed with vanilla butter and rolled in cinnamon vanilla sugar. They are the perfect way to ease into the Fall season.

• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 12 regular muffins or 24 mini muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• ½ cup granulated white sugar
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¾ cup milk (I use whole milk but use any milk you prefer)
• ½ cup (1 standard stick or 4 ounces) butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

For the filling:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into 12 pieces for regular muffins or 24 pieces for mini muffins

For the topping:

• ½ cup granulated white sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon vanilla bean powder (optional)
• 2 tablespoons butter (1 ounce), melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Prepare a 12-count muffin pan (24 if making mini muffins) with liners, or a generous spray of nonstick baking spray.
3. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl or large glass measuring cup, mix together milk, eggs, butter, and vanilla. Give it a really good whisk to break up the eggs.
5. Pour wet mixture into dry and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until just combined. Don't overmix. The secret to the best muffins is to have a really ugly, shaggy, barely mixed batter.
6. Fill muffin cups half way, add a piece of cream cheese and really press it down into the batter. Fill the rest of the way with batter. I use a leveled two tablespoon cookie scoop for the first layer of batter and again for the second layer of batter.
7. Bake in preheated oven: 22-25 minutes for large muffins, 18-20 minutes for mini. I've found these times to be reliable, but if you want to check with a toothpick, make sure you avoid the cream cheese. You want to see a few moist crumbs, not any wet batter. Another way to check is to just press the muffin top lightly with your finger. It should feel firm and not leave an indentation.
8. Once baked, remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes, then transfer muffins to cooling racks.
9. Combine melted butter and vanilla extract for topping. Stir together remaining topping ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
10. Brush each muffin top with melted butter mixture and roll in cinnamon vanilla sugar mixture. If you didn't use liners you can brush the entire muffin and roll the whole thing in the sugar mixture but you may need to double the topping ingredients.

Notes

Feel free to use a smaller amount of cream cheese or to leave it out all together. 

A neutral oil can be used in place of the butter.

• Author: anita | wild thistle kitchen
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Category: breakfast, snack
• Method: baking
• Cuisine: American