The Best Vanilla Muffins
Perfectly fluffy vanilla muffins have a moist, tender crumb and classic vanilla flavor. This easy muffin recipe uses simple ingredients and requires minimal work. Enjoy delicious vanilla muffins for breakfast, brunch, or alongside your afternoon coffee.
The perfect vanilla muffins now exist thanks to this classic muffin recipe. The interior is moist, tender, and fluffy with a golden brown crispy muffin top. Each muffin is packed with pure vanilla flavor from a hefty amount of vanilla bean paste.
The fluffy texture results from a moist muffin batter made using plain flour, sugar, melted butter, sour cream, and buttermilk. The acid from the buttermilk and sour cream balances the sweet flavor, assists in the leavening, and relaxes the gluten for a tender crumb. Baking the muffins at a high oven temperature provides that delightful bakery-style muffin top we love.
These sweet muffins with classic vanilla flavor are perfect for enjoying any time of the day,
storage
Store the muffins in an airtight container for up to 4 days at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Transfer cooled muffins to a freezer bag or airtight container to freeze vanilla muffins. Freeze for up to 3 months—thaw muffins entirely before eating.
expert tips
Measure the ingredients accurately. Be sure to level dry ingredients in their measuring cups with a knife or bench scraper.
Bake the muffins in a preheated oven for even baking.
Use room-temperature eggs for the best incorporation.
Do not over-mix the batter; muffins require minimal mixing after adding the dry ingredients to the wet.
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Grease or line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners and set it aside.
Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.
Whisk sour cream, buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla bean paste in a large bowl until well combined.
Add the flour mixture into the wet mixture and mix until everything is incorporated, do not over-mix.
Evenly divide the muffin batter between the 12 cups of the prepared muffin tin. Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden brown, and when a toothpick is inserted into the center, it comes out clean
Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
You can use a light or more fuller-flavored olive oil as you prefer for this - a more flavorful extra virgin olive oil is going to come through flavor-wise, for me in a good way but may not be to all tastes.
