Muffin and Scone Recipes & Ideas

Even pumpkin naysayers can't resist them.

Not a blueberry fan? Try apples, pears or chocolate chips!

Kissed with cinnamon-sugar and as fluffy as can be.

Amy Palanjian of Yummy Toddler Food offers six mix-in ideas for her muffin recipe.

Every bite is pure bliss.

You'll never make them any other way.

You won't even miss the cream cheese frosting.

They're a great hearty breakfast or snack.

This baby-friendly muffin recipe is loaded with three kinds of produce and a super tender texture so it's easy for the littlest eaters to enjoy!

My search for the perfect muffin is finally over.

They're everything you love about cornbread and blueberry muffins crammed into one summery treat.

It's rich and tangy and spiked with maple syrup.

They're a classic for a reason.

Never throw away a banana just because it turns brown.

Don’t write off that muffin tin as being a unitasker only good for baking muffins and cupcakes. There are plenty of recipes, even full meals, that can be made in those small baking pans. Plus, it’s a great way to help portion out servings to freeze for later. If you’ve been on the fence about KonMari-ing your muffin tins, let these eight recipes make the case for keeping them. Poaching eggs for a crowd can be a long process.

Everything you've ever dreamed a blueberry muffin would be.

I can't stop baking them.

These doughnut muffins are exactly what you want, and hope, them to be. They are muffins that have the remarkable texture and flavor of classic cake doughnuts, plus a generous glug of eggnog for good measure. In other words, a winter morning dream come true. Doughnut muffins were actually one of the first ever — as in ever — baking recipes that I ever made, so I have very warm feelings toward them.

Not only will you love pulling this make-ahead sandwich out of the freezer on weekday mornings, but it will also totally change the way you think about egg whites.

I grew up in a sprawling, voracious family that loved cereal so much we didn’t wait until breakfast to indulge. When my mom came home from the store with a load of “healthy” cereals and one special box of Golden Grahams, we all knew to pour a bowl immediately; it wouldn’t last until breakfast. My dad munched Cap’n Crunch as a late-night snack, and we anticipated our grandmother’s visits partly because that was the only time we’d get Honey Nut Cheerios.

Zucchini bread was one of the first things I learned how to bake from scratch. It was full of oil and topped with a mound of cream cheese frosting. My 20-year-old self was in love. Nowadays, especially since I bake so often, I try to look for healthier options. These apple-zucchini muffins are the perfect compromise — with their oat crumble topping and dollop of sweetened crème fraîche, that super-rich cream cheese frosting is hardly missed.

I don’t often write about muffins or even make them at home because, to be honest, I just don’t like most muffins! The typical coffee shop fare tends to have big, domed tops and are often too sweet for my taste. I’m drawn to those dense hippie muffins that are packed with a good bit of whole grain flour and interesting flavors and textures — which is exactly the kind of muffin I’m sharing today.

Banana nut muffins are one of the greatest pleasures of the breakfast table, and I’ll have strong words with anyone who says otherwise. They walk that fine line between wholesome breakfast and (let’s be honest) cake, and they walk it so very well. These particular banana nut muffins are my favorite. They are extra moist and tender — you can slice one in half, slather it with butter, and take a healthy bite, all without fear that your breakfast will disintegrate into crumbs.

My childhood best friend’s mother was the queen of boxed cooking. Whenever I had dinner at their house, we feasted on “canned cream-of” casseroles and powdered scalloped potatoes. But here’s the thing: the food was always hearty, fed a crowd, and appeared on the table at the same time every night. No exceptions. While the meal might not have been gourmet, it was still a quality family dinner. I was always welcome at the table and there was always plenty to go around.

Here’s a recipe out of my weeknight playbook: a quick, easy, reliably moist batch of whole wheat muffins. They are a homey accompaniment to soups and salads, and since these only need to bake for 15 minutes, you can start them and be eating in under half an hour. (Leftovers are lovely for breakfast, too!) This is an adaptation of a recipe my mom made frequently while we were growing up, but I’ve tweaked it a bit.

Many morning meals and recipes can be divisive in the same way that brownies (fudgy or cakey?) or chocolate chip cookies (soft, chewy, or crisp?) often are. There are people who tend towards the savory side of things and others who would choose a fruit scone, muffin, or stack of pancakes before they’d ever order eggs at brunch. That’s not to say you can’t dabble in both (I certainly do!

Zucchini and chocolate might seem like an odd combination, but trust me — I was a skeptic myself once upon a time, until my mom served chocolate-zucchini cake to me as a child. I was alarmed by how good it was, and you will be too! If you bake from time to time, then you may have most of the ingredients in this recipe in your cupboard, and you’ll just need to get the fresh ingredients.

Sometimes when you combine two beloved things into one new form, you wonder how you ever ate them separately. I find this to be true especially after developing the recipe for these coffee cake muffins. With a buttery, crumbly topping and a slightly sweet glaze, they are truly the best of both worlds. I came up with the idea for these muffins this past summer at a diner in Upstate New York.

Let’s talk about the differences between muffins and cupcakes. Cupcakes are treats or desserts, covered with heaps of frosting, but muffins should be just a touch sweet and full of good-for-you things that make an acceptable breakfast. That’s where these muffins — filled with dried cherry and oat-filled granola — come in! If I’m going to have a muffin for breakfast, I like it to include things I’d eat for breakfast anyway.

This is a delicate, flavor-packed, nutrient-rich muffin that takes advantage of the grinding power of the food processor, but doesn’t take away from the tender crumb of a muffin. With chunks of figs, hazelnuts, and oats, this muffin passes for breakfast, but nothing beats it warm out of the oven with a pat of butter.

It makes me sad how much of my life was spent “hating” monkey bread. It was an unfounded loathing, solely rooted in my own lack of understanding of how glorious such a thing could be. What is there, after all, to hate about buttery, cakey, cinnamon-sugar bread? Absolutely nothing, that’s what. There’s even less to hate when it’s served up in three single-serving sized flavors.

A handful of years ago, I popped into a cafe to grab a quick lunch and was delighted to discover savory muffins on the menu. Since then I’ve made savory muffins a part of my baking repertoire. This version of a savory muffin takes advantage of one of spring’s most abundant (and certainly most beautiful) vegetables, radishes, and pairs them with goat cheese for a peppery, tangy twist. This recipe makes a muffin that’s buttery and hearty, with a soft texture and a light crumb.

Part muffin, part frittata, these savory breakfast muffins boast a texture that’s soft, airy, and rich. Plus, there’s a secret ingredient that gives these muffins an added protein boost. If savory foods dominate your morning cravings, these tomato-basil muffins are for you! If you’re not a fan of cottage cheese, don’t be turned off by its inclusion at the top of the ingredient list.

Has the first flush of cool weather got you itching to do some fall baking? Let these morning glory muffins stuffed with a slew of seasonal ingredients be your first foray back into autumnal flavors. The texture of these muffins comes from the mixture of shredded sweet potato and apple, plump raisins, coconut flakes, and chopped walnuts that are stirred into the whole-wheat batter.

We love a good muffin for its simplicity. In fact, a good muffin should deliver far more than the effort you put into it, and these oat- and raisin-studded carrot muffins can claim that fame. This batter has applesauce and grated carrots for moisture, spices for flavor, and raisins for pops of sweetness (although if you’re a raisin-hater, chopped dates are a delicious substitute).

There’s probably a fine line between what makes something a cupcake rather than a muffin. For me, a muffin has a nice domed top, doesn’t have frosting, and shouldn’t give me a sugar rush during breakfast. These rich chocolate muffins have a delicious double dose of chocolate, but they also contain a lot of ingredients I eat at breakfast anyway, like milk, eggs, and our secret — Greek yogurt, which adds tenderness and protein.

These are not cupcakes dressed up in muffin’s clothing. That generous drizzle of orange glaze over the top is definitely a treat, so if you’re having these first thing in the morning consider them the baked good that replaces that pastry you usually pick up with a cup a coffee. It’s not sugar and spice, though! A mix of whole-wheat and all-purpose flour leaves these orange- and vanilla-scented muffins with nutty undertones and a hearty texture that makes them feel wholesome.

If there ever was a perfect time to treat yourself to a dark chocolate-studded muffin for breakfast, it’s while sour cherries are making their much-awaited appearance at the farmers market. Sour cherry season is fleeting — blink and you just might miss it.

Transform your favorite sandwich into a savory muffin and suddenly your lunch routine is instantly more exciting.

It’s hard to dispute the fact that banana muffins are irresistible all on their own. They hardly need a helping hand, but you should give them one anyway. When you stir a handful of chocolate chips into the batter and top each muffin with lots of buttery, cinnamon-spiced crumb topping, you’ll pull a pan of banana crumb muffins from the oven that rival anything you’d buy at the bakery.

My very first job when I was in high school was at a bakery down the street from where I grew up. In the midst of boxing up cakes, slicing bread, and slinging donuts on Saturday mornings, I developed a deep love affair with crumb cake that opened my eyes to a world way beyond Entenmann’s. The buttery, plush dough, the fat crumbs, and powdered sugar were pure bliss. This is a crumb cake meets muffin combo that’s directly inspired by the classic bakery breakfast cake.

Does “breakfast for dinner” mean eggs or pancakes for you? I recently had a dinner revelation about breakfast baked goods: Muffins are just as delicious at 6 p.m. as they are at 7 a.m. If you’re feeling doubtful about Monday-night dinner muffins, let me tell you about these beauties. They are full of sweet potato, nutty Parmesan cheese, and fresh herbs. They’re crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside and perfect with a swipe of butter.

Want to make your mornings a whole lot easier? Of course you do. Well, a batch of easy egg muffins is the answer. Loaded with savory breakfast sausage, earthy mushrooms, and spinach, these make-ahead muffins are for people who love eggs and crave a satisfying breakfast that will get them through the morning. They’re also great for anyone in need of a one-handed morning meal they can eat on the go, or dig into when they get to their desk.

These make-ahead egg muffins are a breakfast win for anyone following a keto diet, but speaking from experience as someone who isn’t on a keto plan, they are so much more than that. These loaded, protein-packed egg muffins are for anyone who loves the satisfying combination of cheesy eggs, sweet potatoes, and bacon. Consider it a bonus that they can be made ahead of time and practically fall out of the pan.

Make them tonight and eat them all week.

Everyone who tries one immediately falls in love.

If you want to make fresh sourdough bread every day, consider the English muffin. I think this is the right food for the home baker to get cozy with sourdough since most of us are comfortable with rolling out dough, and stovetop cooking is simple. All you need is a sourdough starter, which you can make yourself of procure from an obliging friend. Stovetop breads like English muffins make it possible to whip up a fresh batch of bread every day or so.

I’m a traditionalist when it comes to my favorite recipes, but my attempts at banana bread have always left me searching for improvements. Some have been sweet, another too rich to be parading around the breakfast table and one sad, heavy loaf could be better used for personal protection rather than consumption. But now I think that’s all behind me as I have at last found my ultimate banana baked good pièce de résistance.

I adore banana bread. It’s just as welcome on my breakfast table as it is on the dessert table, and it seems universally loved by kids and adults alike. This scone version of the classic quick bread won’t leave crumbs in the bottom of your bag and makes for a very satisfying mid-day snack. These scones have a mild, not-too-sweet banana flavor and a soft biscuity interior. I love breaking off large pieces and giving them quick dunk in my cup of coffee.

At this point in my baking career and time as a home cook, I do feel as though the world might not need another scone. There are great cream scone recipes out there, and wonderful flaky butter scones; there are scones packed with whole grain oats and berries, and others cloaked in sweet, sugary glazes. So why another scone today?

Hot, buttery, flaky scones, fresh out of the oven and steaming when you break them apart are a breakfast classic. Whether it’s the famous Zuni Cafe Orange Currant Scones, or your mom’s raisin and cinnamon version, scones are always welcome. I wanted that buttery goodness to go with dinner the other night, but sweet scones don’t work well with supper. So I tried something new instead.

You can’t go wrong with scones for Mother’s Day. And you almost have no excuse not to make something home-baked, especially when you can consider these mixed berry scones laced with delicate jasmine come together in just twenty minutes with the help of a food processor. The recipe you see here is my base recipe for almost all my scones.

Have you ever had a baked good that was so good that you thought about it afterwards? Something that you bit into thinking it would be quite fine, quite nice, and then said, “Wait. How do I have that again?” These scones are my own attempt to recreate that experience, one that introduced me to the perfect walnut scone.I don’t say “perfect” lightly.

I’m going to let you in on a very real and very awkward moment in my life history. It involves standing in the middle of the bakery section at a Whole Foods in Los Angeles, picking up loaves of freshly-baked bread and sniffing them. This on its own was weird enough, but the fact that the bread-huffing was coupled with crying made it more of a spectacle. I wandered over to the pastry case and ogled the muffins, scones, and tarts, tears still gently streaming down my cheeks.

Cranberries make a strong play at Thanksgiving, but I don’t want to forget them after we pack up the turkey carcass. I take advantage of the abundance of fresh tart cranberries this time of year and pack them into everything. These scones, for instance, are flaky and not too sweet, with pops of brilliant cranberry in every bite. But of course, if you wish to make a holiday moment out of it, by all means pour on some rum glaze.

Now, I’m sure many of you have had frozen scones or muffins before. Perhaps you made extra and weren’t able to eat them all, so you froze the leftovers for a rainy day. Well if you’re planning in advance for company, an event, or a big meal, you can actually freeze the unbaked scones and pop them into the oven when you’re ready for a warm breakfast treat.

Currant scones are one of the best-sellers at pastry chef Joanne Chang’s Boston bakery, Flour, and after she made me a batch in her home kitchen it was easy to see why. Featured in her eponymous new cookbook, the scones were humble and not-too-sweet with the perfect mix of crisp, fluffy, and buttery that equals oh-so-satisfying.

Instead of picking up pastries or a coffee cake at the grocery store or bakery, add these lemony blueberry scones to your Easter brunch menu. Loaded with plump blueberries and lemon zest, these tender, golden-brown scones use buttermilk instead of heavy cream and are drizzled with a lemony glaze at the end for an extra hit of citrus flavor. Best of all, the scone dough can be made, frozen, and baked so they can be served fresh without any fuss or stress.

When it comes to scones, the maple-oat variety is at the top of my list. I originally set out to develop my own recipe this week, but when I discovered Smitten Kitchen’s version, I realized there was no need. Her recipe has it all: rolled oats, real maple syrup, a touch of whole wheat, and enough butter to hold it all together. Yum.In her head note to the recipe, Deb of Smitten Kitchen mentions that these scones “are just barely sweet yet not at all gritty with healthfulness.

Scones — American scones at least — are notorious for being about as tasty as hockey pucks. After sampling a near-perfect scone at a bakery recently, however, I took it upon myself to create a fluffy, flavorful from-scratch recipe that would be considered not only edible, but delicious. This version with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes is up to the challenge! I only just recently tried an actual scone.

For my husband, vacation means one thing: Time away from the city, preferably in mountains that have views of the sea and the smell of sage. Last summer we decided to go whole hog and guzzle up the concentrated beauty of northern California, with a swing through Big Sur, quite likely one of the most extravagantly lovely places in the world.

Haggis will be on the menu for many celebrating Scottish poet Robert Burns today, but we’ll be forgoing the offal (blasphemy, we know) for another Scottish favorite: girdle cakes. These stove top scones are quick, charming, and best eaten just out of the pan with a dab of butter and honey.For Burns Night or any day of the year, we recommend BBC Good Food’s recipe for girdle, or griddle, scones.

These scones are of my favorite nibbling variety. They can be eaten with your fingers, but won’t get crumbs everywhere. They are sweet, but not too sweet, and have lots of chewy bits of apricot to savor. And yes, rest assured, they are perfect with coffee. These scones are more tender than traditional, which is the way I typically like them. Think of these palm-sized treats as a cross between a biscuit and a breakfast roll.

Get your Valentine’s Day started on a sweet note: a batch of fluffy, heart-shaped scones is the ultimate breakfast treat. Whether served as breakfast-in-bed with a teapot for two, or tucked into a bag for an out-the-door treat, homemade baked goods are a sure-fire way to your sweetie’s heart. The glaze for these almond scones is flavored with Grand Marnier — what’s more romantic than dessert liqueur? — and then amped up with the zest of an entire orange.

This is all about that crunchy top.

Well, this is unexpected.