These Coffee Cake Muffins with Sour Cream is a version of the popular coffee cake served in a muffin shape. The soft, slightly spongy cake like texture has a hint of brown sugar cinnamon and pecan filling and crumb top. The finishing touch is a vanilla icing drizzled while the muffin is still warm.
I love to serve these sour cream coffee cake muffins on weekends when I have time to sit and relax with a hot cup of coffee and a couple of warm and delicious muffins.
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Mini Crumb Coffee Cakes
I love coffee cakes. This blueberry coffee cake has been a favorite of my family for years now. However, one of my favorite coffee cakes is the New York Crumb Cake.
I also love mini food. So, it is quite natural for me to really love muffins! I love trying new recipes out all the time when it comes to theses breakfast mini cakes. So, I decided to take my mom's coffee cake with sour cream recipe and turn it into muffins.
My family was not disappointed! These Coffee Cake Muffins with sour cream were so delicious, my family devoured almost every one of them the morning I made them!
Key Ingredients for Coffee Cake Muffins
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and instructions.
Dark brown sugar, chopped toasted pecans, and ground cinnamon are what makes the streusel and the crumb topping.
Unsalted butter and granulated sugar. The butter should be at room temperature to make it easy to cream into the sugar..
Large eggs, full fat sour cream, water, and pure vanilla extract are the wet ingredients for these coffee cake muffins. The eggs should be room temperature. This combination is what lends the texture and flavor. I highly recommend this vanilla extract.
Bread flour, baking powder, and salt are the dry ingredients. It is bread flour that also lends to the texture and sponginess to this coffee cake muffin recipe. I highly recommend this bread flour.
Ingredient Substitutions
- All-purpose flour: use a 1:1 swap for bread flour for a slightly less spongy, but still delicious texture.
- Greek yogurt: substitute full-fat plain Greek yogurt for sour cream to maintain moisture and tang. Or, make my homemade sour cream to use in this recipe.
- Walnuts: swap pecans for chopped walnuts or almonds to get a similar crunch in the streusel and filling.
Variations
- Fruit swirl: fold in ½ cup of fresh blueberries or diced apples before layering for a juicy burst.
- Nut-free: leave out the pecans for a nut free version.
- Maple glaze: swap vanilla extract for maple extract in the icing.
Tips for the Best Sour Cream Coffee Cake Muffins
- Mix well: beat the butter and sugar for 3 minutes, then beat another 3 minutes after adding the liquid ingredients to ensure the perfect texture.
- Measure accurately: weigh the flour for precision, otherwise, sift and spoon it into your measuring cup without packing it down.
- Level the batter: scoop 1 tablespoon of batter into the liners and tap the pan on the counter to flatten it before adding the filling.
More Muffin Recipes You'll Love
If you loved these Coffee Cake Muffins, you'll definitely want to try more of my family-favorite treats like these decadent Almond Joy Muffins and Classic Banana Crumb Muffins. For even more variety on your breakfast table, don't miss out on my fruity Cherry Chocolate Chip Muffins or the perfectly spiced Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins.
I'd love to know what you think of these muffins, so please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and a comment below. If you snag a photo, tag me @grumpyshoneybunch - I love seeing your photos!
📖 Recipe
Coffee Cake Muffins with Sour Cream
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Ingredients
FOR THE TOPPING/FILLING
- ½ cup dark brown sugar , packed
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
FOR THE MUFFIN BATTER
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup butter , softened
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 7 ounces bread flour OR (1¾ cup)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
ICING DRIZZLE
- 6 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 3 teaspoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Combine the first 3 ingredients, set aside.
- Place granulated sugar and butter in a large
bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 3
minutes). Add egg substitute; beat 3 minutes. Beat in sour cream, water,
and vanilla. - Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add the flour mixture to the sour cream mixture and mix until blended.
- Reserve 3 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture in a small bowl and set aside. Sprinkle surface of batter with remaining brown sugar mixture. Gently fold batter 4 times.
- Line muffin pans with paper liners. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the batter into the paper lined muffin cups. Tap the muffin pan on the counter to spread the batter out over the bottom of the muffin cup.
- Evenly sprinkle the batter with the brown sugar mixture. Spoon the remaining batter evenly over the sugar streusel in the muffin cups.
- Sprinkle the remaining 3 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture evenly over the top of the second muffin batter layer. Bake for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove the muffins from pan immediately; place on a wire rack.
- Combine the powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla in a small bowl, stirring until smooth. Drizzle the icing evenly over the warm muffins.
Creative One says
I am a big fan of muffins and these would certainly hit the spot with me.
The days are getting closer for your cruise, you are going to have such a blast.
Ingrid says
Those look amazing! I haven't eaten breakfast. Now I want muffins.
~ingrid
Glamorous Beauty says
Those are some great looking muffins.
Laura says
I know nothing about cruises, but that muffin looks awesome. I hope your dr gives you good news.
Katy ~ says
HoneyB, a cruise sounds so luxurious! I am so very happy for you and Grumpy to have such happy plans!
Yummmm...these muffins look fab!
Helene says
Sounds like quite a trip. You'll have a super time. Those muffins looks great, I have to make them.
Christy says
Holy Yum!! These muffins look FABULOUS!! We're taking a road trip for a baseball tournament next weekend and these will be perfect to pack up for a quick breakfast in the hotel. 🙂
I've never been on a cruise (although I've tried talking hubby into them MANY times) so I'll have to live vicariously through you.
Bellini Valli says
I have never been on a cruise so I can't give you any insights Shelby. I have heard the food is good too, but then we are foodies and have really high expectations. In the meantime I would have loved these muffins for breakfast this morning:D
tastyeatsathome says
I don't know anything about cruises, but I am sure you'll be able to have a good time! I hope your neck gets to feeling better soon, so you don't have to make compromises on the trip! As for these muffins, YUM!
pixelhazard says
Ooo that looks great for 3:30-itis
cookienurse says
Love the new look of the blog.
I am not familiar with Supper Club, but my husband and I did have an early reserved seating time for dinner (5:45). It was nice enough, but there are other places on the ship to eat -check out the 24/7 spots or buffets where dining is also very casual. Really, you can eat anytime you want and not have to get too dressed up if you are in the mood to just relax. Enjoy!!
Patsyk says
Those muffins look wonderful! Can't wait to hear about your cruise... last one I went on was over 12 years ago, so I'm sure they have changed a bit since then!
Hugging the Coast says
Definitely go swimming with the dolphins if you can. You'll never forget the experience.
Liz says
Hi! This is my first time in your blog and I love these muffins, they look so delicious.
the happy couple says
i love cinnamon. these look delicious!
Spryte says
I've been pouring through the Cooking Light recipes lately too.
Those look soooo good!!!
Enjoy your trip!!
Pam says
I am so excited for you. Go swimming with the dolphins, they are gentle and amazing!
The muffins looks mouth watering good...I love Cooking Light.
the ungourmet says
Those coffee cake muffins sound terrific! I'll have to make some for the weekend.
I have never been on a cruise but I've heard good things. I hope you have a great time!
Liesl says
YEA! A cruise!! I have been on 13!!!! haha I love love love cruising, if you have any questions let me know! I actually don't like eating at 6 just because usually you are at your ports of call later than 6 and I didn't like being rushed to get back on the boat for dinner. So we always opt for the 8pm seating. What boat are you cruising? Be for-warned...you will leave the boat as cargo!!! haha ALL YOU DO IS EAT!!! :o)
Frieda says
Beautiful muffins! You will absolutely love your cruise. The W. Carribean is an excellent choice! The food will be extravagant! Take tons of food photos for us! I think the dining option of 5:45-9 is for people who just want to drop in. I agree with Barbara to stay away from the buffet and the keep early dinner hour. Plan on using the stairs instead of the elevator and you will do just fine!
Best Cruise Lines says
Hope you get good news from your doctor. There should be plenty for you to do on a cruise either way.
As far as the food, for most of us the food on a cruise tends to be much better than we usually have at home. However, with all of the delicious things that you cook, you and Grumpy may need to lower your expectations! 🙂 Thankfully, most ships have a variety to chose from.
To me, scheduling dinner is actually one of the trickiest parts of cruising. In some ways, it is fun to sit with a group of people for a traditional cruise dinner and get the full "Love Boat" experience. However, it is nice to mix it up a bit, and have some dinners where you just go grab the buffet or go to a non-traditional cruise restaurant.
It depends upon your excursion schedule, but 6 p.m. might be a bit early. We tried early dinners n the past, but we've had excursions that got back to the ship after 5 p.m. and then we were scrambling to freshen up before dinner and get changed.
One other consideration that we have run into in the past is that some ship gyms close early. So, with excursions starting early and coming back around 5'ish, if you chose an early dinner you might end up dining past the gym closing. If you exercise really early or don't need the gym, no worries -- though the average person gains a pound a day while on a cruise, so it's good to hit the gym some!
So, it depends on your excursions and other scheduling preferences. For us, we've decided that a late dinner reservation works best -- then on nights when we want to eat earlier (to see a show, etc.) we chose a more casual dining option.
Have fun!
Olga says
I took a Princess cruise w/my twin sister about 4 years ago. I wasn't too impressed. The food was good, but I got tired of being served after a few days. The entertainment on the cruise was pretty good, but I mostly liked the excursions once we were finally "parked."
It all depends on your expectations and what you like to do. I'm a city girl, so lounging around the pool and drinking pretty drinks is not at the top of my list.
Jessie says
Those coffee cake muffins look delish! I hope you have a great time on your cruise. Don't stress about it, just think about all of the great sights you're going to see! 🙂
Mags says
I WILL be making those muffins... they're right up my alley.
I'm so jealous of you and your upcoming cruise. We went on our first one last year (Mexico) and had a ball. Definitely a food fest. Make sure you bring along your favorite pair of fat pants...lol
The Hungry Mouse says
The muffins look fantastic! 😀
As for me, I know absolutely nothing about cruises, but everything you described sounds fantastic. I'll bet you'd be able to go fishing and sit on the boat. You're going to have a blast either way!
+Jessie
Linda says
The muffins sound really yummy!
We were thinking about a cruise but opted to do a staycation this year--I'll be anxious to see what you think.
Love your new header!
Barbara Bakes says
I bookmarked these muffins to make when I get back from DC next week. They look fabulous!
I think the biggest thing to watch out for on a cruise is the constant availability of just so so food. It is so tempting to eat all day. The best food will be served in the dining room and not on the buffet.
I would do the Supper Club one night. I thought it was worth the extra money for one night. I like the earlier dinner hour (6:00). But we eat fairly early at home too.
Have a great time. I really enjoy cruising!