Snickerdoodle Crumb Muffins Recipe

We've probably all eaten a snickerdoodle cookie; that classic combination of cinnamon, sugar, and soft cookie dough is hard not to like. While cookies are great and all, it's always fun to switch things up. So, why not turn those snickerdoodles into muffins? This recipe by Jessica Morone is simple yet satisfying, and best of all, you'll have warm, homemade muffins on your table in less than 45 minutes. 

Morone's recipe incorporates all the familiar snickerdoodle flavors, plus a few tasty twists. "The special ingredient in these muffins is maple syrup. It adds a hint of maple for a delicious twist on a classic flavor," she says. These muffins are also topped with a sweet crumble — the kind you'd find gracing the top of a coffee cake — for added texture and decadence. "These make a great breakfast or morning snack. They could also be a dessert," Morone notes. "You can eat them how they are, or cut them in half and put some Nutella or peanut butter on them." You don't have to tell us twice!

It's very possible you already have the ingredients for this muffin recipe in your pantry. For the muffins themselves, you'll need flour, vanilla extract, sour cream, baking powder, baking soda, milk, eggs, cinnamon, salt, sugar, unsalted butter, and maple syrup. The sweet, fragrant crumble that goes on top is made from cinnamon, brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, and melted butter. "Whole milk adds fat to the batter, which makes them fluffier. You could use a different kind of milk, though; a lower fat or plant-based alternative would be fine," explains Morone.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick baking spray, or line with muffin cups.

Make the muffin batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until combined. Set aside.

In a separate large bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until smooth and fluffy.

Beat maple syrup, eggs, milk, sour cream, and vanilla extract into the butter mixture until smooth.

Add flour mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients and beat until just combined.

Spoon batter into the prepared muffin tin, and set aside.

Make the crumb topping: In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter until smooth.

Add flour and use a fork to mix the ingredients together until large crumbs form. (Do not overmix).

Spoon the crumble over the batter in the muffin tin.

Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Serve.

This is a relatively quick and easy recipe, but what if you're having a particularly busy week, or you want to serve your guests fresh muffins on a day you won't have time to prep them? Fortunately, you have options. "You can make the muffin batter ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to 2 days," Morone says. "People even say that chilling the batter will give you muffins that are more moist and tender, but that is not a requirement for this recipe." As the batter chills, the gluten develops further and the starch absorbs additional moisture, resulting in a tastier and more sophisticated muffin.

Once you've baked your snickerdoodle muffins, you don't have to rush to eat them all at once (though we understand that may be tempting). "You can store these at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You could also freeze them in a freezer bag for up to 3 months," Morone notes.

Though they're obviously presented here in muffin form, snickerdoodles are traditionally a form of cookie. If they seem nostalgic or old-fashioned, that's because they are — the treat originated in America and has been around since at least the 19th century, though it's likely these cookies have been around for even longer than that. As with many recipes that have existed for hundreds of years, the history of the snickerdoodle cookie is a bit hazy these days. Even the name is up for debate; some say it came from the German word for snail, while others claim it's a silly nonsense term invented just for fun. 

Either way, the name and the cookie have both stuck around, and the snickerdoodle flavor has inspired countless offshoots, like these snickerdoodle crumb muffins and the snickerdoodle hot chocolate at Starbucks. A muffin is a particularly good choice to give the snickerdoodle treatment, as the cookie is meant to be quite soft to the bite, and muffins are already tender and fluffy.