A sugared, crisped muffin top studded with sweet and crunchy nuts sits on a fluffy coffee cake base. Take a bite and be surprised by a warm burst of berries and melted cinnamon sugar.
Click here to jump to recipeAs the days get shorter and the mornings get that chilly snap, it’s hot beverage weather every day. I love starting my day with a hot cup of coffee and then nursing a steamy cup of tea in the afternoon. It warms me from the inside out and calms me down as we enter the crazy and wonderful holiday season. I also love that hot beverage weather = baked goods to nibble on with hot beverages. And what is more perfect that a coffee cake muffin? The purpose is in the name! It’s a wonderful, moist muffin with a sweetness that perfectly balances out a mug of coffee or tea.
If you want a more summery bake, you can check out my Coffee cake blueberry muffins, which uses the same base batter but is filled with double layers of fresh blueberries. Sadly, I think you’ll be hard-pressed to find tasty fresh blueberries in store this time of year, which led to the creation of this new version. The key behind these Nuts & berries coffee cake muffins is that it uses ingredients that store well in your kitchen – namely, frozen berries. It uses ingredients that are kitchen staples. While buttermilk and sour cream can really take your coffee cake to the next level, I opt to keep things simple for this recipe. Ideally, you don’t have to run to the store to pull together these muffins!
Some tips to get perfect coffee cake muffins:
- Don’t overmix your batter – this will make your muffins dense and tight
- Don’t let the batter sit – the baking powder will start reacting as soon as it gets wet. If you let the batter sit too long, it won’t react as much in the oven, and your muffins will not rise properly.
- Be generous with the cinnamon sugar – the batter itself is not very sweet, so the cinnamon sugar needs to carry its weight in flavor. I’d err on sprinkling more cinnamon sugar than you think you need! You can even double the amount I suggest in the recipe if you want an extra level of sweetness.
I love how fantastically puffy these muffins are when they come out of the oven! And the berries inside are such a wonderful hidden surprise – a bit of summer saved up in a fall muffin.
Other delicious muffin recipes:
- Classic banana bread muffins
- Nutritionally complete chocolate banana muffins
- Coffee cake blueberry muffins
If you make these muffins, let me know! You can comment below or tag me on Instagram @halicopteraway.
Nuts & berries coffee cake muffins
Equipment
- 1 medium mixing bowl
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 standard 12 cup muffin tray
Ingredients
For batter
- 1 cup (220g) oil
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla (optional)
- 1 cup (240g) milk or milk substitute
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 3 cups (375g) flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
For crumble and toppings
- 1 cup (200g) brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (60g) melted margarine or butter
- 1 cup mixed frozen berries
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line or grease muffin tray
- Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl to create crumble
- Mix wet ingredients – oil, milk, eggs, vanilla – in a medium mixing bowl
- Mix dry ingredients – flour, sugar, salt, baking powder – in a large mixing bowl
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. The batter should be quite sticky
- Fill each muffin cup halfway with batter, then press 3-5 frozen berries on top. Sprinkle with a generous layer of crumble
- Fill muffin cup up to the top, then press in a small spoonful of chopped nuts on top. Sprinkle with another generous layer of crumble. Drizzle with melted margarine or butter until crumble is saturated.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until light golden and toothpick comes out clean (there may be some berry juice), then remove from oven and let cool
Looks yummy! My type of muffins!!
Thank you Bernice!! They were so very fluffy 😊😊
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