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
Hi! I became a new mom to a sibling group over 2 years ago and we love your muffin recipe! My eldest needs expensive therapy and I’d like to use at least one of your recipes with proper attribution for a fundraiser cookbook. Specifically the infinite muffin recipe. Lemme know! Thank you!
Hi Kourtney, So happy you love the recipe! Feel free to email us about this at sally@sallysbakingaddiction.com
I have found a few references to a pure Lemon Poppy seed Muffin recipe of yours that’s not the Orange Lemon Poppyseed one. Do you have one? This master muffin recipe with comments to Lemon Poppy seed is the closest I’ve seen.
Hi Carrie, The lemon poppy muffins are the ones in this post, yes! We also have these blackberry lemon poppy muffins that you can simply leave the berries out if you wish.
Hi, Sally. Every recipe of yours that I have tried has been a success. I made the pumpkin muffins in November. They were delicious. I measured dry ingredients for a second batch, and crumb topping, to make at a future time. Today was the future date. Unfortunately, I looked in the pantry and there was no pumpkin puree. To resolve my dilemma, I looked at your master recipe, and lo and behold, everything was the same, except for using sour cream and milk for the pumpkin. There was pumpkin spice in my dry ingredient mix, but that just gave it a nice flavor. They turned out beautifully and delicious. All this to say, thank you for all your work in creating great recipes that work so well. I appreciate you.
Hi Kathryn, thank you so much for the kind words. Happy baking!
My daughter is vegan. Any suggestions for non-dairy replacements for the sour cream/yogurt?
Hi Susan, we haven’t tested any dairy-free alternatives with this recipe. If you give anything a try, we’d love to know how it goes!
Forager cashewmilk & yogurt are my go to, I’ I’m dairy free and this brand has been reliably awesome for years
Hi Sally,
I just tried making this and my wet ingredients refused to combine. Any idea what I might’ve done wrong?
Thank you!
Hi Zhanna, Make sure all of your ingredients, including your sour cream or yogurt, are at room temperature. They are difficult to combine if they are different temperatures!
Warm hugs to you, Sally. These muffins are so delicious, and every recipe of yours that I’ve tried has been spot-on amazing. Molten lava cakes, flatbread pizza, black bean burgers, all so reliably wonderful. Thank you!!
Can I use Original Planet Oat milk instead of regular milk?
That should be fine, Gloria!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! We made blueberry muffins and this was the most tender muffin I’ve ever eaten.
So I love this recipe and the variations are super helpful! I like to make them for friends or special occasions so they aren’t all sitting in the house tempting me…
Recently I’ve been experimenting with some different ingredients in my meals/baking and decided to try this recipe with my changes. It worked great so I’m sharing here!
I substituted about half of the flour for whole wheat flour; the sugar for a monk fruit sweetener containing Erythritol, avocado oil for butter (based on cup measurement, not weight) , and I used 2% vanilla Greek yogurt (all I had but will try plain next time) and 1% milk. I made the cinnamon apple variation skills I added in a chopped McIntosh apple and cinnamon. I baked for the same amount of time at the same temp and they came out perfect.
Each muffin has only 1.7g saturated fat, 7g of fiber, 0.6g of sugars, and 4.5g of protein!
It’s not quite as tasty as the regular muffins but really delicious considering they are so low in sugar and high in fiber.
I’m going to continue to experiment (plain Greek yogurt, unsweetened almond milk, more whole wheat flour) but I’m amazed how well this turned out on the first try.
I’ll continue to make the original recipe for company and what not but this will be my go to recipe for having muffins in the house now. It will be a bit friendlier to our waistlines
Thank you for this very versatile muffin recipe!
Any Suggestions to making this a little more sweet? The batter is kind of bitter with only the brown sugar.
Hi Lisa, you can use brown or granulated sugar. There are also many variations listed under “10 more muffin flavors”. You might love the pineapple coconut or birthday cake versions. Let us know if you try them!
I’ve made the apple cinnamon ones twice now and they’ve turned out amazing both times. My husband took some to work last night to share with his coworkers and they asked if they were store bought because they looked and tasted so good.
Hi, just made blueberry and raspberry muffins. Very pleased as they’re so fluffy and moist . Can’t wait to try other variations. Thanks for the recipe .
Hi Sally, I see you don’t mention carrots and walnuts in the flavor variations. Please advise if it’s possible to add carrots and what if anything I need to omit or add to successfully bring this home…
Ps I’m not a baker so I need to be guided!
Thank you
Hi Mikky, for a carrot muffin, we recommend using this recipe for Morning Glory Muffins. If you want all carrots, you can replace the apple with more shredded carrot (the raisins and pecans are optional). Hope you enjoy it!
Great Recipe! I’ve done a couple rounds of these and I have a few notes some people may find useful:
-I’m at a high-ish elevation(~5000ft) and was having some issues with the muffins collapsing and getting dense, even with dry additives only and being properly cooked. I decreased the baking soda to 1/2tsp and increased the baking powder(a weaker leavening agent) to 1 1/2tsp and that seems to have fixed the issue!
-When I use silicone liners, I have to leave them in for an extra 6-8 minutes of bake time to get them done, but they’re still a little too moist in the middle with the outside getting overdone. I’ve tried paper liners too and the texture’s definitely better with the paper!
I was looking for a muffin mix that could be split in half to please my two children, one who likes apple cinnamon and the other that likes banana chocolate chip. This is perfect! Thank you!
I tried these and immediately made my best ever muffins! Even though my sugar butter egg mixture curdled. I think I added the two eggs too quickly and my yoghurt was still slightly cold. I don’t understand, but when I added the flour it all became normal again. ♀️
I do have two questions, can you add white granulated sugar to create a lighter coloured muffin? And also, is there a big difference between putting it directly in the greased pan, or with paper shapes? (I made without) Thanks Sally!
Hi Anne, you can try substituting with white sugar, but expect a slightly drier muffin as brown sugar yields more moisture. There is not a big difference between using muffin liners or not — it’s really a personal preference!
Can you use frozen fruit in your muffin recipes? For example the Mixed Berry Muffins.
Hi Al, frozen fruit will work — do not thaw before mixing in the batter. The colors may bleed a bit more than with fresh fruit, but they’ll be delicious nonetheless.
My muffins deflated.
Any idea what went wrong?
Baking powder and Soda are still good.
How much is 1 tsp of baking powder/soda for you? I work with the metric system and measure my ingredients. I made the lemon blueberry. Maybe too much lemon juice? Again, what would be the accurate ml of juice?
Hi Heidi, I’m just seeing your question now– it’s possible that the muffins were under-baked and that’s why they sank and deflated as they cooled. 1 teaspoon of baking powder is about 4 grams and 1 teaspoon of baking soda weighs the same. Did you use frozen blueberries? I wonder if they were too wet? Perhaps too much lemon juice as well, though that hasn’t been an issue when I’ve made these in the past!
Hi Sally,
Oh we just love your recipes!
Im thinking about making these muffins today…I just realized I dont have plain yoghurt…but I do have buttermilk. Can I use that as a substitution? Do I have to adjust the milk then also? I sound like a pain! Do you suggest I go get the yogurt rather 🙂
Hi Jeudylle, in a pinch you can substitute BOTH the sour cream/yogurt and milk for buttermilk. Enjoy!
Hi Sally
I just wanted to says I love all your recipes. I just noticed you don’t have a lot of knowledge on sugar substitutes. I have found with most of your recipes that subbing Splenda white or brown 1 for 1 works out rather well.
Hi Sally
I just wanted to says I love all our recipes. I just noticed you don’t have a lot of knowledge on sugar substitutes. I have found with most of your recipes that subbing Splenda white or brown 1 for 1 works out rather well.
Love this recipe. Always complimented on how tasty the muffins are!
Wanted to know if there was a lower sugar version?
Hi CD, so glad you’ve been enjoying this recipe! We haven’t tried a lower sugar version of these muffins. You can certainly do some experimenting if you’d like, but keep in mind that reducing the sugar can alter the taste, texture, and structure of the muffins.
Hi Sally
You are my go to girl when it comes to scones. Can I sub the sugar in your master muffin recipe for erythritol, xylitol, monk or stevia?
Hi Llynda! We’d love to help but we are not trained in baking with sugar substitutes. For best taste and texture (and so you don’t waste your time trying to adapt this recipe since it may not work properly), it may be more useful to find a scone recipe that is specifically formulated for sugar substitutes. Thank you!
Hello,
Would this recipe still work if only used 1 egg? My daughter is supposed to eat a muffin a day, but needs to be 1 egg per 12 muffins to help reduce her egg allergy. I am having a tough time finding good recipes for this. Thanks!
Hi Sam, we haven’t tried reducing the eggs in this recipe — it would take some testing and adjustment of other ingredients in order to guarantee results. You could try using one egg and the searching online for egg replacement ideas, but again, we haven’t tried anything here and are unsure of the final result. Let us know if you do give anything a try!
My son had an egg allergy and we would substitute applesauce for the egg. 1/4 cup per large egg. I’ve never noticed a difference in flavor or texture.
Hi Sally!
is this batter able to be frozen, then thawed and combined with add ins?
Cheers!
Jobe
P.S- Love love love your recipes. 🙂
Or Refrigerated? 🙂
Hi Job, thank you so much for making our recipes! We do not recommend freezing or refrigerating this batter. Once the leaveners are added and mixed, they are activated so it’s best to bake right away. See recipe notes for make ahead and freezing baked muffins.
Sally
Great recipe
I was wondering if I could put the dry ingredients in a jarvon my shelf and just add the dry ingredients when I am ready to make muffins
Thanks for all your delicious recipes and videos
Hi Sharon, you could do that — we’re unsure of how long the dry mix will last though.
Hi Sally, I would like to use your base muffin recipe to make pumpkin muffins. How much pumpkin should I use?
Hi Bonnie, I recommend using an oil-based muffin for making pumpkin muffins. This is my favorite recipe if you want to try it: https://route-span.live/pumpkin-crumb-cake-muffins/%3Cbr /> If you’d like to use this recipe, you can try replacing the sour cream with pumpkin. The flavor may not be as strong. Feel free to add pumpkin pie spice.
Is it possible to use whole wheat flour in place of a portion of the white flour?
Hi Carol, Whole wheat flour will produce a muffin that is more dense and hearty. You can try subbing half of the all purpose flour for whole wheat in this recipe or when you search recipes by ingredient (Whole Wheat Recipes) there are many muffins you can try. Hope this helps!
How would you adapt the recipe for a healthier, bran muffin?
Hi Donna, we don’t have a perfected bran muffin recipe yet, but let us know if you find one you love!
I am in charge of volunteer bakers for our local coffee shop run by The Volunteer Center. We have used this recipe for over a year and it is fabulous no matter what variation we use. I have created other variations that are quite tasty too! Our customers look forward to our weekly and monthly “The big one” muffin varieties. Thanks Sally!
So glad this muffin recipe has been a hit for you and your customers, Robin!