Snickerdoodle muffins are soft, tender, buttery muffins with a hint of tang from cream of tartar and a crackly cinnamon-sugar top, like the cookie turned into breakfast. They are good for lunchboxes, bake sales, a brunch basket or an afternoon cup of coffee.
How to make snickerdoodle muffins: Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, cinnamon and salt. Cream butter and sugar, beat in eggs, vanilla and sour cream, then add the flour mixture in turns with milk. Fill muffin liners three-quarters full, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake at 350°F for 17 to 19 minutes.
Why You’ll Love It
- The cookie flavor in a muffin. Cream of tartar and cinnamon give the snickerdoodle taste.
- A sparkly top. Cinnamon sugar is sprinkled on before baking and bakes into a crust.
- A big batch. The recipe makes 18 muffins.
- Quick. Ten minutes to mix and under twenty to bake.
Ingredient Notes
All-purpose flour. Two cups.
Baking powder, baking soda and cream of tartar. One teaspoon of each. The muffins use all three.
Ground cinnamon. One teaspoon in the batter and 2 teaspoons in the topping.
Butter. A 1/2 cup, at room temperature, so it creams with the sugar.
Granulated sugar. Three-quarters of a cup for the batter and 1/3 cup for the topping.
Eggs and vanilla. Two eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
Sour cream and milk. A 1/2 cup of each.
Ingredients
For the muffins
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup milk
For the cinnamon-sugar topping
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
How to Make Snickerdoodle Muffins
1. Heat the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and salt.
3. Mix the wet ingredients. In another bowl, cream the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla and sour cream.
4. Finish the batter. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Mix until combined without overmixing.
5. Fill and top. Fill the liners three-quarters full. Mix the remaining 1/3 cup sugar with 2 teaspoons cinnamon and sprinkle it over the batter.
6. Bake. Bake for 17 to 19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Cool. Cool in the pan for 2 or 3 minutes, then transfer to a rack and cool completely before serving.
Does the Cinnamon Sugar Go On Before or After Baking?
Before. In this recipe the cinnamon sugar is sprinkled over the raw batter, and it bakes onto the muffin tops in the oven. There is no butter in the topping and nothing to brush on afterward.
You will see snickerdoodle muffins made the other way, too. Those are baked plain, then brushed or dipped in melted butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar while warm. It is a different method. Do not do both to the same muffin.
| Method | When the topping goes on | Butter in the topping? |
|---|---|---|
| This recipe | Before baking, sprinkled on the batter | No |
| Butter topping option | Before baking | Yes, 2 tablespoons softened butter mixed with the same sugar and cinnamon |
| Dipped muffins | After baking | Yes, melted butter, then cinnamon sugar |
For the plain topping, mix the 1/3 cup of sugar with the 2 teaspoons of cinnamon in a small bowl and use all of it across the 18 muffins.
Tips for Success
How full should I fill the liners?
Three-quarters full. That leaves room for the muffins to rise and for the cinnamon sugar on top.
How do I know the muffins are done?
A toothpick pushed into the center of a muffin comes out clean, after 17 to 19 minutes.
Why add the flour and milk in turns?
The recipe alternates them and says to mix only until combined. Stop as soon as the flour disappears.
Do these muffins use baking powder?
Yes. They use 1 teaspoon each of baking powder, baking soda and cream of tartar.
How long do they cool?
For 2 or 3 minutes in the pan, then on a rack until completely cool.
What Makes It Snickerdoodle and Not Plain Cinnamon Sugar?
The cream of tartar. It is the ingredient linked with snickerdoodle flavor, and it is what separates these from an ordinary cinnamon muffin. Do not leave it out.
How Long Does It Take?
About 28 minutes: 10 minutes to mix and 18 minutes to bake. That does not include cooling the muffins completely, which the recipe does not put a time on.
Storage & Reheating
These muffins are at their best the day they are baked, when the tops are crispest. Muffins of this kind can be kept wrapped or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, though the tops soften, and freezing takes away the crisp top as well. That guidance comes from a bakery-style version and was not written for this exact recipe, so treat it as a guide.
What to Serve With It
For more cinnamon and sugar at breakfast, try cinnamon sugar French toast muffins, cinnamon sugar biscuit bites or the easy cinnamon roll coffee cake. For other easy bakes, there are 2 ingredient pumpkin muffins and blueberry biscuits. For something savory on the same table, make easy sausage breakfast muffins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the cinnamon sugar go on before or after baking?
Before. Sprinkle it over the batter in the liners.
How do you make snickerdoodle muffins?
Make a butter and sour cream muffin batter with cream of tartar and cinnamon, top it with cinnamon sugar and bake at 350°F for 17 to 19 minutes.
Do these muffins use baking powder?
Yes, along with baking soda and cream of tartar.
How many muffins does this make?
Eighteen.
Final Notes
I mix the cinnamon sugar first and set it by the muffin pan, so it goes on the moment the liners are filled. If you make them, leave a comment to tell me how they turned out or ask a question.
Snickerdoodle Muffins
Want This Recipe Later?
We'll send this recipe straight to your inbox.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon for the batter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar for the batter
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar for the topping
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon for the topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and salt.
- In another bowl, cream the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla and sour cream.
- Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Mix until combined without overmixing.
- Fill the liners three-quarters full. Mix the remaining 1/3 cup sugar with 2 teaspoons cinnamon and sprinkle it over the batter.
- Bake for 17 to 19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 2 or 3 minutes, then transfer to a rack and cool completely before serving.
