Easy Cinnamon Streusel Muffins with Pecans

If you’re looking for an amazing cinnamon streusel muffin with crunchy topping you’ve come to the right place. This recipe, which features a streusel topping over a moist cinnamon-y muffin, is perfect.

Whether you’re baking for a breakfast treat, an afternoon snack, or even a tasty dessert, these bakery style muffins will hit the spot.

Streusel? What’s That?

I know what you’re wondering: “What is streusel, anyway?” Streusel (pronounced stroo??z?l) is a crumb-like topping that sits atop some of your favorite treats–like coffee cakes, and quick breads. This crunchy topping is made up of several ingredients: brown sugar, butter, flour, and cinnamon, along with (in this case) pecans.

Maybe you’ve heard the expression: “The icing on the cake.” In some ways, streusel is like that. It adds an extra layer of sweetness to a muffin or coffee cake. So, even if the muffin isn’t terribly sweet, the top of the muffin makes you feel like you’re getting a real treat.

I love pecans, so I couldn’t resist adding them. It made a crunchy pecan streusel. And thanks to the depth of the brown sugar, the muffin has a rich caramel-like flavor.

These muffins are a real treat. I made them to give to friends, but nibbled on one. They’re good warm, but can I just say that they’re even better totally cool.

INGREDIENTS:

Ready to make these delicious muffins? You’ll find a full, printable recipe at the bottom of this post but for now, here’s a quick peek at what you’ll need:

For the Muffins:

Dry Ingredients:

• All purpose flour
• Brown sugar, tightly packed
• Brown sugar, tightly packed
• Baking powder
• Cinnamon
• Salt

Wet Ingredients

• Large Eggs
• Sour cream
• Whole Milk
• Melted butter

Streusel Ingredients

• All-purpose flour
• Brown sugar
• Room temperature butter
• Cinnamon
• Chopped pecans

How to make these yummy cinnamon streusel muffins

These sweet, tasty muffins come together easily. I whipped them up in no time and I’m sure you’ll do the same.

Start by preparing your muffin tin. I sprayed mine with vegetable spray. You can use butter, if you prefer.

Place all of your dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

Whisk until they are incorporated.

In a separate large bowl, place all of your wet ingredients. (Note: I used salted butter, but you might opt to used unsalted butter. Either will work fine. It’s a matter of preference.)

Whisk until incorporated.

Now it’s time to combine your ingredients. Put half of your flour mixture into the wet ingredients. I mixed mine with a rubber spatula but you can certainly use an electric mixer if you like.

Now add the rest of your flour and work it in. Don’t over mix. You don’t want to over-activate the gluten strands.

Scoop into prepared muffin pan. (I used an ice cream scoop.) This recipe makes 12 muffins.

Now it’s time for the streusel:

In a bowl, combine all of the streusel ingredients except the pecans. I used a fork to work my butter in. It’s dry and crumbly. (Note: You can use cold butter for this process. Just grate it or chop into small pieces before starting.)

Now add your pecans and stir well. The mixture will look like coarse crumbs.

Spoon generous portions of the mixture over muffin batter and pat down.

Place the tin into the oven and bake muffins at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes.

When they come out of the oven you’ll notice they have muffin tops. (Eat enough of them and you’ll have a few muffin tops of your own!)

Place on a wire cooling rack to come to room temperature.

If you like, you can drizzle caramel topping or a simple powdered sugar glaze over the muffins. Regardless of how you enjoy them, you’ll be thrilled to see how light and fluffy they are on the inside. Yum! Crunchy on top, lighter than air in the middle? Yes, please!

How to Store These Muffins:

It’s best to store them in an airtight container. You can also placed them in a ziplock bag and freeze to eat later. (They will stay good in the freezer for a couple of months.)

Talk about a perfect way to start your day! These aren’t just great for breakfast–they’re yummy all day long.

Variations on this Easy Cinnamon Streusel Muffin recipe:

These are my favorite muffins I’ve made in a while, but there are plenty of ways to make them even better!

• Looking for more flavor? Add half a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice or half a cup of cookie butter (in place of some of the butter). You can always add an extra half teaspoon cinnamon to the recipe, as well.
• Want some added crunch? Add half a cup of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal (crushed).
• Wanting more moisture? Add an extra quarter cup of vegetable oil to the recipe.
• Looking for a different type of glaze? Add cinnamon to your powdered sugar glaze or use caramel topping.
• Make a cream cheese frosting glaze. (Basically, cream cheese, butter, a dash of milk to get it to the consistency you like.)
• Serve with cinnamon sugar butter. (Yum!)
• Add some orange zest (both to the muffins and the glaze)
• Jazz up your muffin with some fruit: Add half a cup of chopped apples or peaches.
• Not in the mood for muffins? Use a cake pan to make a terrific coffee cake. A 9 x 13 will do just fine. Bake the cake with the streusel mix on top and serve with a piping hot cup of coffee.

More great recipes

If you’re crazy about sweet cinnamon treats you’ll love my Apple Spice Skillet Cake. It’s warm, rich, and packed with cinnamon goodness.

In the mood for muffins, but want something different? I’ve got several muffin recipes, including Cookie Butter Banana Muffins, Double Dark Chocolate Espresso Muffins, Easy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins and my tasty Orange Cranberry Muffins.

I was tickled to share this recipe on Miz Helen’s Full Plate Thursday. Check out the other things she has on her page!

Looking for healthy muffin options? Why not try my Healthy Bran Muffins with Peanut Butter or my Healthy Cinnamon Apple Muffins? You’ll love them!

More healthy options can be found at Julia’s Simply Southern, like this yummy-looking Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins recipe.

That’s it for now, friends. Check back from time to time for more muffin recipes.

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About the Author

Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 150 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.