What Is a Master Muffin Recipe?
This is 1 muffin batter that can produce all sorts of different muffin varieties and flavors. These muffins are soft and buttery where the chunks and chips are just as mouth-watering as the muffin crumbs themselves. I’ve been using this base recipe for a few years already including for:
- Cranberry Cardamom Spice Muffins
- Blackberry Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Peach Muffins
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
And in addition to those 7 muffin recipes all stemming from the same starting point, I have 5 more variations pictured for you today. Plus 10 more variations listed out under the recipe.
That’s 22 muffin flavors that all start from the same exact place.
What You Need
The muffin batter starts with basic dry ingredients like flour, baking powder + soda, and salt. More often than not, I add ground cinnamon. The only time I don’t add it is when we’re preparing a citrus-y flavored muffin. The wet ingredients are just as simple. Creamed butter and sugar, plus 2 eggs, vanilla, sour cream/plain yogurt, and milk. That’s it. Based on the flavor of the muffin, I use brown sugar or granulated sugar. I use either plain Greek yogurt or sour cream based on what I have. Same with milk—whole milk, 1% milk, buttermilk, almond milk—honestly, it all works in this master muffin recipe.
- That’s 11 ingredients total including the cinnamon. And all 11 ingredients are baking staples, nothing new or difficult to find plus you have wiggle room with the sour cream and milk depending on what is convenient for you.
The Best Muffin Trick
I’ve been using this muffin trick for years and SWEAR by it. Fill your muffin cups/liners all the way to the top. Bake the muffins for just 5 minutes at a high temperature. Reduce the temperature for the remaining bake time. This initial hot burst of air lifts the muffins straight up, creating a solid dome. The rest of the time at a normal baking temperature cooks the center of the muffin.
NOTE: This only works with certain muffin batters. Muffin batter has to be thick and sturdy, like most of the muffin recipes on this site including today’s.
Today’s New Muffin Flavors
Details for making each are in the recipe notes below.
- White Chocolate Raspberry Muffins
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (with lemon glaze)
- Mixed Berry Muffins (with lemon glaze)
- Chocolate Chip Streusel Muffins
WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY MUFFINS:
APPLE CINNAMON MUFFINS:
LEMON POPPY SEED MUFFINS:
MIXED BERRY MUFFINS:
CHOCOLATE CHIP STREUSEL MUFFINS:
PS: 10 more flavors below the recipe! And if you’re looking for a chocolate base, try these double chocolate muffins.
Print
Master Muffin Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Use this master muffin recipe to make any muffin you love! They’re basic, easy, delicious, and freezer friendly.
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light brown sugar (or granulated)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk (any kind), at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat on high until creamed, about 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute, then turn up to high speed until the mixture is combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until just about combined. Add the milk and continue to beat on low until combined. Fold in add-ins. (See flavors/details in the notes below.)
- Spoon the batter evenly into each cup or liner, filling each all the way to the top. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425 then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 22-23 minutes, give or take. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Glazed muffins stay fresh stored in the refrigerator for 1 week, unglazed muffins stay fresh stored at room temperature for a few days—then transfer to the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes
- White Chocolate Raspberry Muffins: Fold 1 cup raspberries + 3/4 cup white chocolate chips into the batter as instructed in step 4. Sprinkle muffin tops with coarse sugar before baking.
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins: Mix an additional 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon + 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg with the dry ingredients in step 2. Fold 1 cup peeled chopped apple + 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter as instructed in step 4. Sprinkle muffin tops with oats before making.
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins: Leave out cinnamon and use granulated sugar instead of brown sugar. Mix 2 Tablespoons poppy seeds into the dry ingredients in step 2. Add 2 teaspoons lemon zest and the juice from 1 medium lemon (about 3 Tablespoons) into the batter when you mix in the milk. Sprinkle muffin tops with coarse sugar before baking. Drizzle lemon glaze onto warm muffins after baking.
- Mixed Berry Muffins: Fold 1 and 1/2 cups mixed berries into the batter as instructed in step 4. Drizzle lemon glaze onto warm muffins after baking.
- Chocolate Chip Streusel Muffins: Fold 1 and 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips into the batter as instructed in step 4. Press crumbs from these apple cinnamon muffins slightly down into muffin tops (so they adhere, but aren’t submerged) before baking.
- Make Ahead Instructions: For longer storage, freeze muffins for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature or warm up in the microwave if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-Count Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack
- Jumbo Muffins: 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce to 350°F for 22-25 minutes for a total of 27-30. Makes about 6.
- Mini Muffins: 350°F for 12-14 minutes. Makes about 36-40.
- Chocolate Muffins: If you’re looking for a chocolate base recipe, use these double chocolate muffins.
Keywords: Master Muffin Recipe
10 More Muffin Flavors
- Cinnamon Pecan Muffins: master muffin batter + 3/4 cups toasted chopped pecans + 3/4 cup cinnamon chips. With the crumb topping from these apple cinnamon muffins.
- White Chocolate Nectarine: master muffin batter + 1 heaping cup peeled chopped nectarine + 1/2 cup white chocolate chips. With the brown sugar nut streusel from these blueberry muffins.
- Blueberry Lemon Muffins: master muffin batter + zest and juice of 1 lemon + 1 and 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (leave out cinnamon)
- Pear Spice Muffins: master muffin batter + 1 and 1/4 cups peeled chopped pear + 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg, ground cloves, + allspice
- Crumb Cake Muffins: master muffin batter + extra 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon + the crumb topping from these apple cinnamon muffins
- Banana Nut Muffins: master muffin batter + 3/4 cup mashed banana + leave out sour cream + 1 cup chopped walnuts. The cheesecake filling from strawberry cheesecake muffins would be delicious in these.
- Ginger Peach Muffins: master muffin batter + 1 and 1/4 cups peeled chopped peaches + 2 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger. With the brown sugar nut streusel from these blueberry muffins.
- Pineapple Coconut Muffins: master muffin batter + 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut + 3/4 cup finely chopped pineapple (fresh or canned)
- Birthday Cake Muffins: master muffin batter + 3/4 cup rainbow sprinkles + 1 teaspoon almond extract (leave out cinnamon)
- Cranberry Apple Muffins: master muffin batter + 1 cup peeled chopped apple + 3/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries. With the crumb topping from these apple cinnamon muffins.
Would you recommend fresh or frozen berries, or does it not really matter?
Hi Leeza, you can use either fresh or frozen, but if you use frozen, do not thaw the berries first, and you may need to add a little extra time to the bake time. Hope you enjoy!
I used this recipe today as a base for blueberry peach muffins (since I had a lot of extra on hand). The recipe is so fluffy, buttery, and delicious. I used skim milk and 0% greek yogurt as that was what I had on hand and it worked perfectly. I’ll use this recipe from now on when I want muffins. The tip about starting hot and turning down also really does make them extra fluffy!
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Thanks for this great recipe. Please how can I substitute the sour cream and milk? Both plain yoghurt and sour cream are not readily available in my location. Thanks in advance
Hi Esther, If you do not have sour cream or yogurt, you can substitute BOTH the sour cream/yogurt and milk for buttermilk.
Quick question, Sally–When your recipes call for sour cream or plain yogurt, must the yogurt be full fat? Thanks for your help. We love ALL your recipes!
Hi Susan, we typically use nonfat or low-fat plain Greek yogurt, or full-fat sour cream. Greek yogurt is thicker, so nonfat works just as well. If using regular plain yogurt, I would recommend full-fat or low-fat, but not nonfat. Hope this helps!
Unfortunately this wasn’t a hit for me. I made it for a work lunch and I’ve loved other sally recipes but this one didn’t have a great flavour or turn out moist possibly due to the cinnamon? Being combined with chocolate. I recommend her “Super Moist Chocolate Cupcakes”. – a huge hit amongst kids and parties
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Hi Sally, I love this recipe and would love to turn a bulk amount of it into a homemade “muffin mix”. Are you able to help with the ratio of dry to wet ingredients for that, or do I just need to experiment with it?
Thank you!
If multiplying the dry ingredients, you’ll want to scale the wet ingredients the same amount (once ready to combine with the dry ingredients and bake). Hope this helps!
I made your banana bread muffins. So good! My husband is a muffin man…eats one for breakfast daily at work. These were the best muffins I’ve ever made. No more store bought! I can hardly wait to try a new batch every week. This is going to be fun!
★★★★★
Great recipe, just saw red currents in season and on sale. Was going to try this with the red currents… do you think adding crystallized ginger to that mix would be good? If so, how much would you recommend?
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I’d say that would be a nice combination. I can’t predict exactly how much crystallized ginger is best, but I would start with about 1/4 or 1/3 cup (around 60-70g).
Need you key lime/ margarita muffin recipe.
Hi Flo, we don’t have a key lime/margarita muffin at this time, but you could follow the lemon poppy seed version in the recipe Notes, swapping lemon for lime and omitting the poppy seeds. Let us know if you try it!
Hi I love all your recipes. I tried the basic muffin mix for the birthday cake muffins
They all caved while the double chocolate chip were perfect. For the birthday cake ones do I use the vanilla and almond extract. All I can think that could have been wrong.
Hi Mare! The extract won’t make much difference there. Those muffin recipes are quire different. Usually when muffins cave, they have been over-filled or under-baked (or a combination of the two). And easy fix for next time!
Not a big fan of muffins in general, but this recipe is genuinely good! I used plant butter bc it was on hand, and apple pie filling left over from another baking endeavor. The crumb was excellent, and do not over bake bc the 5 mins cooling in pan is important.
★★★★★
Love all of your recipes! Quick question – I’m using single silicone molds and the batter keeps overflowing and results in very flat muffins. Is this a silicone issue or is this a result of overfilling and a high initial temperature?
Hi Stephanie, how sturdy are the sides of the individual silicone molds? If they’re not especially sturdy, we wonder if that may be causing the batter to bake and expand unevenly. For next time, you can try putting a little less batter in each cup. Hope this helps!
I bake two dozen a week of this recipe for volunteers working Habitat for Humanity. I love that I can use the same recipe but provide a variety of flavors. Thank you for the help!
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Thank you for baking for volunteers, Brenda!
I love having one amazing go-to, especially an easy one! Thank you
Q- Is there any way to reduce the sugar, even slightly, without completely destroying the integrity of the mix?
Hi Megan, We haven’t tried a lower sugar version of these muffins. You can certainly do some experimenting if you’d like, but keep in mind that reducing the sugar can alter the taste, texture, and structure of the muffins.
I’ve reduced the sugar to half of the stated amount and the muffins still come out great. They’re perfect for me. I made a couple batches of the banana muffins (with semi-sweet chocolate chips) this morning.
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I love your infinite muffin recipes. I’ve made a few different kinds. I want to make one that would be close to cinnamon rolls for a brunch baby shower would I use the crumb cake or pecan cinnamon chip. I would leave out pecans and frost them with your cream cheese frosting.
Also what kind of cinnamon chips do you use.
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