Cinnamon Sugar Banana Muffins: A Sweet Surprise Inside and On Top!

Last updated on October 22nd, 2023 at 03:28 am

Today, I’m excited to share with you a recipe that’s guaranteed to bring a smile to your face and warmth to your kitchen: Cinnamon Sugar Banana Muffins with Streusel on top and a delightful cinnamon sugar filling inside. These muffins are a perfect way to use up those overripe bananas and satisfy your sweet tooth. Join me on this mouthwatering adventure of banana cinnamon goodness!

Pro Tips for Baking Banana Muffins

Use Overripe Bananas: I usually wait until our bananas are brown and unusable, and then throw them in the freezer peel and all. Then, when I want to bake something with them, I just take them out of the freezer an hour or two before I want to start baking. You can usually squeeze the banana out of the peel pretty easily (just make sure you get all the peel off your banana!), and you don’t really have to worry about mashing the bananas if you use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer. They’re already very soft when they defrost from the freezer.

Use Foil Liners: I don’t know what it is about banana muffins, but they stick to paper liners like crazy! And when you go to eat them, you lose half your muffin because it’s stuck to the liner. Save yourself the disappointment and use foil liners from the beginning.

Don’t Overmix Batter: This is one of those tips that people like to throw out there all the time without properly explaining it. I see it in recipes all. The. time. For the purposes of this recipe (and other banana muffins you may make), this means that you shouldn’t leave your ingredients mixing in your stand mixer and then walk away for a couple minutes. Letting it mix for like 30 seconds is usually enough. It’s also okay if you see some small lumps in your batter. Banana muffin batter shouldn’t be perfectly smooth.

Pro Tips for How to Make Streusel

This muffin’s crowning glory is undoubtedly its streusel topping. The crunchy, buttery goodness on top of a moist muffin is pure perfection. To ensure your streusel is top-notch, here are some pro tips:

Slightly soften your butter. I do mean slightly! Perhaps let it sit out at room temperature for 30-45 minutes. It makes the butter a little easier to mix in rather than using ice-cold butter.

Use a big fork, and even your fingers! The goal is to mix up the ingredients by mashing them in with the butter, and breaking up the butter into small chunks. You definitely still want small chunks of butter in with your dry ingredients. You can use the prongs of your fork to break up your butter, and then use your fingers to kind of smash everything together.

Ingredients for Streusel:

– 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

– ¼ cup oats

– ¼ cup brown sugar

-¼ cup granulated sugar

– 1/4 cup slightly softened unsalted butter, diced

– A pinch of salt

Instructions for Streusel:

1. Start by combining all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Then, using the prongs of a fork (or a pastry blender if you have one) start to mash up the butter and mix in the dry ingredients with it.
3. Be patient and take your time when cutting in the butter; this step is crucial for achieving that delightful streusel texture. Use your fingers towards the end to make sure things get mixed well and your butter is broken into smaller chunks that have some dry ingredients mixed in.

Once your streusel is ready, set it aside until you’re ready to use it in the muffin recipe.

How to Make Cinnamon Sugar Banana Muffins with Streusel

Now that we have our streusel topping ready, it’s time to bring it all together to create these heavenly muffins. Let’s dive into the main recipe!

Ingredients:

Muffin Base:

– 2 cups all-purpose flour

– 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

– 1/2 teaspoon salt

– 3 ripe bananas, mashed

– 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

– 1/2 cup granulated sugar

– 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

– 2 large eggs

– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

– 1/2 cup buttermilk (or substitute with 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 tablespoon vinegar)

Cinnamon Sugar Filling:

– 1/2 cup granulated sugar

– 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

– ¼ cup butter, melted

Streusel:

– 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

– ¼ cup oats

– ¼ cup brown sugar

-¼ cup granulated sugar

– 1/4 cup slightly softened unsalted butter, diced

– A pinch of salt

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a muffin tin with foil or non-stick liners.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Set this dry mixture aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the mashed bananas, melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. Make sure your melted butter isn’t hot when you add the eggs, or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs in your batter! Add in the eggs. Mix until the ingredients are well combined and the mixture is smooth.

Slowly add the dry mixture to the banana mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Begin and end with the dry mixture, mixing until just combined. Be careful not to overmix; a few lumps are perfectly fine.

Now comes the fun part! Take your muffin tin with the foil liners and fill each cup about 2/3 full with muffin batter.

Next, take all your cinnamon sugar filling ingredients and combine them in a bowl. Stir until you have a consistently smooth mixture. Then, take about a teaspoonful of cinnamon sugar filling and place it in the middle of each muffin tin cup on top of the batter.

Top each muffin with a little more batter. Like, literally, just enough to cover the cinnamon sugar filling. Maybe another teaspoon or 2. You want to save room for the streusel!

Finally, generously sprinkle the streusel topping over each muffin.

Pop the muffins into the preheated oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Once cooled, grab one of these beauties, and indulge in the cinnamon sugar goodness that’s waiting for you inside and on top!

Cinnamon Sugar Filled Banana Muffins with Streusel

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Servings 18

Ingredients

  

Banana Muffin Batter

• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter melted
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 ripe bananas mashed
• 1/2 cup buttermilk Or 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 tablespoon vinegar

Cinnamon Sugar Filling

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter melted

Streusel

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup butter slightly softened (see note above)
• 1 pinch salt

Instructions

 

Make Streusel

• In a bowl, combine all of the streusel ingredients. Using a pastry blender, or a large fork, break apart the butter and mix it in with the dry ingredients. You want everything to resemble large crumbs when you are done.
• Set streusel aside

Make Banana Muffin Batter

• Preheat oven to 350° F, line a muffin tin with foil or non-stick liners
• In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside dry ingredients.
• In a large mixing bowl, mix together your melted butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar.
• Add in eggs, vanilla and mashed bananas. Mix until well-incorporated.
• Add half of the dry ingredients and mix. Then add in buttermilk and mix. Finally, add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just-incorporated. You don't want to overmix.

Make Cinnamon Sugar Filling and Assemble

• In a microwavable bowl, melt your butter. Mix in cinnamon and sugar until it is a smooth mixture.
• Fill your muffin tin cups (This recipe makes about 18 total muffins) about 2/3 of the way with batter.
• Add about a teaspoon of cinnamon sugar filling to the center of each muffin tin
• Top off each muffin tin with an extra teaspoon or two of banana muffin batter.
• Sprinkle streusel over the tops of your muffins
• Bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Your streusel will have a light golden ring around the edge.