I’ve always loved cinnamon coffee cake but never found a gluten-free alternative that was easy to make. Except for these muffins! The crumbly cinnamon top, soft inside, and drizzle of icing seriously replicates the classic bakery coffee cake. The best thing about these muffins is that they’re allergy-friendly: they’re completely free of gluten, dairy, and nuts! The recipe is fairly simple, and the clean up is incredibly easy. There are three components to the muffins: the batter, the cinnamon crumble, and the icing. I always start by making the batter to completion, and then start on the crumble. After the muffins are in the oven, I make the icing, and let it sit on the counter to thicken up slightly while I wait for the baking to finish. These will quickly become one of your favorite treats! They’re perfect for an on-the-go breakfast, a fancy weekend brunch, or even a late afternoon snack!
What You Need to Make Gluten-Free Cinnamon Coffee Cake Muffins
For the muffins you need:
- Vegan butter: Make sure your butter is room temperature, not melted. I love using Earth Balance vegan butter sticks because they’re so easy to use and taste just like butter!
- Eggs: I haven’t tested this recipe using an egg replacer.
- Vanilla
- Oat milk: Any oat milk will work great, but my two favorites are Oatly and Chobani.
- Gluten-free muffin mix: My favorite gluten-free muffin mix is the Josie’s Best GF muffin & more mix. It is made in a facility free of the top 8 allergens and is so easy to use! You can use the mix for a variety of baked goods (not just muffins!), but I love using it for muffins!
- Cinnamon: Feel free to add more if you like your muffins to have more spice.
- Salt
- Baking soda
- Baking powder: Because there’s both baking soda and baking powder in this recipe, the muffins will rise significantly when baked. I recommend only filling the liners a little over 3/4 of the way full with batter, so they don’t overfill.
For the crumble you need:
- Light brown sugar: You can substitute regular brown sugar if needed. I’ve found that the light brown sugar gives the crumble more texture.
- Cinnamon: I usually add a little extra because I like the crumble top to have lots of spice!
- Vegan butter: For the crumble, you want the butter to be completely melted, so it keeps the other ingredients together. I melt Earth Balance vegan butter in the microwave for two intervals of 20 seconds.
- Gluten-free flour: Any 1:1 gluten-free flour will work! I used Cup4Cup Gluten-Free Multipurpose flour in this recipe.
For the icing you need:
- Powdered sugar: It doesn’t have to be sifted, but sifting it will help the icing be smoother.
- Oat milk: I used Oatly oat milk for the icing.
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Gluten-Free Cinnamon Coffee Cake Muffins
Ingredients
Muffin Ingredients
- ½ cup room temperature vegan butter
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¾ oat milk
- 2 cups gluten-free muffin mix
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
Crumble Ingredients
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ cup melted vegan butter
- ¾ cup gluten-free flour
Icing Ingredients
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp oat milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Use a hand mixer to beat together butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
- Add eggs and milk, and whisk until combined.
- Fold in all dry ingredients.
- Mix together all ingredients for the crumble using a fork. Cinammon crumble should be soft, but hold together when touched.
- Place muffin liners in a muffin tin, and fill each with batter slightly over ¾ of the way full.
- Sprinkle tops of muffins with cinnamon crumble. Use the back of a spoon to press crumble slightly into the batter.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes.
- Remove muffins from over, and let cool completely before removing from muffin tray.
- Whisk together powdered sugar and oat milk to make drizzle.
- Use a small spoon to drizzle icing on top of cinnamon crumble before serving.
