Vanilla Muffins with a Crumb Topping and Vanilla Glaze

If you love everything vanilla, these easy vanilla muffins are for you! They’re the perfect weight with a light, fluffy texture, a crunchy crumb topping, and a delicious vanilla scent you can’t help but crave.

If you love vanilla flavor, don’t miss my vanilla recipes, including homemade vanilla extract, vanilla maple syrup, and vanilla honey! These are great ways to add that floral vanilla flavor to various recipes.

Light and fluffy with a crispy muffin top, these are the best vanilla muffins! They have a gorgeous vanilla flavor and scent but come together with simple ingredients and minimal effort. Thanks to the buttermilk, they have a slight tanginess that offsets the sweet vanilla flavor.

With a crunchy crumb topping and fragrant glaze, these muffins can stand their own even against vanilla cupcakes! Bake a quick batch of these fluffy muffins for brunch to serve with fresh fruit or as a quick dessert. You won’t even miss the frosting!

Why you’ll love these vanilla muffins

My very favorite thing about these sweet muffins is how quickly they come together. Every time I finish baking a batch, I’m shocked that I’m done from start to finish in about 30 minutes! How often does that happen?

Beyond their simplicity, this vanilla muffin recipe is truly delicious. It’s light without being too light, heavy without being too dense. These muffins feel like a treat, and I cannot help but enjoy them hot from the oven!

Equipment

• Muffin tin
• Cupcake liners
• Cooling rack
• Stand mixer or hand mixer
• Kitchen scale (optional, but recommended)

Ingredients for Vanilla Muffins Recipe

Vanilla Muffins Ingredients

• All-purpose flour – I like to weigh my flour to make sure I’m using the same exact amount each time.
• Baking powder – It’s a good practice to sift your baking powder to avoid sour-salty clumps.
• Kosher salt – The salt reacts with the baking powder to make these muffins rise!
• Sugar – These muffins are sweeter than regular muffins as I find sugar draws out the vanilla flavor.
• Buttermilk – Buttermilk adds creaminess and helps make these muffins so light and fluffy!
• Vanilla bean paste – My homemade vanilla bean paste adds concentrated vanilla flavor to any recipe. It’s the secret to the best vanilla muffins every time!
• Coconut oil – I like to melt coconut oil and let it cool for a minute or two before mixing the wet ingredients. You can also substitute vegetable oil.
• Eggs – Set you eggs out at room temperature for a few hours before baking.

Crumb Topping

• Vanilla sugar – If you don’t have vanilla sugar, you can use regular sugar and add about 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.
• Flour – This helps hold the crumb together while the muffins are baking and adds a cookie-like crunch.
• Melted butter – Partially melted butter is the glue that holds this delicious crumb topping together.

Vanilla Glaze Ingredients

• Powdered sugar – Add half the powdered sugar at first, whisk until smooth, then add the rest.
• Almond milk – Feel free to use any milk here, but I like using a non-dairy milk, so I can leave these muffins out at room temperature.
• Vanilla bean paste – Just a little more vanilla bean paste adds an enticing vanilla scent that takes these muffins over the top!

This recipe was adapted from the perfect base muffin recipe by Baked by an Introvert and the crumb topping was inspired by I Heart Naptime.

How to Make Vanilla Muffins

Preheat your oven – Set your oven to 400 degrees F. Line your muffin pan with silicone liners or paper liners.

Mix the dry ingredients -Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Sift the baking powder to ensure it doesn’t have any clumps.

Mix the wet ingredients – Mix sugar, buttermilk, vanilla bean paste, and coconut oil in the bowl of a stand mixer using a paddle attachment. Beat until incorporated. Add eggs one at a time and beat after each one.

Combine wet and dry – Gradually mix the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just incorporated.

Fill the muffin cups – Scoop your muffin mixture into your prepared muffin cups, trying to add the same amount to each one.

Prepare the crumb topping – In a small bowl, add the flour and vanilla sugar. Add in half the amount of melted butter, stirring to combine. Continue adding butter until the mixture looks crumbly. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the tops of the muffins.

Bake the vanilla muffins – Bake for 18-22 minutes in a preheated oven or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool – Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. If using silicone liners, remove the muffins from the liners.

Glaze – Assemble the glaze and drizzle it over the top of each muffin once they are cool.

Enjoy – Allow the muffin glaze to set completely before storing them in an airtight container.

Storing & Reheating

You can store these vanilla muffins in an airtight container in the fridge or counter. On the counter, they will last approximately 3-4 days. In the fridge, they will last a couple of extra days.

You can freeze a batch of these vanilla muffins to enjoy anytime you’d like! Simply bake a batch, let it cool completely, and freeze them in a freezer-safe bag. Allow them to thaw in the fridge overnight before eating.

Tips for Success

This is an easy muffin recipe, and I’m keeping it that way. This recipe is very forgiving so if you’re a beginner, these are the perfect muffins for you!

Buttermilk substitutes – If you don’t have buttermilk around, you can substitute plain yogurt, sour cream, or Greek yogurt. Since those are so thick, I recommend using 1/2 cup of sour cream and 1/4 cup water.

Sift your baking powder – If your baking powder is running low, it’s possible it’s starting to clump. No one enjoys that salty-sour flavor of plain baking powder in the middle of a delicious muffin! Take a minute to sift your baking powder to remove clumps. It’s worth the extra dishes!

Change up the oil – I prefer coconut oil in this recipe because I always have it on hand. You could also use vegetable oil or even melted butter, but let the butter cool down to room temperature before using.

Use room-temperature ingredients – If you skip the rest of my instructions, don’t skip this one! If you mix melted coconut oil with cold buttermilk, your batter may have little oil clumps. This will affect your final texture and flavor. Let your eggs and buttermilk come up to room temperature first.

Vanilla bean paste options – If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, substitute pure vanilla extract or scrape the caviar out of 2-3 whole vanilla beans. I recommend making my vanilla bean paste recipe; it has just as much vanilla flavor as the store-bought stuff for way less money.

Skip the crumb topping – These muffins are great even without the crumb topping! Sprinkle a little vanilla sugar on the tops of the muffins instead for a little crunch.

How to Serve Vanilla Muffins

You don’t need to save these tasty muffins for a special occasion, although you certainly can! They’re delicious on their own. They’re great for:

• Serve at a brunch with fresh strawberries and blueberries
• Break into pieces and serve with vanilla pudding and whipped cream for a mini trifle
• Dip into a french vanilla glaze
• Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee
• Top with your favorite jam

FAQs

Are these vanilla muffins vegan?

Due to the eggs and buttermilk, these vanilla muffins are not vegan.

Can you make these muffins gluten-free?

Although I have not tried this, you could most likely use a gluten-free flour that serves as a 1:1 replacement for flour. If you try this, let me know how it goes!

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• Butterscotch Pudding Pie
• Caramel Apple Galette
• Blueberry Crumble Bars