These Honey Bun Coffee Cake Muffins combine cinnamon swirl coffee cake with honey bun glaze for the ultimate breakfast or brunch treat.
I’ve been on a real muffin kick lately. It’s easy to bake a fresh batch, store them in an airtight container, and breakfast is ready for the next couple of days. It’s such a lifesaver when mornings get busy. Just grab a muffin, pour some coffee, and breakfast is done.
During this streak of baking, I started tinkering with a new recipe idea for coffee cake muffins. I tested and tweaked them again and again, adjusting the cinnamon filling and piling on more brown sugar streusel. (More is more when it comes to streusel, if you ask me.) But something was still missing. It wasn’t until I drizzled them with a sweet honey glaze – the same glossy kind you find on classic honey buns – that everything clicked. Suddenly, they had that extra layer of flavor that made them extraordinary. That’s when I knew these Honey Bun Coffee Cake Muffins were finally worthy of sharing with you.
Make the Streusel Topping
Start by combining flour, dark brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl, then cut in cold butter until the mixture becomes crumbly. For the best texture, use your fingertips to rub the butter into the dry ingredients. The mixture should be crumbly with pea-sized butter pieces throughout. After mixing, transfer the streusel to the refrigerator to keep it cold, since chilled streusel bakes into a crisp, golden topping that delivers a satisfying sugar crunch.
Make the Coffee Cake Muffin Batter
Next, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in one bowl while combining sour cream, melted butter, eggs, sugar, honey, and vanilla in another. Stir the two together just until blended – overmixing can make muffins tough rather than tender. The sour cream keeps the muffins moist and also adds a subtle tang.
This batter is so simple to mix, you don’t even need an electric mixer! It has a rich vanilla flavor with just a kiss of honey in the batter.
Mix the Cinnamon Ripple Batter
Now, remove about 3/4 cup of the muffin batter and stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. This creates a darker batter that becomes the cinnamon ripple running through the center of each muffin.
Layer the Batters in a Muffin Tin
After that, begin layering your muffin cups by spooning in plain batter, then a scoop of the cinnamon ripple, and then topping with more plain batter until the cups are about 3/4 full.
Swirl the Batters Together and Top with Streusel
Lightly swirl the layers together with a butter knife or skewer. Don’t overdo it, since too much swirling will muddy the layers instead of creating a pretty ribbon inside. Finally, heap a generous spoonful of the cold streusel mixture onto each muffin. It may seem like too much at first, but don’t hold back. Plenty of streusel makes a thick, crunchy topping after baking.
Bake the Coffee Cake Muffins
Now, bake the muffins in a preheated 400°F oven until they’re risen, golden, and fragrant. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. The streusel topping will naturally be a little crumbly and may spread onto the pan a little – this is normal. Let the muffins rest for about five minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
Add the Honey Bun Glaze
Meanwhile, whisk together confectioners’ sugar, honey, and milk until the glaze is smooth but pourable. Drizzle it over the warm muffins so it seeps into the streusel cracks, then sets with a shiny finish.
Drizzle with Honey
For even more honey bun flavor, finish the muffins with a light drizzle of pure honey right before serving. (I couldn’t resist!)
Share them with Someone You Love
These muffins are made for sharing! My pug puppy Honey Bun joined as today’s brunch guest (apropos, right?). Perhaps you remember her from this post. (I think she’s grown since then!) Although she didn’t get a muffin, she did enjoy a bite of fruit while keeping me company.
These Honey Bun Coffee Cake Muffins bake up beautifully with their crunchy streusel caps. It’s hard to believe they are made with mostly pantry staples. For that reason, they’re easy to put into regular breakfast rotation. I hope you enjoy them as much as we have!
Related recipe: Homemade Honey Buns
Honey Bun Coffee Cake Muffins
These Honey Bun Coffee Cake Muffins are the best of both worlds: soft sour cream muffins swirled with a cinnamon-sugar ripple, topped with a crunchy brown sugar streusel, and finished with a sweet honey glaze. They’re easy to make with pantry staples, bake up in under 45 minutes, and are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or a cozy snack with coffee.
Streusel topping
1/2 cup all-purpose flour1/4 cup dark brown sugar1 teaspoon ground cinnamon4 tablespoons cold butter cut into cubes
Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour1 tablespoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon fine grain salt1/2 cup unsalted butter melted2 large eggs3/4 cup granulated sugar1 cup sour cream1/4 cup whole milk1 tablespoon honey1 teaspoon vanilla extract1/4 cup dark brown sugar packed1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Honey glaze
1 cup confectioners’ sugar2 tablespoons honey1 tablespoon whole milk
Streusel topping
In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cubed butter. Toss everything together then rub the butter into the dry ingredients using your fingers. You can also use a pastry blender or a fork.
The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs with pea-sized butter pieces throughout. Transfer to the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use.
Muffins
Preheat the oven to 400F. Coat a muffin tin with flour based baking spray, or line with paper cupcake liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate large bowl, combine the melted butter, eggs, sugar, sour cream, milk, honey, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until smooth.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir together with a spoon or a rubber spatula. Mix until just combined – don’t overmix! (Or muffins will be tough!)
Remove 3/4 cup of the batter to a separate medium mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix together until a consistent dark brown sugar batter is achieved.
Fill each muffin cup about halfway with the plain batter. Add a slightly heaping 1 tablespoon of the dark brown sugar batter over the plain batter in each cup. Top with the remaining plain batter, filling each cup about 3/4 full.
Use a butter knife or skewer to lightly swirl the batters in each cup together. Top the muffins with the cold streusel mixture, adding 1 slightly heaping tablespoon on top of each muffin. (This will seem like too much, but it works!)
Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the muffins and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Honey glaze
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, honey, and milk. The mixture should be thick but still pourable.
Drizzle the honey glaze over the warm muffins. Allow the glaze to set slightly before serving, or let them cool completely.
Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
For longer storage, keep them in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Warm slightly before serving for the best flavor and texture.
To freeze, wrap muffins individually in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm in the microwave for 15–20 seconds before glazing or serving.
If making ahead, you can glaze the muffins just before serving to keep the topping fresh and glossy.
