Cinnamon Brown Sugar Muffins — Soft, fluffy muffins that are sweetened with brown sugar and flavored with cinnamon. Drizzle salted caramel sauce on top if you’re feeling extra decadent!
I love when muffins get a nice domed top. And when they’re dripping in salted caramel.
But not all of muffins get that coveted dome. Nor are they always drenched in caramel.
But these are both. I was hoping for the best with the shape and texture because I adapted one of my most popular recipes, Cinnamon-Sugar Bread.
It totally delivered for the muffins and they’re soft, wonderfully moist, and the crumb has the perfect balance of density and lightness.
The batter has melted butter, oil, and buttermilk. The later two in particular keep quick breads and muffins soft, moist and supple.
To sweeten the batter I used brown sugar, which provides wonderful depth of flavor because as the muffins bake, the butter and brown sugar caramelize, creating subtle caramel undertones.
And clearly I played up the caramel flavor by drizzling the muffins with salted caramel. Make your own or use store-bought. The muffins don’t ‘need’ it, but why not.
The muffins are so fluffy that they’re are almost like eating cupcakes for breakfast, minus the frosting. And in place of it, all that caramel.
Which I’m not exactly complaining about.
Ingredients in Brown Sugar Muffins
To make this easy muffin recipe with brown sugar, you’ll need the following basic ingredients:
- Unsalted butter
- Buttermilk
- Egg
- Oil
- Vanilla extract
- Brown sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Salted caramel sauce (optional, for drizzling)
How to Make Brown Sugar Muffins
Making muffins with brown sugar is as easy as making regular muffins! Here’s a basic overview of the recipe:
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power; set aside.
- In a 2-cup glass measuring cup or medium bowl, add the buttermilk, oil, egg, vanilla, and whisk to combine.
- Add the buttermilk mixture to the melted butter and whisk to combine.
- Add the brown sugar and whisk to combine.
- Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, optional salt, and stir until just combined.
- Distribute the batter evenly among each cavity of a greased muffin pan.
- Bake until the tops are domed, puffed, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs dangling but no batter.
Recipe Variations to Try
The basic recipe is a great jumping off point for tweaking to your liking. Some variations to try are:
- Add mini chocolate chips
- Add chopped nuts
- Add dried fruit (chop into small pieces, if needed)
- Top with shredded coconut
- Rather than topping with salted caramel, try a vanilla cream cheese or a browned butter glaze
Can a Buttermilk Substitute Be Used?
Yes! I used real buttermilk but if you don’t keep it on hand, I highly recommend using powdered buttermilk. If you don’t use buttermilk often, but sometimes see a recipe that needs a small amount, but think you won’t use the rest of the jug before it goes bad, then the powder is for you. Shelf stable, keeps for ages.
Or make buttermilk by souring your own milk. Add about 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice to 1/2 cup milk, wait 10 minutes for it to curdle, then use as indicated.
Tips for Making Muffins with Brown Sugar
Brown sugar: You can use either light or dark brown sugar to make this recipe. Dark brown sugar has a more robust flavor, while light brown sugar contains less molasses.
Buttermilk: If you make a buttermilk substitute using milk and vinegar, do NOT use skim milk. Use 2% milk if that’s what you have but whole milk is best.
Caramel sauce: You don’t have to top the cinnamon brown sugar muffins with caramel sauce, but it’s highly recommended! Add the caramel sauce just before serving so that the muffins don’t get soggy.
Pin This Recipe
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Muffins
Soft, fluffy muffins that are sweetened with brown sugar and flavored with cinnamon. Drizzle salted caramel sauce on top if you're feeling extra decadent!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- salted caramel, for drizzling (storebought or homemade
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a Non-Stick 12-Cup Regular Muffin Pan with paper liners or spray well with floured cooking spray (I prefer the cosmetic look of no liners); set pan aside.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power; set aside.
- In a 2-cup glass measuring cup or medium bowl, add the buttermilk, oil, egg, vanilla, and whisk to combine.
- Add the buttermilk mixture to the melted butter and whisk to combine.
- Add the brown sugar and whisk to combine.
- Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, optional salt, and stir until just combined; don’t overmix. Batter will be lumpy and don’t try to stir the lumps smooth or muffins will be tough.
- Using a large cookie scoop or 1/4-cup measure, distribute the batter evenly among each cavity of the prepared muffin pan. Cavities will be between 2/3 and 3/4-full; don’t exceed 3/4-full or muffins could overflow because they rise very well.
- Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes, or until tops are domed, puffed, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs dangling but no batter. Bake until done; watch your muffins and not the clock. Allow muffins to cool in pan for about 10 minutes before carefully removing.
- Drizzle muffins with salted caramel as desired. Don’t add the caramel until you’re ready to eat them because they could get soggy.
Adapted from Cinnamon-Sugar Crust Cinnamon-Ribbon Bread
Notes
Storage: Muffins are best fresh, but will keep airtight for up to 5 days at room temp; or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 162Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 177mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 0gSugar: 18gProtein: 1g
More Easy Muffin Recipes:
Dulce de Leche Churro Muffins — Brushed with melted butter, rolled in cinnamon-and-sugar, and filled with dulce de leche or caramel sauce, these FAST and EASY muffins are so soft, moist, and PERFECTLY decadent!
Mini Cinnamon Sugar Muffins — These mini muffins taste like fried donuts, but they’re baked and healthy!
Mini Snickerdoodle Muffins — Bite size muffins that are coated in cinnamon-sugar that will remind you of snickerdoodle cookies, but in adorable mini muffin form!!
Caramel Apple Muffins — Soft, fluffy, springy, loaded with chunks of apples, and so much CARAMEL flavor!!
Healthy Oatmeal Muffins— These healthy oatmeal muffins won’t jeopardize your New Year’s resolutions and are skinny jeans-friendly. No oil, no dairy, and just 1/4 cup of brown sugar!
Cinnamon Sugar Mini Pumpkin Muffins — These mini pumpkin muffins are coated in cinnamon sugar and are bursting with fall flavor! Even better, they’re fast, easy, and accidentally vegan!
Hi Averie,
Thanks for letting me give my readers a taste of what my character might bake! The link to the post is here, if you want to see it. https://www.facebook.com/BarnerSanders/photos/a.407982119994363/422512108541364/
Best,
Jen
Awesome!
Hi Averie! I’ve been baking overtime recently (it’s a stress reliever), and these muffins were possibly the best thing to come out of my oven! The lead character in my new novel also bakes for stress relief, and I was wondering if it would be okay if I linked to your recipe in my FB page to say that this is something like what she would bake–and maybe my readers would like to try the recipe too. Would you be okay with that? The page is here: https://www.facebook.com/BarnerSanders/
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad these turned out so well! Feel free to link up :)
I made the brown sugar muffins a few times now and everyone always LOVES them! They’re super easy to make and delicious without being too sweet.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad they are a hit with everyone!
I tried your raspberry bread (using fresh raspberry from the garden), cinnamon ribbon (I was lucky to have one slice), and this recipe at least twice because my family loves the basic recipe. The first time I made the muffins we only had caramel syrup at home. My husband decided to cut the warm muffins in half, add butter and the syrup then let it soak for a couple of minutes like “tiramisu.” The second time I made the muffins I added a cup of Heath Chocolate and Toffee Bits and didn’t need the caramel syrup. It was yummy and everyone wanted seconds but they were to late cause someone ate half a dozen already. I posted it here: https://www.facebook.com/cookneatwithfitfoodie/posts/2155087144773578
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this is a family favorite!
Per your suggestion on your Raspberry Bread page, I just made this recipe for my dad, adding fresh raspberries from his garden. The only change I made was, that I used only a 1/2 of brown sugar and 1/2 cup of white/granulated sugar plus folded in the raspberries. We were using the small muffin pans and I thought too much brown sugar would make the mini muffins looked burnt. I was right, and next time I may use 3/4 cup white and 1/4 cup brown as they still are a bit dark. But this was a very generous recipe and tasted very good. It made 48 mini muffins plus 12 regular sized muffins, by adding about 4 cups of berries. We only filled the cups half full, which was good, or they would have run over. Thanks for your awesome recipes! Have always appreciated them!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
You have many awesome recipes,especially the raspberry things,and anything with caramel/caramel and salt can’t wait to make them.Keep bringing yummy recipes.
Blogged about this recipe, instead of caramel I put in dark chocolate chips. Muffins turned out so delicious!
Blog – BrianaVeniana.Wordpress.com
Oh I’m so happy to hear that you loved them and you can never go wrong with dark chocolate!
Brown sugar. Salted Caramel. All in one muffin. Yep, I will take one of these babies!
These look amazing. That dripping caramel is just calling my name!
Why can’t all muffins come with gorgeous drippy caramel sauce?? Oh right, because then I’d eat dozens at a time and be as large as a whale and never be able to fit through a doorway, let alone my teensy tiny kitchen… Bummer. ;)
You always take such gorgeous photos Averie! I’m absolutely in love with your white wooden backdrop. Did you follow a tutorial for it at all?
No, I bought it. I have no time to DIY! ha!
That’s awesome! My dad loves to woodwork as a hobby, so I’m hoping I can beg him to help me someday soon. Fingers crossed it turns out as cute as yours!
These look so good! Funny I just posted my Apple Shortcake Buttermilk Muffins and it’s nice to see like minded baking! Scrumptious photography, too!
That perfect risen dome and dripping caramel – what more could you need in a muffin?!
Pretty sure I am going to faint because these look INCREDIBLE!! I can’t get over muffins with a salted caramel glaze. And brown sugar + buttermilk sounds like it makes one helluva good muffin. This is for sure the best part of breakfast!
I LOVE this flavor combination! Gorgeous photos, as always!
Thanks for all your support here, on FB likes, etc! :)
I LOVE one bowl, easy recipes. So good. And that sauce? Drooling! Averie, these look so amazing! Pinned!
Thanks for pinning, Chelsea!
I loove how beautifully your bread recipe translated into these muffins! and ahhhh salted caramel, soooooo amazing!
I love Salted Caramel anything, so I am excited to try these out!
Can’t stop thinking about these muffins. Anything with caramel is a friend of mine!
Love the way you think!
Yum! I think this is the first muffin recipe I have ever seen drenched in caramel.
There’s a first for everything, right!
I really wanted to make muffins or bread today and I ran out of time. Now I’m really made I didn’t because I want these!!!!!! Love that drippy caramel!
And thanks for the Bhg pin :)
Averie, one bowl recipes are a big hit with me as I hate doing dishes!! Great looking muffins!
Yes please to muffins dripping with salted caramel, love!!
I am presently on day 2 of a 3-day juice cleanse and I cannot tell you how amazing these look! And that’s not just my hunger talking.
Oh girl bravo to you for doing a cleanse AND reading dessert blogs. Eeek! I love the feeling of doing cleanses, but not on day 2. Day 3 when it’s done is the best :)
Whenever I have leftover buttermilk I always seem to make waffles, but muffins sound like an even better idea! Yum!!
Waffles aren’t too shabby either!
I want to eat all of them.
These are just perfect, Averie. The gooey caramel. The soft dough. Yum. Pinned!
Thanks for this pin, too, Julie!
*drool* !!
These are so perfect! I just want one of these so bad as I am sitting here with my morning coffee. Pinned! = )
Thanks for pinning!
Oh my gosh, Averie! You hit the spot with these muffins! So gorgeous!!!
The caramel, the brown sugar, the buttermilk – definitely a recipe for a fabulous muffin! LOVE these! Pinned!
Thanks for pinning, Anna!
Love this! I could totally eat these for breakfast or dessert or, you know, all day long!
Lately I keep seeing so many of your dips on Pinterest that I could seriously eat, all day long!
Sweet little muffins, love it!
Yum! I am totally a glaze person all the way, I prefer something drizzled and gooey over frosting every time. I will definitely be trying these soon!
I prefer something drizzled and gooey over frosting every time <-- it's a huge time-saver, if nothing else! :)
Oh girl do these ever look GREAT!!
And thanks for pinning, my friend! :)
Beautiful in every way. These surely make me want to forget all about lunch and go straight for the sweets. Pinning. :-)
Have a beautiful Tuesday Averie!
Thanks for pinning & hope you DID go straight to dessert :)
Salted caramel anything is always good! No frosting needed–drippy, luscious caramel makes a great topper, and the texture of the muffins looks just perfect. Love the brown sugar and cinnamon in them too!
Skipping the frosting and just the luscious caramel is such a timesaver…and tastes just as good! (better sometimes than many frostings, actually!)
you are cray girl and I like it:)))
pinned!
Thanks, Alison! xo
Yum these are seriously good looking muffins! Your drizzle pics are perfect! Who needs frosting when you have salted caramel for breakfast?
That’s exactly what I thought!
These are the perfect excuse to eat salted caramel for breakfast! As though I needed one :)
Great minds think alike!
I can’t pretend these are healthy, but they do look delicious!
Salted caramel drenched muffins?! Where do I sign up? Love that they are one-bowl too! Doesn’t get better than that.
I want to try your pancakes with some caramel sauce next :)
Just reading the title makes my mouth water. That first photo makes me seriously consider running into the kitchen right now and making a batch of these gorgeous muffins. These muffins are perfect, Averie! I love that you used buttermilk in ’em. That pretty much guarantees that they’re going to turn out incredibly soft and moist every time. And caramel sauce drizzled on top of these muffins for breakfast?? I think I could get on board with that. ;) pinned!
That pretty much guarantees that they’re going to turn out incredibly soft and moist every time. <-- AMEN! And thanks for pinning!
So cute! I love the caramel sauce :-)
I love every word in this recipe title! These look so great, Averie!
Mini food is the best food! It’s so cute and easy to eat…..and when it involves salted caramel and brown sugar and carbs? CAN’T SAY NO! Pinned
Thanks for pinning and brown sugar and carbs can do no wrong…or so I tell myself :)
Gah.. I love anything salted caramel but this is a perfect excuse for me to have it at breakfast
Agreed 100% !
One bowl and no mixer. Winner! And the inside looks so dense and still soft. I’m going to add this to my breakfast menu sometime this week. Especially because the salted caramel is required. Right? ;)
Oh boy… I think I will just take 10 of these. As always, looks absolutely delicious, Averie. Pinned.
Thanks for pinning & I pinned your latest salad…wow, looked so good! Your pics always rock!
Ohh you had me at “salted caramel”. Salted caramel is good with anything! These babies look so delicious.. The dripping salted caramel makes me want to lick my screen ^^;
Well I’ve done my job then!