Cinnamon walnut muffins are made from scratch with simple ingredients and turn out soft, tender, and filled with warm cinnamon flavor. They make the perfect treat paired with a warm mug of coffee or tea.
Why you'll love this recipe
Flavor: Cozy cinnamon flavor that's not too sweet.
Texture: Moist, tender, and filled with crunchy walnuts.
Simple ingredients. Made with simple pantry staples that you may already have on hand.
Easy for novice bakers. Muffins are great for beginner bakers because they're easy to make without fancy kitchen equipment.
Great for: Breakfast, afternoon snacking, or a less sweet dessert.
Similar to: Banana Nut Muffins and Apple Crumble Muffins
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Ingredients and substitutions
Baking is an exact science, so I do not recommend substituting any of the ingredients that I haven't gone over below. Substituting ingredients can cause a change in texture, lift, and moisture in your baked muffins.
- Sugar - You'll need granulated sugar for this recipe. Sugar not only adds sweetness, but also helps keep your bread moist. We're also sprinkling a bit of sugar on top to create a crunchy sugar crust in the oven.
- Butter - Butter not only adds flavor but also moisture to your muffins. Unsalted butter and the listed salt can be substituted with salted butter if needed.
- Eggs - Two large eggs add stability, structure, and moisture to your muffins.
- Milk - I recommend using whole milk because it contains the most fat, which keeps your muffins moist. Whole milk can be substituted with any milk you have on hand (skim, 1%, almond milk) if needed, but your muffins can turn out less moist.
- Vanilla extract - Just a hint of vanilla adds depth of flavor.
- Flour - I have only tested this recipe using all-purpose flour. If you need to bake using a different type of flour, search for a recipe that is written for the type of flour you have on hand.
- Leavening agents - You'll need baking powder for this recipe, not baking soda. The two are not interchangeable.
- Salt - Salt enhances the flavor of the rest of the ingredients without making the recipe "salty". I don't recommend omitting the listed salt in the recipe unless you're using salted butter.
- Cinnamon - Adds a warm, cozy flavor to the muffins. Cinnamon could be substituted with a seasoning blend like pumpkin spice or apple pie spice if desired.
- Nuts - Walnuts or pecans are a great addition to this recipe. The walnuts could also be omitted entirely if desired.
How to make walnut muffins
- First, whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Stir to combine, then add your walnuts and stir until just incorporated.
- Portion your batter into 12 muffin liners. Top with cinnamon sugar and bake until your muffins pop back when pressed on top.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Tips and tricks
Don't overmix the batter - Stir your ingredients by hand until they are just incorporated, then stop mixing. Do not over-mix your batter. If the batter is mixed too much after the flour is added, the gluten can become overworked, leading to a tough muffin.
Don't overfill the muffin pan - Take care not to overfill your muffin pan. This won't necessarily make larger or taller muffins. The batter can spill over while baking and create a mess.
Use liners or butter - Line your pan with paper liners or generously grease your muffin pan beforehand. If you've never made muffins without liners before, I'd err on the side of caution and use liners instead. Muffins stuck in a muffin pan can be a huge hassle to clean up. Don't grease the pan unless you know and trust the pan you're using.
Testing for doneness - Use an instant-read thermometer for best results. Baked goods like muffins are done around 195-200F. If you don't have a thermometer, gently press the top of a muffin. If it springs right back, it's done. If an indent is left, it needs more time.
Frequently asked questions
I like using paper liners for both cupcakes and muffins because it makes for easy cleanup and you don't have to use extra butter or cooking spray.
When baking cupcakes or muffins in paper liners, your baked goods will stick to the papers if they're unwrapped while warm. They need time to cool completely before they unwrap cleanly from the liners.
One of the most common complaints I see in baking is that the recipe is followed "to a T" and the baked goods still turn out dry. Dry baked goods can happen for several reasons:
- Ingredients were substituted/omitted/reduced - The fats and sugar (butter, whole milk, eggs, milk, and granulated sugar) help keep your muffins moist. Using lower fat substitutions, reducing the sugar, or omitting an ingredient entirely will cause them to turn out dry.
- Too much flour was added to the recipe - Did your muffins turn out dry and bland? This is a sure sign that too much flour was added to the recipe. Either use a kitchen scale to weigh your flour accurately (which is how I measure flour and highly recommend to others), or spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level off with a knife. Scooping with the measuring cup directly from a bin of flour compacts it into the cup, adding up to 25% extra flour to the recipe.
- Muffins are overbaked - Baking muffins for too long will dry them out in the oven. Ovens are inconsistent and can run hotter or colder than the next oven. The time that worked for me may not work for you, so I recommend using other cues to tell when your muffins are done.
Here are three easy ways to test muffins for doneness:
- Gently press with one finger onto the top of a muffin. If it bounces back immediately, your muffins are done. If an indent is left, your muffins need more time.
- Insert a toothpick into the center of your largest muffin. If it's covered with batter, they're not done. If it's covered in crumbs or dry, your muffins are done.
- Use an instant-read thermometer. Muffins are done at about 195-200 degrees Fahrenheit in the center. This is the most reliable and exact method to test for doneness.
These muffins will keep for about 3 days or more in a tightly sealed container at room temperature.
Yes, baked muffins freeze well, up to 3 months in a tightly sealed, freezer-safe container. To thaw, transfer to the counter top to allow to come to room temperature for about an hour.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Cinnamon Walnut Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (149 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup (170 g) whole milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup (57 g) chopped walnuts, optional
Topping
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a muffin pan with liners, or grease thoroughly, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add your wet ingredients: sugar, melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Stir until just combined, then add the walnuts, stirring to incorporate.
- Distribute batter between 12 muffin cups.
- In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Sprinkle evenly over the muffins.
- Bake for about 18-22 minutes, or until the top of your muffins pop back when pressed down gently (or once they reach 195-200F in the center).
- Allow pan to cool for 2-3 minutes before removing muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store cooled muffins in a sealed container.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Storage: Muffins will keep at room temperature in a sealed container for 3 days.
- Freezing: Baked muffins can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container.
- Muffins sticking to liners?: If using paper liners, allow your muffins to cool completely before unwrapping or they will stick to the papers.
- To prevent dry muffins: Take care to measure your flour properly (either by weight or using the spoon and level method), do not reduce/omit any liquids, and watch carefully not to overbake your muffins. These are the three most common reasons for dry muffins.
Thank You So Much
So good! The second time I made them I added one mashed ripe banana to the wet ingredients and they turned out perfectly moist and just an additional level of flavor!
Hi everyone,
I always have a problem with muffins baking. Every time when I cook them, even if I measure every item and exactly do accordingly through the receipt, my muffin will be like bread not fluffy. They are dense and top and inside of them are like bread.
Can anyone help how can I resolve this problem?
Hi Mary, it's hard to say what's happening without being in the kitchen with you. Here are a few reasons why muffins can turn out dense, maybe one of these tips may help:
- Overmixing the batter, which overworks the gluten, causing muffins to turn out tough. This can happen if you're using a hand mixer or stand mixer instead of a bowl and spoon.
- Expired/old leavening agents. Once they've been open for about six months, they'll lose some of their potency.
- It sounds like you're not substituting/omitting ingredients, but things like using whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour, or applesauce instead of egg, could cause muffins to not rise properly.
- Adding too much flour by scooping straight out of a bin instead of using the spoon and level method or measuring by weight with a kitchen scale. Too much flour can make muffin batter too thick, preventing it from rising properly.
Disappointing, I made these and the muffins were very, very dry!
Hi Kim, it sounds like you've either overbaked your muffins or something happened when measuring the ingredients. Here are a few reasons why muffins would turn out dry:
- Substituting/omitting moisture-adding ingredients, like eggs, sugar, butter, and milk.
- Adding too much flour - I recommend measuring with a scale or using the spoon and level method, rather than scooping with the measuring cup.
- Overbaking - If your oven runs slightly hotter, your muffins may be done a minute or two sooner than my recommended times.
I tried this recipe yesterday 😋 it was simple recipe ,but turned out extremely delicious, everyone loved it it.best thing was it was not very sweet .can wait to bake them again 🥰
My Chinese friend gave me a huge bag of walnuts and I needed to give her something made with the walnuts so this recipe was a lifesaver. I used less sugar (because Chinese people don't like baked goods very sweet) and a little bit more walnuts in the batter. I also changed the two teaspoons of vanilla to a teaspoon of vanilla and a teaspoon of almond extract because I was afraid the cinnamon and walnut flavors wouldn't blend well without something else to help mesh them together. (Also I just love almond.) I made the topping with brown sugar and also added some chopped walnuts to the topping as well because I thought it would look good (which it did). Anyway, these came out amazing. Very light, fluffy, delicate texture, not heavy at all, which is good with the nuts. Can't wait to make again which I will have to because there are still so much more walnuts in this giant bag I have.
When do you add the walnuts?
Walnuts are stirred in just before pouring your batter into the muffin pan.