Cinnamon Bun (“Cinnabon”) Muffins

These Cinnabon Muffins have all the irresistible flavor of classic cinnamon-y sweet buns, just made a little healthier. Additionally, muffins are much easier to make!

Cinnamon Buns, meet your easier-to-make, healthier counterpart: Cinnamon Bun Muffins!

This “Cinnabon” Muffin recipe came almost effortlessly. Apart from the retesting, the idea just manifested.

It went something like this: I was standing in my kitchen with an itch to bake (this happens). Oddly, rather than wanting my usual hit of chocolate baking goodness, I had a craving for cinnamony-sweet and comforting.

Within a half-hour, these Cinnamon Bun Muffins were in the oven and diffusing the most irresistible aroma through the house!

Love vegan baking? Here are some more sweets and treats!

• Healthy Chocolate Pie
• Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake
• Chocolate Vegan Zucchini Bread
• Vegan Chocolate Chip Muffins
• “Shmoopy” Cookies

They remind me of Cinnabon, which is rather peculiar because I’ve never had Cinnabon. But they are how I imagine Cinnabon to taste when I’ve walked past their stands.

You could call this recipe a spin on cinnabon… spin-abon muffins? 🧐 Woah, I’ll stop right there. Let’s move on to the actual recipe!

Cinnamon Bun Muffins Q&A

• Can I use any type of cinnamon in these muffins?
  • Yes! Though, I have read that the ‘special ingredient’ used by Cinnabon is the cinnamon variety called Korintje (makara) cinnamon. I haven’t ever used it, but worth a try if you are keen to compare!
• Are cinnamon buns unhealthy? Are they vegan?
  • Most cinnamon buns are not vegan, unless you source a bakery that makes vegan cinnamon buns. (If you have one, lucky you!) Personally, I love the a well-made vegan cinnamon bun for an occasional treat. However, for regular baking, and snacking, yes, these muffins are much healthier.

• Can I substitute all-purpose or whole-wheat pastry flour for the spelt flour?
  • You can, but you need to adjust the amount. In general, I use about 1 cup + 3 tbsp spelt for 1 cup of w/w pastry or all-purpose flour. So, here, use less wheat flour for the spelt. I’d try 1 1/4 cup.
• Can I use all oat flour instead of spelt?
  • I prefer a combination of oat and spelt in baking. When all oat flour is used, it yields a ‘sticky’, almost gummy texture. But, it’s your call if you want to experiment with it and don’t mind a stickier consistency.

That’s about it, other than to mention that I love these as mini-muffins but I give you both size options in the recipe. Additionally, these cinnamon bun muffins are nut-free so make excellent adds to school lunches.

Enjoy, x Dreena

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5 from 8 votes

Cinnabon Muffins

The taste of Cinnabon… in a healthy muffin!

Course baking, Breakfast, muffins

Keyword cinnamon, dates, muffins, snacks

Ingredients

Batter:

• 1 1/2 cups whole-grain spelt flour (or 1 1/3 cup white whole wheat flour)
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp (scant) sea salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup plain or vanilla non-dairy yogurt
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup plain or vanilla non-dairy milk
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 TB raisins or chopped dates

Topping:

• 1/2 – 2/3 cup chopped dates
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp sea salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a mini-muffin pan (or regular) by lining with parchment paper liners.

  To make the cinnabon topping: In a bowl, mix together all topping ingredients. Use your fingers to work the mixture together until sticky/crumbly.

  To make the batter: In a large bowl, combine the flours, cinnamon, salt, then sift in the baking powder and soda.  Mix well.  In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, milk, maple syrup, vanilla and raisins or dates. Add wet mixture to dry, stirring through until just well combined (without overmixing).
• Transfer batter into muffin cups. I like to use a mini-muffin pan (see size note), filling 22-24. Dollop about a teaspoon or two of the topping on each, gently embedding some of the date pieces into the batter. When finished, sprinkle any remaining topping/cinnamon over the muffins. Bake for about 13 minutes, until set to the touch. Remove from oven, transfer to a cooling rack for a few minutes, then remove muffins and let cool fully on cooling rack (see note for larger muffins).

Notes

Size Note: If you’d like to make regular size muffins, you can fill 11-12 cups. Baking time will be longer, about 18-20 minutes (18-19 for 12 muffins, 19-20 mins for 11 muffins), checking for doneness.

Liners: Parchment paper liners are a big help with oil-free muffins! Other liners will stick to the baked muffins, whereas parchment does not.

This post was originally published October, 2014, and has been revised for April 2021.