A perfect treat to pair with coffee or tea, these decadent crumb cake muffins are like a slice of your favorite coffee crumb cake, but in handheld form. Just like in my go-to muffin recipe, the sour cream in the batter keeps the muffins moist and tender without weighing them down. But let’s be real: we are really here for those buttery brown sugar cinnamon crumbles on top… and there are plenty!
One reader, Erika, commented: “These crumb muffins were perfection and disappeared immediately! This will be my go-to muffin for larger groups as it is such a crowd-friendly option! Delicious—thanks for sharing! ★★★★★“
Recently, I set out to make a muffin version of my super-popular recipes for coffee cake and New York-style crumb cake. Individually portioned muffins that have all the same qualities you love about classic crumb cake:
- Flavors of cinnamon, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla
- A moist, slightly dense crumb made with sour cream
- Oodles of delicious crumbles on top
- And a little vanilla icing drizzle for good measure!
Behind the Recipe: Testing Crumb Cake Muffins
It turned out to take more rounds of testing than I expected! As someone who has made countless batches of muffins over the years, and could probably make any variation of this versatile muffin recipe in my sleep, I thought it would be a piece of (crumb) cake to develop this recipe!
Instead, as the muffins were rising in the oven, they started shedding their crumbles all over the muffin pan, like they couldn’t wait to be free of them. What a disappointment—not to mention a mess.
Here’s how we fixed it:
After a few more rounds of testing, my team and I figured out what needed to change to convince the crumb cake muffins to hold onto their crumbs:
- Don’t fill the muffin cups completely. In most of my muffin recipes, I direct you to fill the muffin cups all the way to the top, because we want those super-tall bakery-style muffin tops. But we need these muffins to not rise into tall peaks, so the crumbles don’t go tumbling off in an avalanche. Using less batter in each muffin cup extends the batter to make 15 muffins, so you get 3 bonus muffins! You’re welcome!
- Skip the usual high-heat trick. Again, with most of my muffin recipes, I instruct you to start baking the muffins at 425°F for the first 5 minutes, and then lowering the temperature to 350°F for the remainder of the bake time. This quickly lifts the tops of the muffins up, but again, we don’t want that here. Bake the entire time at 350°F (177°C).
Even with these adjustments, you should expect to still lose a few crumbles as the muffins expand and rise in the oven. But don’t worry, I’ve made sure the recipe makes plenty of crumb topping for these muffins!
Grab These Ingredients:
- Brown Sugar: Moist brown sugar is the key to a crumb topping that’s soft, not crunchy.
- Cinnamon: A key flavor in both the topping and the base of these muffins.
- Butter: You need melted butter for the crumb topping, and room-temperature butter for the muffin batter. Creaming the room-temperature butter with sugar produces a wonderfully cakey texture. Here’s a deep dive on how to cream butter and sugar, if you’re interested in learning more about the process.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the best choice for the topping as well as the batter.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda: These leavening agents help the muffins rise. You’ll notice I reduced the baking soda from my usual muffin recipe—this creates a slightly more controlled lift, allowing the muffins to hold onto more crumbs. They’re still wonderfully light and tender!
- Salt: Flavor enhancer.
- Granulated Sugar: While you could use brown sugar here, I recommend white granulated sugar to ensure the texture of the muffins isn’t overly heavy and dense.
- Eggs: Bind ingredients together, and add tenderness and richness.
- Vanilla Extract: If you have homemade vanilla extract, use it!
- Sour Cream: The magic moist maker! Just like in this white cake, sour cream adds moisture without weighing down these cake-like muffins.
- Milk: Just a little, to thin out the batter.
Make the Crumb Topping First
You’ll mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter together. I usually just use a fork to do this. Add in the flour, and stir until medium-sized crumbles form. You don’t want to overmix it or you’ll end up with a paste. Refrigerate the crumb topping until you’re ready to use it.
Why? Cold crumbs hold their shape better while baking.
Next, Make the Muffins
Whisk the dry ingredients, cream butter and sugars, add the remaining wet ingredients as the recipe instructs below, and mix it all together as you add the milk.
Divide the batter between 15 muffin liners. If you try to make fewer muffins, they will rise too much, and all of the crumbs will fall off. Trust me, my team and I have made many failed batches in our attempts.
Press the cold crumbs down as much as possible to adhere them to the batter:
While I love muffins with add-ins, from fruit to chocolate chips, nuts, and more, this muffin is anything but plain. Instead, with nothing to distract from them, the sweet, buttery, cinnamon-y flavors really shine through! A few taste testers even asked for “more of those delicious brown sugar muffins.”
Excellent flavor here!
However, if you want to take these crumb cake muffins to the next level of crumb cake indulgence, you can always add a drizzle of easy 3-ingredient vanilla icing. 😉
Can’t get enough crumb topping? Here are some more favorite recipes for you:
- Crumb Cake Donuts
- Pumpkin Crumb Cake Muffins
- Zucchini Crumb Cake
- Apple Crumb Cake
- Raspberry Almond Crumb Cake
- Crumb-Topped Cherry Pie Bars
- Blackberry Cream Cheese Crumb Cake
Crumb Cake Muffins
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 47 minutes
- Yield: 15 muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These rich and buttery crumb cake muffins capture all the goodness of a classic crumb coffee cake but in a perfectly portioned, handheld treat. For the best results, follow the recipe closely—divide the batter evenly into 15 muffins (no fewer) and chill the crumb topping to help it maintain its texture.
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 3/4 cup (150g) light or dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
Muffins
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (180g) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk (any kind)
Optional Vanilla Icing
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted (sift after measuring)*
- 2–3 Tablespoons (30–45ml) milk (any kind) or heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners; line 3 cups of a second muffin pan with 3 liners (or bake in batches)—this recipe makes 15 muffins. Set aside.
- Make the crumb topping: Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter together in a small bowl until combined. Add the flour and use a fork to gently mix until crumbs form. Don’t over-mix into a paste. Just mix until it is crumbly. It will seem like a lot of crumb topping, and it is! These are generously topped. Place crumb topping mixture in the refrigerator while you make the muffin batter. Cold crumbs hold shape better when baking.
- Make the muffins: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the eggs and beat on medium speed until incorporated. Add the sour cream and vanilla, and beat until the mixture is combined and mostly creamy. (It’s ok if it appears somewhat curdled.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients, followed by the milk. Avoid over-mixing—you may need to switch to stirring with a spatula or whisking by hand to be sure no flour pockets are hiding at the bottom of the bowl. Batter is thick.
- Spoon approximately 3 Tablespoons of batter into each of the 15 prepared muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 full. Spoon crumb topping on each, gently pressing it down so it adheres to the batter.
- Bake for 22–24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It’s normal for some of the crumb topping to fall off the sides as the muffins expand, but most should remain securely on top.
- Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan(s), then transfer to a cooling rack to continue cooling. Let them cool for at least 15 minutes before icing.
- Make the icing (if using): Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, 2 Tablespoons milk or heavy cream, and vanilla extract together. Add another Tablespoon of milk or heavy cream to thin out if necessary. For thicker icing, add a little more confectioners’ sugar. Drizzle over muffins.
- Iced or plain muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze baked & cooled muffins for up to 3 months. You can freeze with or without the icing, but making the icing fresh before serving is always best. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature before enjoying. Warm up in the microwave if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer) | Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Milk: You can use any milk, dairy or nondairy, in both the muffin batter and icing. For best taste and texture, I do not recommend nonfat milk.
- Confectioners’ Sugar in Icing: I use and recommend Domino brand confectioners’ sugar.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Can I substitute Greek yogurt for the sour cream
Hi Terry, yes, Greek yogurt is a good substitution for the sour cream in these muffins.
These are the most delicious muffins ever! However, I had some trouble with the crumb topping. When I mixed the ingredients as directed, the mixture was very wet, like a solid mass. I refrigerated it and had to use a fork and my hands to break it up. I measured and weighed ingredients carefully and didn’t overmix. I’m wondering what I did wrong. Thank you for all the excellent recipes!
Hi Julie, we’re so glad you enjoyed the muffins! When mixing the topping, just mix until it is crumbly. It may harden just a bit in the refrigerator as the melted butter starts to get cold, but this helps the crumbs keep shape when baking.
I always use tulip baking cups so I can fill the cups and the crumbs are contained.
I also just like the look.
I love all your muffin recipes. Thanks so much for doing all the work needed to perfect them so we can all enjoy.
I just made these into mini muffins and they came out moist and delicious. I doubled the amount of cinnamon and added cinnamon to the icing since my husband LOVES CINNAMON. I’ll definitely make these again soon.
I’m wondering why these bake at 350 instead of 400 like most of your muffins? I’m going to make these today but I’m confused about the temperature. Thanks
Hi Belinda! You can read more about this change in the recipe testing section of the post: “Skip the usual high-heat trick. Again, with most of my muffin recipes, I instruct you to start baking the muffins at 425°F for the first 5 minutes, and then lowering the temperature to 350°F for the remainder of the bake time. This quickly lifts the tops of the muffins up, but again, we don’t want that here. Bake the entire time at 350°F (177°C).“
I love most of Sally’s recipes but this one was a little disappointing. I did make 15 muffins as suggested but if I made these again honestly I think I would go for 17 or 18. And I might even put some of the crumble in the middle of the muffin batter.
As the muffins baked the crumbles went completely to the edges of the muffin leaving a plain pasty looking top. I was underwhelmed with the batter as well. Not much flavor with a doughy taste. They were okay but not great.
Is there a particular brand of flour you use. If so, what brand?
Hi Diana, Sally prefers King Arthur flour.
Hi Sally. I was so excited to try this recipe, I LOVE crumb cake. I’m an experienced baker and have made dozens of your recipes. You’re my favorite spot to find a recipe.
I’m not sure where I went wrong but my muffins grew WAY too big and overflowed in the oven. I topped them all with the crumble and even pushed it down a bit, but by the time my muffins came out they had spread so much that only some parts were covered with crumble. Even though they aren’t pretty, they still taste great.
Any ideas on what happened? I made sure all of the items were at room temp and spooned and leveled the ingredients.
Looking forward to trying this recipe again with more luck. Thank you
Hi Sarah, I’m sorry to hear this! Happy to help troubleshoot. Did you divide the batter between 15 muffin cups?
This is a very tasty muffins, but all that sugar on top was the wrong ratio in my opinion. I know that was the goal, but it was a lot.
I made these yesterday, they’re easy and delicious. My whole family loved them!
Following the recipe to the letter, we found the muffins to be bland with little to no flavor. Could barely taste the cinnamon. Disappointing, all the recipes I’ve tried have turned out with good
flavor. Will not be making these again
Thanks for taking the time to leave this feedback, Dawn. I appreciate it.
It’s because there’s not nearly enough salt. Try adding some salt to the crumb topping, and doubling the salt in the muffin itself. I’d use 1 tsp Diamond brand kosher salt in the muffin, and maybe another 1/2 tsp in the crumb to begin. I’m not sure why, but the salt for recipes on this site is often insufficient.
These are fantastic muffins!! So tender, moist and buttery. The crumble topping is sweet and delicious without being overly sweet! I followed this recipe exactly, no substitutions. I made 6 jumbo muffins, which I baked for 22 minutes, checked with a tooth pick, then checked again every 5 minutes until done. The total bake time came to 32 minutes. I’m already looking forward to making these again!
Like so many of your recipes, this one calls for a mixer w/paddle attachments. Unfortunately my mixer is a 1970’s Sunbeam that has no such attachments. Can I cream the butter and sugar by hand or is there another method you can suggest?
Hi Vintage baker, you should be able to use the beaters to cream butter and sugar – have you done so with your mixer before?
Trina – I have tried that, the betters get gummed up w/the batter. I have tried Sally’s tip on quick softening the butter and just leaving the butter out for hours but always seems hard. Hand creaming is also not easy to do
These muffins are incredible!! I am an avid baker and Sally is always my first stop when looking for new ideas and she never disappoints! These crumb muffins were perfection and disappeared immediately! This will be my go to muffin for larger groups as it is such a crowd friendly option! Delicious-thanks for sharing!
These are great muffins and not too sweet even with the crumb topping and icing. I made a half batch, which resulted in 8 muffins. Next time, I might add some chopped pecans to the topping.
Can you use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream?
Hi Marisa, yes, Greek yogurt is a good substitution for the sour cream in these muffins.
Can this recipe be made as 7 jumbo muffins?
Hi Robin, you can try these as jumbo muffins, and the bake time will be longer.
Can I put cinnamon chips in these muffins?
Hi Gloria, absolutely. I recommend 1 cup (around 180-190g). Since there is more volume, you may want to make 16 or 17 muffins instead.
I just made these! They look great. The batter made six regular size muffins and 20 mini muffins so my son can take them to work. They all look beautiful! Even without baking them at the higher temperature for the first five minutes they puffed up beautifully! I baked the mini size for 13 minutes and the regular size for 21 minutes. Will be glazing them shortly! Thank you, Sally!
I love all your recipes. You are certainly my good to baker. Would love to bake these but not in muffin form. What size square pan could I use. No loaf pan please.
Hi Helyn! Here’s the cake version of this recipe – Sour Cream Coffee Cake, baked in an 8 or 9 inch square pan.
Thank you!!! Love all your recipes. Every one turns out delicious.
For high altitude baking, I usually add three level tablespoons of flour.
Do you have suggests for high-altitude baking?
Hi Debbie, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Would using tall muffin liners (the kind that are folded with the pointed ends) help keep the crumb topping in place while the muffins bake?
Hi P.J., we did test it that way and the crumbs sank into the batter a bit (because they are “forced” to), but it did prevent excess crumbles from spilling over the sides! You can certainly use those.
What happens if your sour cream is not full fat? Just trying to use what’s in my fridge and my grandson LOVES crumb topped muffins! Thx!
Hi Glenna! That would be fine. I do prefer full fat for a richer texture and flavor, but light is OK in a pinch of course!
Can I assume the only difference would be the baking time if I use the jumbo muffin tin?
Hi Deb, that’s correct. You can try these as jumbo muffins, and the bake time will be longer.
Can i make this recipe in a loaf pan
Hi Nancy, we’d recommend making this recipe for crumb cake; see the section titled “Variations & Different Pan Sizes” in that post for details 🙂
I will be making the CREAMCHEESE FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE TODAY FOR BRUNCH,WILL LET YOU KNOW TOMARROW IF ANY IS LEFTOVER lol.
Wonderful looking, w sour cream gotta be great! Would batter support some rasp or blueberries if berries tossed in flour first? Thank you
Hi Nancy, yes, you can add some additions like berries. I recommend 1 cup, and gently fold them in after tossing in a little flour. Since there is more volume, I recommend increasing the yield to 16 or 17 muffins.
I have a question, please.
Can these be made in mini muffin pans? I rather make mini muffins that regular sized ones.
Hi! You can certainly try it, but I fear with the mini size, they will puff up too much and all the crumbs will fall off. Let me know how they turn out!
I love all your recipes. Can I make the batter the night before and then bake it the next morning?
Thank you.
Hi Susan, I’m sure that would be fine but you may lose a little rise since the baking powder is initially activated as soon as it’s mixed with the wet ingredients.
My grandkids are obsessed with muffing tops, would you make any changes if using a muffin top pan other than cook time?
Hi Sheila, the recipe will obviously yield more, but I wouldn’t change anything else besides reducing the bake time.