Vanilla Muffins

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 35

Servings: muffins

Calories: 251kcal

Author: Shruthi Baskaran-Makanju

My vanilla muffins are tall, domed, and bakery-style with tender crumbs and optional streusel topping. Greek yogurt keeps them moist with 5g protein per muffin.

Print Recipe Add to Collection

US Customary - Metric

Ingredients

For the muffins:

2¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
2 large eggs
¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
½ cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the streusel topping (optional):

¼ cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter cold

Instructions

Make the streusel (if using):

In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Add cold butter (cut into small pieces) and use your fingers to pinch and rub the mixture together until it resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Make the muffin batter:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease well.
Set out eggs, Greek yogurt, and buttermilk 30 minutes before baking to bring to room temperature. (Or warm buttermilk gently in the microwave for 10 seconds.)
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, melted butter, eggs, Greek yogurt, buttermilk, and vanilla until smooth.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and fold with a spatula until just combined. The batter should be lumpy—do not overmix. A few streaks of flour are okay.
For best domed tops (optional): Cover the bowl and refrigerate batter for 20-30 minutes. This allows the flour to hydrate and the gluten to relax.
Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups, filling each about ¾ full (about 3 tablespoons per cup). If using streusel, sprinkle about 1 tablespoon on top of each muffin and press lightly to adhere.

Bake:

Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350°F without opening the door. Continue baking for 13-16 minutes more, until tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Notes

Don't overmix—lumpy batter is good. Overmixing develops gluten, making muffins tough and flat-topped.
Rest the batter if you have time—20-30 minutes in the fridge makes a noticeable difference in dome height and crumb texture. But if you're short on time, bake immediately.
For dark muffin pans, reduce both temperatures by 25°F to prevent over-browning.
Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
Reheat in the microwave 15-20 seconds for soft muffins, or in a 300°F oven for 5 minutes to crisp streusel.

Nutrition