Happy Saturday and welcome to the first recipe of September! For me, I have always associated September with the flavor of coffee. I feel like September is Coffee, October is Pumpkin, November is apples and cranberries, and December is gingerbread. That’s how my brain is wired, so that’s how my recipes are probably going to flow for the next four months.
It’s supposed to get cooler this week, which I am really hoping for. It’s been pretty hot and sunny all week, and I’m very much not enjoying it. I’m looking forward to lower temperatures and rainy days ahead.
And if you’re thinking about low temperatures and rain, you’re probably thinking cozy. Sweaters, blankets, candles, and muffins! (catch that very discreet segue) Perhaps even these muffins. Coffee, caramel, vanilla, and cinnamon are the key flavors here, so what’s not to love?
Describe These Muffins to Me
Taste: The most prominent flavor in these muffins is the coffee flavor, whose warming bitter notes blend perfectly with the sweet vanilla. The caramel adds this deeper level of bittersweet, warming flavors.
Texture: These muffins are perfectly soft, moist, and fluffy right out of the oven and stay that way once they’ve cooled down. The caramel melts into these buttery and slightly gooey puddles that blend into the muffin perfectly!
Ease: The caramel shards may sound like a challenge but they are actually quite simple to make. And once you get those finished, the batter itself is very straightforward and easy to throw together.
The Caramel Shards
I have used these caramel shards in a lot of recipes this year, but that’s because they are such a simple and easy way of adding homemade caramel to just about any recipe. To make them, we simply melt some white sugar on the stove until it turns an amber brown, after which we stir in some butter. This mixture gets spread out on a baking sheet where it cools very quickly before getting broken up into shards.
The Batter
This is a pretty classic cupcake batter. Flour, plenty of baking powder to make these niece and fluffy, baking soda, and a little dash of cinnamon make up the dry ingredients. We use a mix of oil and butter for the best flavor and texture. The espresso powder is mixed into the wet ingredients to bloom it, which releases more flavor into the batter. Finally, sour cream and milk make these muffins delicate and moist.
Coffee Caramel Muffins
Ingredients
Caramel Shards
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter at room temperature
Coffee Muffins
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup salted butter melted and slightly cooled
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons espresso powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup sour cream at room temperature
- 1 cup milk at room temperature
- turbinado sugar for topping
Instructions
Start by making the caramel shards
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium sized saucepan, melt the sugar over medium heat until amber brown, for roughly 6 minutes. It will seem like nothing is happening at first, but the sugar will begin to melt and clump up, and will eventually all cook down to a deep amber brown. Once melted, add the butter and use a whisk to combine. Once butter is completely melted and combined, remove the saucepan from the heat and immediately pour the caramel onto the previously prepared baking sheet and spread it out into a relatively thin layer. It hardens fast, so work quickly! Let the caramel sit for at least 5 minutes before using your hands to break it into small shards. Set aside while we make the batter.
Make the muffins
- Preheat the oven to 425℉. Line a 12 count muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, melted butter, vegetable oil, eggs, espresso powder, and vanilla extract until smooth and combined. Whisk in the sour cream and milk until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Using a large rubber spatula, fold in the caramel shards.
- Fill the cupcake liners up to the top with the batter. Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar if desired. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425℉ before turning the temperature down to 350℉ (keeping the muffins in the oven!) and baking for another 15-17 more minutes or until the tops are set and bounce back when slightly poked.
- Let the muffins cool in the pans for at least 10 minutes before enjoying warm. Muffins keep for up to 4 days sealed in an airtight container at room temperature.