Maple Pancake Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar Swirl

My father is the king of breakfast foods! 

He makes the creamiest oatmeal, the crunchiest granola, and the fluffiest pancakes around! He also makes a killer grilled cheese and I would be fine with that for breakfast any day. 

In honor of my father’s birthday which was a few days ago, I thought why not take inspiration from his fluffy buttermilk pancakes and turn that into a muffin. These maple scented buttermilk muffins with a cinnamon sugar swirl are everything I love about pancakes but in muffin form. 

Happy birthday Abba! Can’t wait for you to come to Israel soon - to be my prep cook and to bring more granola!

Maple Pancake Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar Swirl 

2 1/2 cups flour 

2 1/2 tsp baking powder 

3/4 tsp baking soda 

3/4 tsp salt 

2 Tbsp sugar 

1 1/4 cups buttermilk*

1/4 cup oil or melted butter 

2 eggs 

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

1/4 cup maple syrup 

Cinnamon Sugar Swirl

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon 

*This recipe uses buttermilk which adds to the flavor and more importantly the texture of the muffin. If you want to make them dairy-free or only have regular milk on hand, no problem! Just mix 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the 1 1/4 cup milk or dairy-free milk of your choice and let it stand for 5 minutes and you're good to go. 

Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C

Grease a standard-size muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. 

In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Add the sugar, buttermilk, oil/butter, eggs, vanilla, and maple syrup and stir until just combined. 

In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon and set aside. 

Fill each cavity of the muffin tin halfway with the batter. Sprinkle a little bit of the cinnamon-sugar mixture into each muffin and then top with more batter. Sprinkle more cinnamon-sugar over the top of each one and then using a toothpick swirl the cinnamon sugar into the batter. Bake for 15-18 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove and serve with a good drizzle of maple syrup!