Easy Cinnamon Muffins

I have been doing Muffin Mondays but this past Monday we were getting over a Nor’easter and muffins were not on the agenda. Just feeding the fireplace with wood was all we had time for. No power, no heat.

I’m back in our upstate house and, guess what, it’s another Nor’easter. This time, I baked in the morning as the snow was just beginning. I haven’t lost power. Not yet. I have eaten two of these delicacies with just a dab of butter. And a piping hot espresso. I sit, sample, enjoy, and watch the birds coming to feeder outside the kitchen window. It may be snowing, snowing heavily, but we all have to eat.

The amount of cinnamon here is plenty. You’ll have a lovely spice hit. The muffin texture is soft and delicate. These are memorable muffins.

Yield: 16 medium size, 12 really big ones

Ingredients:

For the muffins:

2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
⅓ cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla

For the streusels:

⅓ cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter at room temperature

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 425˚F.

For the muffins:

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Whisk to break any clumps.

In another bowl, combine the oil, eggs, sugar, buttermilk and vanilla. Mix well.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.

For the streusels and preparation:

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon and butter, cutting it with a fork until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Spray 2 muffin pans with cooking spray.

Fill 14-16 muffin cups half full. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon streusel on over the muffin batter. Use the remaining batter to fill the muffin cups the rest of the way. Sprinkle the remaining streusel on top of the muffins.

Bake at 425˚ for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350˚ (without opening the oven) and bake for an additional 11-12 minutes, or until the center of the muffin bounces back when you touch it.

Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes, then remove them from the pan and allow them to cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container

Easy Cinnamon Muffins