This is my ultimate muffin recipe—starting with a thick and creamy muffin batter, your choice of additions, and two topping options. Customize it with your favorite mix-ins and flavor combinations for endless possibilities like blueberry muffins, lemon poppy seed muffins, and apple cinnamon muffins.
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, helpful success tips, and additional flavors.
This is my staple muffin recipe, to which I fold in a variety of additions and flavors. I’ve relied on it since 2014 when I developed and originally published my best blueberry muffins. I was so pleased with the taste and texture that I kept experimenting with new flavors—and over time, I’ve realized the possibilities are actually endless.
In fact, I love this mix-and-match ultimate muffin recipe so much that I’m including it in my new cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101! (Including an exclusive-to-the-book birthday cake flavor.)
Can one muffin batter truly make infinite muffin flavors? We haven’t reached the limit yet…
Why This Should Be Your Go-To Muffin Recipe, Too:
- Batter produces soft, fluffy, tall bakery-style muffins
- Endlessly customizable for infinite muffin varieties
- Includes baking instructions for all sizes of muffins—makes 12 standard muffins, 6 jumbo muffins, or 36–40 mini muffins
- Make the crumb topping or simply sprinkle coarse sugar on top for a sparkly crunch
One reader, Karen, commented: “These were the best muffins I’ve ever made. No more store-bought! I can hardly wait to try a new batch every week. This is going to be fun! ★★★★★“
Another reader, Stacey, commented: “Made these tonight in a jumbo muffin tin, and added chocolate chips. Very tender muffin, but still a perfect base for more substantial mix-ins like chocolate. Domed beautifully! Will be making these a LOT going forward! ★★★★★“
Here are 10 of my muffin recipes that I’ve published using this base muffin batter:
- Cranberry Cardamom Spice Muffins
- Blackberry Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Peach Muffins
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins (pictured)
- Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (pictured)
- Blueberry Muffins (pictured)
- Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins (pictured)
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Crumb Cake Muffins
Today I’m also sharing White Chocolate Raspberry and Chocolate Chip Crumb. Details for making each are in the recipe Notes below!
Ingredients for the Muffin Batter
- Flour: Stick with all-purpose flour. The flour gives the muffins structure and keeps the batter nice and thick so the add-ins (chocolate chips, berries, nuts, etc.) stay suspended.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: For maximum rise, we’re using both leaveners here.
- Salt, Cinnamon, & Vanilla Extract: The flavor enhancers. The cinnamon is optional—leave it out if it doesn’t work well with the other flavors. For example, I use it when I make apple or chocolate chip muffins, but skip it when I make lemon muffins.
- Butter: We’re creaming the butter to make these fluffy, springy muffins, so make sure to use proper room-temperature butter here. If you’re a beginner baker or if you need a refresher, I also have a helpful video tutorial on how to cream butter and sugar.
- Sugar: A mix of granulated sugar and brown sugar sweetens these muffins.
- Eggs: Eggs add moisture and richness, and bind everything together.
- Sour Cream: Sour cream helps keep the muffins tender, soft, and extra moist. If needed, you can use plain Greek yogurt instead.
- Milk: Milk lightens up the crumb. I usually use whole milk, but you can use low-fat or nondairy milk if you prefer.
Expect a creamy, thick batter:
Fold in your additions, such as apples, chocolate chips, nuts, berries, etc. If making something like lemon poppy seed muffins, add the lemon zest and juice when you add the milk, and mix the poppy seeds in with the dry ingredients. I have these details in the recipe Notes below.
This is the chocolate chip muffin batter:
Muffin Topping Options
Before baking, decide if you want to top the muffins. Here are my 2 recommendations:
- Coarse Sugar: Simple, yet bakery-style beautiful! Coarse sugar gives the muffins a sparkly crunch.
- Crumb Topping: A classic choice, my brown sugar cinnamon crumb topping works with a variety of muffin flavors. I have the recipe for you below. If desired, you can use another crumb-like topping such as the easy brown sugar pecan streusel I use on this blueberry muffins version or this lemon crumb topping I use on my lemon blueberry muffins.
Here I’m topping the chocolate chip muffin variety with the crumb topping:
The Trick to Tall Muffin Tops
I’ve been using this muffin trick for years and SWEAR by it. Nearly all of the muffin recipes you see on my website and in my cookbooks also use it.
Make sure your muffin batter is thick (this one is). Fill your muffin cups/liners with the batter all the way to the top. Bake the muffins for just 5 minutes at a high temperature. Reduce the temperature for the remaining bake time. This burst of hot air lifts the muffins straight up, creating a solid dome. The rest of the time at a lower baking temperature cooks the center of the muffin.
Optional Finishing Touches
If you want even more ways to jazz up your muffins, try finishing them with a topping:
- Vanilla icing
- Lemon icing: you can find the recipe with my lemon poppy seed muffins. This is also fantastic on the muffin varieties that have berries.
- Orange icing: you can find the recipe with my cranberry orange muffins.
- Maple icing: what we use to top maple brown sugar cookies.
- Brown butter icing: what we use to top pistachio cookies.
- Salted caramel sauce: this is so good on the apple cinnamon muffins!
Even More Muffin Flavors
- Cinnamon Pecan Muffins: ultimate muffin batter + 3/4 cup (100g) chopped pecans + 3/4 cup (135g) cinnamon chips. Add the crumb topping.
- White Chocolate Nectarine: ultimate muffin batter + 1 and 1/4 cups (about 230g) peeled finely chopped nectarine + 1/2 cup (90g) white chocolate chips. Add the crumb topping or try the pecan streusel topping from the blueberry muffins.
- Pear Spice Muffins: ultimate muffin batter + 1 and 1/4 cups (about 230g) peeled finely chopped pear + 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and allspice
- Banana Nut Muffins: ultimate muffin batter + 3/4 cup (170g) mashed banana + leave out sour cream + 1 cup (130g) chopped walnuts.
- Ginger Peach Muffins: ultimate muffin batter + 1 and 1/4 cups (about 230g) peeled finely chopped peaches + 2 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger. Add the crumb topping or try the pecan streusel topping from the blueberry muffins.
- Pineapple Coconut Muffins: ultimate muffin batter + 1 cup (100g) sweetened shredded coconut + 1 cup (225g) finely chopped pineapple (fresh or canned, drained)
- Cranberry Apple Muffins: ultimate muffin batter + 1 cup (about 120g) peeled chopped apple + 1 cup (120g) fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw).
P.S. Looking for a chocolate muffin base? Use the batter from these double chocolate muffins.
Print
Ultimate Muffin Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Use this base muffin recipe to make any flavor of muffin you can dream up! They’re easy, delicious, and freezer friendly. See Notes section below the recipe for my 5 favorite flavor variations, plus baking instructions for jumbo and mini muffins.
Ingredients
Optional Crumb Topping
- 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 Tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2/3 cup (83g) all-purpose flour
Muffin Batter
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional, depending on your add-ins)*
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk (any kind), at room temperature
- add-ins of your choice (see Notes)*
- optional if not using crumb topping: 2 Tablespoons coarse sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Make the crumb topping, if using: In a medium bowl, mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon. Stir in the melted butter. Using a fork, gently work in the flour just enough to combine. Do not overmix; the mixture should have large crumbles. Set topping aside or refrigerate until ready to use.
- Make the muffins: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon (if using) together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute, then turn up to high speed until the mixture is combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until just about combined. Add the milk and continue to beat on low speed until combined. Fold in your chosen add-ins. (See flavors/details in the Notes below.) The batter should be thick.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them all the way to the top. Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar or spoon on the crumb topping and lightly press the crumbles so they stick to the batter.
- Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C); then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 15–18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 22–23 minutes, give or take. Allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes in the muffin pan set on a cooling rack, then transfer the muffins from the pan to the rack to cool completely.
- Store muffins covered tightly at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- White Chocolate Raspberry Muffins: Omit the optional cinnamon. Fold 1 cup (125g) raspberries + 3/4 cup (135g) white chocolate chips into the batter as instructed in step 5. Sprinkle muffins with coarse sugar before baking as instructed in step 6.
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins: Keep the optional cinnamon in the base recipe, and add another 1 teaspoon with the dry ingredients in step 2. Fold 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) peeled chopped apples into the batter as instructed in step 5. Sprinkle muffins with crumb topping before baking as instructed in step 6.
- Blueberry Muffins: Mix the optional 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon with the dry ingredients in step 2. Fold 1 and 1/2 cups (210g) fresh or frozen blueberries into the batter as instructed in step 5. (If using frozen berries, do not thaw.) Sprinkle muffins with coarse sugar or crumb topping before baking as instructed in step 6.
- Chocolate Chip Muffins: Mix the optional 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon with the dry ingredients in step 2. Fold 1 and 1/2 cups (270g) semi-sweet chocolate chips into the batter as instructed in step 5. Sprinkle muffins with coarse sugar or crumb topping before baking as instructed in step 6.
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins: Omit the optional cinnamon. Mix 2 Tablespoons poppy seeds with the dry ingredients in step 2. Add 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon zest and 3 Tablespoons (45ml) fresh lemon juice when you add the milk. Sprinkle muffins with coarse sugar before baking as instructed in step 6. If desired, top cooled muffins with lemon icing.
- Freezing Instructions: Place muffins in an airtight freezer container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature, or warm up in the microwave if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Muffin Liners | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Coarse Sparkling Sugar | Cooling Rack
- Jumbo Muffins: 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce to 350°F for 22–25 minutes for a total of 27–30. Makes about 6.
- Mini Muffins: 350°F for 12–14 minutes (no initial higher oven temperature). Makes about 36–40.
- Chocolate Muffins: If you’re looking for a chocolate base muffin recipe, use this recipe for double chocolate muffins.
Share Your Muffin Masterpiece!
I love hearing from readers who have used this muffin recipe to make up their own varieties. Here are a few:
- Meg’s version: “Today this master muffin recipe is going to make us some tropical muffins with mango and coconut milk. I assume these will be a major hit as usual, your recipes always are in this house. ★★★★★“
- Helen’s version: “After looking on the internet for awhile I could not find an almond poppy seed muffin recipe to my liking!… So I decided to use your master muffin recipe, and they turned out amazing!!! I omitted the cinnamon, added a teaspoon of vanilla and almond extract, and 3 tablespoons of poppy seeds and topped it with sanding sugar… Oh my they were heaven! ★★★★★“
- Jackie‘s version: “Just made these with pear and spices. Came out so nice, fluffy, crispy. Love this recipe! Will definitely use it again. I did add about 3/4 cup walnuts as I really like nuts in muffins. ★★★★★“
- Lorri‘s version: “Outstanding is all I can say! This basic recipe will be my go-to basic muffin recipe going forward! I made blueberry orange and kept the cinnamon in! ★★★★★“
- Lana‘s version: “You’ve done it again! Wow! I baked a white chocolate nectarine version with fresh nectarines tonight! Fantastic! I’m excited to try other versions as the seasons change. ★★★★★“
Reader Comments and Reviews
Does this master recipe work for savory muffins?
I’m reading some novels based in Australia that refer to egg and bacon muffins and similar.
Thanks
J.
Hi Jaye, For savory muffins, we recommend following our savory quick bread recipe that you could turn into muffins. See recipe notes for the muffin instructions and all the flavor suggestions in the post. Or you may love our savory ham & cheese scones as well.
Hi! These look delicious! I would really like to try them but I can’t have sour cream. My question is do I have to include the sour cream and if I do, what can I substitute with that is not a soured dairy product like yogurt or buttermilk. Could I just add more extra milk but make the milk whole milk or applesauce?
Thanks!
Thanks
Hi Shannon, We do not recommend leaving out the sour cream/yogurt. You will want to make up for the wet ingredient. You may want to try unsweetened applesauce, mashed banana, or canned pumpkin puree instead.
These were so so good! I used brown butter and Greek yogurt instead of sour cream in mine and stuffed with Nutella, family loved them.
My batter was VERY thick. For example, I scooped some up and it fell off in one big clump. It doesn’t self-level and it cannot be poured. It was much thicker than pancake batter. I could scoop it up with my hand it would never run out. It was *almost* as thick as cookie batter, which seemed way too thick. Is this the right consistency? I made chocolate chip muffins and even though they were dense they were really good but the blueberry were not.
Hi Mia! If the batter was quite thick, there may have been too much flour. How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post.
Hi Sally these are great thanks for sharing gorgeous soul- is it possible to bake a batch and then freeze them for later?
Hi Debby, absolutely! Muffins are great to freeze! See the freezing instructions in the recipe notes (below the recipe).
Hi! I have a request for strawberry muffins “with no chunks”. I was thinking using the strawberry puree trick from your Homemade Strawberry Cake recipe – but wondering about correcting for the extra moisture. Any suggestions? Or should I just wing it and see what happens?
Hi Hilary! We haven’t tested adding strawberry puree to this muffin batter, but you could try replacing some or all of the milk with strawberry puree – let us know if you give it a go!
I tried these and they were a huge hit. Now I am wondering if the same batter can be used for a cake for a birthday party today
Question: How much Banana would you use for banana/nut muffins? Thinking about using this recipe for church on Sunday. Anybody do any other fun variations?
Hi Pam, see the “banana nut” section in this post. Increase cinnamon to 1 and 1/2 teaspoons, leave out the melted butter and replace with 1 cup of mashed banana (about 2 large bananas, mashed), increase oil to 1/2 cup (120ml), and use 1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts as the add-in. In addition to coarse sugar, I like to add a few thin slices of bananas on top of each muffin before baking.
Excellent base recipe….we had fun w/ different combinations of ‘add ins’. My daughter did marshmallows + white chocolate chips and I did dark chocolate + cherries.
Suggestions for Butter Rum muffins please. A local bakery has some DELICIOUS ones, I believe they have some type of mini butterscotch chips/morsels in the batter. Thank you!
Hi Sharon, we don’t have a recipe for butter rum muffins. You could certainly add butterscotch morsels to this batter though.
Need some advice…after I have creamed the sugar, brown sugar and butter, when I add the sour cream it has “curdled” or looks really bad…I have creamed the sugars and butter, for several minutes, can’t say it is smooth as I can taste the sugar grains (if that makes sense), then add the eggs and its fine but once the sour cream gets added it goes to looking like something you don’t want to see. Not sure what I am doing wrong. Thanks
Hi Michael, are your eggs room temperature? Some curling is normal, the batter comes together with the dry ingredients.
I found my answer to more cinnamon in your crumb cake muffins excellent recipe the answer is always there in. Your recipes just need to keep reading truly delicious recipe thank you again as always
Hi Lisa, we’d recommend these cinnamon crumb cake muffins. Let us know if you give them a try!
We used gluten free flour to make rhubarb muffins. I have made Sally’s muffins a few times now, but never gluten free, so am thrilled to find they worked, and tasted exactly the same.
How much rhubarb did you put?
This is such a great recipe for perfect muffins every time! Cakey and moist and scrumptious. Today I made date and walnut muffins. I softened half of the chopped dates in the milk and mixed the rest into the batter. Baked a dozen, and half are gone already.
I would like to add rhubarbe and wanted to know how much to add? Is there a spice that would go with rhubarb?
Hi Benedicte, we recommend using fresh rhubarb, slicing very thin, and folding into the muffin batter like any other add-in. We don’t find pre-cooking rhubarb necessary in muffin recipes. 1 – 1 and 1/2 cups of sliced rhubarb is plenty. Fold into the batter after you add the milk. Cinnamon, ginger, and/or cardamom are all nice complements to rhubarb.
Hi there, is there any difference in taste/texture between these muffins and the master bakery-style muffin recipe? They both seem customizable and similar in ingredients, so I wasn’t sure.
Hi Claire! These muffins lighter and more cake-like in their texture. Our bakery style muffins are a bit more dense. You can’t go wrong with either!
Could I substitute the milk for 1/2 cup mango puree and add 1 1\2 cups of blueberries as my add-in? Also, for a separate batch, could I mix 1\2 cup of peanut butter with the milk and use chocolate and my add-in?
Hi Mielah, we haven’t tested these muffins with a fruit puree, but it would take a bit of tweaking since it’s a different consistency than milk. For a peanut butter base, we’d use these peanut butter banana muffins as a starting point.
Don’t fill the cups to the top
What could I substitute for the sour cream or yogurt? I don’t have any plain but I have all the rest of the ingredients!
In most cases, if a recipe calls for both sour cream and milk, you can use buttermilk to replace BOTH. So, for example, in this muffin recipe, you will skip the sour cream and milk and use 3/4 cup (150ml) buttermilk when you would add the sour cream. Or you can use a DIY buttermilk substitute.
Is it possible to add bananas and if so how much. I have lots in my freezer that I would like to use. Many thanks.
Hi Viv! Here’s our reader favorite banana muffins recipe 🙂
I just added 3 bananas fully blitzed with a blender and a few dark choc chips. They turned out great! (I made mine gf and they are really light and fluffy!)
Can you recommend a scoop size (like an ice cream scoop) to evenly dispense the batter into the cups? I believe they are measured in tablespoons. I’m looking at the Solula brand – stainless steel, not plastic
Thank you
Hi Wendy, to fill muffin cups to the top (and you can even have a little piled high since this batter is thick) find a cookie scoop that holds 4 Tbsp of batter, such as the Soula #14
I just put the white chocolate chip raspberry muffins in the oven. Anxious to try!
Let us know how they go, Penni!
Is it possible to make the basic batter ahead a few days, and then bake later in the week with your favorite add-ins?
Hi Melissa, we don’t recommend preparing muffin batter ahead of time. It will not rise properly when baked. See recipe Notes for our recommended make-ahead instructions. Enjoy!
Hai, Sally.
Can I skip or substitute sour cream or greek yogurt? Since in my country it’s not a common use, not every market sell it. Thanks.
Hi Tita, In most cases, if a recipe calls for both sour cream and milk, you can use buttermilk to replace BOTH. So, for example, in this muffin recipe, you will skip the sour cream and milk and use 3/4 cup (150ml) buttermilk when you would add the sour cream.
Great recipe. I used a cup and a half of rhubarb tossed with raspberry jello as an add in. Added a couple extra tablespoons of sugar to adjust for sourness of the rhubarb.
Just wondering if you can sub some flaxseed meal for any of the dry ingredients. I have a bunch to use right now
Hi Melissa, that would take some testing but let us know what you try!
Sally, your wonderful website is my go-to place to find recipes. I have a question.
Is there any way to get this “Ultimate Muffin Recipe” and all the information here in some sort of pamphlet form? I apologize, but it is so time consuming to go back and forth on this page to get information for different variations. I’d gladly pay for one!! Have a great day!!
Hi Glenna! We don’t have anything like that at this time, but if you click the “Print” button in the gray recipe card, that will pop open a new window with a print-friendly version of the recipe. The flavor variations can be found in the recipe Notes section at the bottom. Hope this helps!
Hi there. Can I double up on this recipe or should I do one batch at a time?
Hi ZK, for best results, we recommend making separate batches rather than doubling.
I love this recipe! It so nice to have multiple add-in options in one place. I have made the recipe several times recently, using chocolate chips and also with blueberries. Both were delicious. I wrapped them in cellophane and gave them as little gifts. On two separate occasions, after eating the muffins, the recipients asked if I made the muffins or if I bought them at a bakery. 🙂
Thank you, Sally, for sharing your awesome muffin mix recipe. I am not a cook nor a baker, but am able to follow directions. Your recipe was easy to understand and resulted in the most awesome blueberry muffins! Thank you so much for sharing your expertise. Next up will be the raspberry white chocolate muffins. Can’t wait!