Healthier Cinnamon Roll Muffins

Do you ever crave fluffy cinnamon rolls, but don’t have the time to make a yeasted dough? These cinnamon roll muffins are super fluffy and they have that classic cinnamon flavor swirled throughout. They can be made in around 30 minutes and they’re so much easier to make than cinnamon rolls. Plus, these are made with less butter and reduced sugar.

I came up with the idea for cinnamon roll muffins because I saw a video for super fluffy muffins. The texture reminded me of cinnamon rolls, and I wondered if I could simply add cinnamon roll filling to muffin batter for cinnamon roll muffins. I made some slight adjustments and tried it out, and it worked! Although these muffins don’t pull apart like cinnamon rolls, they still have the same flavor and fluffy texture. Plus, they are so much easier to make because you don’t have to knead or wait for the dough to rise.

Ingredient notes:

Flour: This recipe calls for a blend of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour because I like the extra flavor and nutrients that whole wheat adds. If you don’t have whole wheat flour, you can easily substitute more all purpose flour.

Baking powder: It might seem like this recipe uses a lot of baking powder, but it really helps give these muffins a tall rise.

Granulated sugar: This recipe calls for just 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar in the batter, because I didn’t want it to be too sweet. I tried to copy the taste of cinnamon roll dough, which is just a little bit sweet. Most of the sweetness will come from the cinnamon filling. If you want a sweeter muffin, feel free to increase the granulated sugar to 1/4 cup.

Greek yogurt: This recipe uses greek yogurt to keep the muffins extra moist. I used nonfat greek yogurt, but you can use any type you want. If you don’t have greek yogurt, you can substitute buttermilk, or a fruit puree like applesauce.

Milk: I used 2% milk for my muffins, but you can use whatever fat percent you would like. This recipe calls for 3/4 cup, but if the batter still seems too thick, feel free to add 1-2 tablespoons more milk.

Almond flour: In order to reduce the sugar in this recipe, I needed to use almond flour to bulk up the filling mixture. If you don’t have almond flour, you can substitute very finely chopped nuts, coconut flour, or just skip it completely!

Technique tips:

This recipe is very simple, but here are a couple of tips to help things go smoothly!

Prepare the pan: You will need a 12 cup muffin tin for this recipe, or a 6 cup jumbo muffin tin. I strongly recommend lining the pan with paper liners because the cinnamon sugar mixture could stick to your pan when it bakes.

Wet ingredients: You will need to whisk the wet ingredients together. During this process, it’s much easier to add the eggs one at a time, which makes it super simple to incorporate. Then you will add the greek yogurt. It may look like it won’t incorporate smoothly into the batter, but just keep whisking and it will. Finally, add the milk and vanilla extract and whisk until everything is combined.

When you combine the wet and dry ingredients, try your best not to overmix because this could make the muffins tough. If the batter seems too thick, you can add 1-2 tablespoons more milk.

Cinnamon filling: For the cinnamon filling mixture, you will combine melted butter with brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and almond flour. I also like to add 1/4 teaspoon water if the mixture looks too dry. You don’t want it to be like a liquid paste, but it should stick together.

To assemble the muffins: To get the cinnamon swirl effect in the muffin, I like to add around 2 tablespoons of batter to the bottom of the prepared muffin cups. Then I top it with around 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon mixture. Then I top it with the remaining batter and use a toothpick or skewer to gently swirl the batter and the cinnamon mixture. You don’t have to go overboard with this. Finally, top the muffins with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture. If you want to get a more defined swirl on top of the muffins, you can add around 1/2 a teaspoon of water to the cinnamon mixture so it is more of a pipeable paste consistency. Then add it to a small ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and pipe swirls on top of the muffins.

If you liked these Healthier Cinnamon Roll Muffins, you might also like…

• Pumpkin pie cinnamon rolls
• Healthier banana cinnamon coffee cake
• Healthy morning glory muffins

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4 from 1 vote

Healthier Cinnamon Roll Muffins

The classic flavor of cinnamon rolls in the form of a super fluffy muffin. It has a cinnamon sugar filling swirled into the batter and they're just the right sweetness. These are so much easier to make than regular cinnamon rolls, and you can make them in just around 30 minutes.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time14 minutes mins

Total Time34 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Keyword: cinnamon, cinnamon roll, healthy, muffins

Servings: 12 muffins

Author: Half the Sugar Baker

Ingredients

Cinnamon sugar filling

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup almond flour see above in the post for substitutions
• 1/2 teaspoon water

Muffin batter

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour or substitute all purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vanilla glaze (optional)

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease generously.

Make the cinnamon filling

• In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and almond flour. Once combined, add the water and stir until it forms a mixture that can stick together but is not liquid. Set aside.

Make the muffin batter

• In a large bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In a separate large bowl, whisk together the sugar and melted butter. Then add the eggs one at a time, whisking in between each addition until fully incorporated. Then whisk in the greek yogurt until mixture is very smooth. Finally, add the milk and vanilla extract and whisk until everything is combined.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir until just combined. If batter seems too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk.

Assemble and bake the muffins

• Add roughly 2 tablespoons of the batter to each muffin cup. Then spoon on about 1-2 teaspoons of the cinnamon filling mixture. There should be some left over for the top. Then cover each muffin with the remaining batter. Use a toothpick or skewer to gently swirl the batter with the cinnamon filling. Finally, top each muffin with the remaining cinnamon filling mixture. See notes for instructions on how to make a more defined cinnamon swirl.
• Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 14-17 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Once done baking, remove from oven and let rest the muffins rest in the pan for 5 minutes. Then transfer the muffins to a wire rack to finish cooling.
• While muffins cool, prepare the vanilla glaze, if using. In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Once the muffins have cooled to room temperature, drizzle on the glaze. Enjoy warm or at room temperature!

Notes

If you want a more defined cinnamon swirl on top of the muffins, add 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon of water to the remaining cinnamon mixture. It should be a paste with a pipeable consistency. Then transfer to a small ziploc bag with the corner snipped off. Then pipe a swirl on top of each muffin using the cinnamon filling.

I like to use a simple vanilla glaze for these muffins because it’s so easy to make. If you want to make a cream cheese frosting, you will need:

•   4 ounces cream cheese, softened
•   3/4 cup powdered sugar
•   1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Then combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy.