Made from pantry staples, these Brown Sugar Muffins have been a favorite for as long as I can remember! These muffins are not too sweet and are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or for snack time.
We are a muffin loving family! These Brown Sugar Muffins are definitely a family favorite, along with these Cinnamon Muffins and Chocolate Chip Muffins.
I have a horrible memory. Ask me what I wore on Saturday – I probably won’t remember. Shopping without a grocery list? Only if I want to make it home with half of what I walked in to buy. And you know how some people can remember their first childhood memory at age 2? Not me.
But for some reason, I remember food. And these brown sugar muffins are definitely hard to forget. I grew up on these muffins. My mom would make them often, and I think that they were my favorite muffin that she made.
It really doesn’t get any simpler than this. All of the ingredients are pantry staples for me, so it takes a couple minutes to mix everything together, and after 20 minutes of baking, you have warm muffins. So make some memories with these muffins!
Ingredients
- Brown Sugar: I have always used light brown sugar, but I did have a reader say they used dark brown sugar to intensify the flavor and it worked well. Either way, make sure the sugar is packed in the measuring cup.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter. If you use salted butter, just add a smidge less salt.
- Milk: I typically make these with 2% milk because that is what I keep on hand. But others have had success with milk substitutes.
- Egg: You only need one large egg.
- Vanilla: The vanilla adds flavor, so I wouldn’t skip it!
- Flour: I use all purpose flour. I have not tested with another flour or with gluten free flour, so I’m not sure how the muffins would turn out if you swap that.
- Baking Soda: This is important for the rise of the muffins. Don’t skip it!
- Salt: The salt balances the flavors.
- Nuts: Honestly, most of the time, I do not add nuts. I do like them better with nuts, but my family likes them better without. But they are delicious either way! I usually use pecans, but walnuts would work, as well.
How to Make Brown Sugar Muffins
STEP 1: Mix the brown sugar and the butter together well. It will try to separate a little, but should mix together without a lot of fuss.
STEP 2: Stir in the milk, egg and vanilla until combined. The add in the flour, baking soda, and salt.
STEP 3: If adding nuts, fold those into the batter.
STEP 4: Divide the batter between 12 muffin cups that have been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray or lined with paper liners. Bake just until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Tips and Tricks
My original recipe divided the batter between 15-17 muffin cups. In more recent years, I started making only 12 muffins from the batter. I like only having one muffin tin to clean, but if you do want to stretch the batter and make more muffins, just fill them to only about 2/3 full.
The batter might seem a little lumpy when you are stirring it together. This is normal. Don’t over mix the batter trying to get all of those lumps out.
My favorite way to eat these muffins is warm, slathered with butter. But they do last several days in a covered container at room temperature.
This is a pretty basic recipe, so if you want to jazz it up a little, you can add some cinnamon, or sprinkle sugar on the tops before baking.
More Favorite Muffin Recipes
Banana Muffins
Lemon Muffins
Banana Toffee Muffins
Peanut Butter Banana Bran Muffin Recipe
Morning Glory Muffins
Oatmeal Muffins with Applesauce
LOOKING FOR MORE FREE RECIPES?
Subscribe to my free recipe newsletter to get new family friendly recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more family-friendly inspiration on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.
Brown Sugar Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup nuts chopped coarsely (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease or line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, stir the brown sugar and the butter together. Add the milk, egg and vanilla as stir to combine. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix just until incorporated. If using, stir in the nuts.1 cup light brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup milk, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup nuts
- Divide the mixture between the prepared muffin cups.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a tested inserted in the center comes out clean, 15-20 minutes.
kathy says
These were good but I wouldn’t make them again. It’s great if you need something quick and happen to have all these ingredients (as I did) on hand. Perhaps they will taste better after overnight. As I said, they were good but nothing spectacular
Sadie Lemer says
These muffins were delicious! I used the recipe in my science fair project and they are definately going to help me get a win!
Dragonfly says
Can I make this into a cake?
Deborah says
I haven’t tried it – you could probably make it into a loaf just fine. Muffin batter is thicker than cake batter (usually) and will most often dome some in the middle. This could affect it if you are baking it in a cake pan.
mindy gibson says
I make these alot. love them
Callie says
Family favorite and so easy to make! You probably have all the ingredients on hand too.
Mary Fritz says
Loved this recipe! I made 2 batches of 12 muffins and they all look delicious! Definitely going to share the muffins and the recipe with my friends.
Justin P says
We make this recipe fairly often for the kids’ breakfast, and we all love it! Very simple and very yummy.
Mary says
Can you substitute for almond flour and coconut sugar
Deborah says
I haven’t tried either – sorry!
Create goodness says
I made these the other day and my whole family loved them. Iv done zucchini bread as well and love it. , so I was wondering if I could add the zucchini to this recipe and it still taste amazing?
Erin says
You should be more thorough in your instructions. Like, you obviously warmed the milk. For this lack of detail, my mix is chunky. So… thanks.
Deborah says
Hi Erin – I actually don’t warm my milk. The mixture will get a little bit lumpy from the butter, but it will all smooth out when they bake.
Chandra says
I have a question… could u use dark brown sugar instead of light? Just curious
Deborah says
Yep – you could!
Casey says
Just tried these for an after school snack and we live them! Made them into mini muffins. Thanks!
Deborah says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them – the perfect after school snack!
jackie adair says
I made these Muffins today to serve with our favorite Sunday dinner.They were DELICIOUS, Even my husband that does NOT eat muffins ate 2. I put a little twist on the recipe. After filling the muffin cups I sprinkled a little brown sugar on the top of each muffin before baking. It gave it a nice little sugary crust topping.I will definitely be making them again.
Deborah says
I love the idea of sprinkling sugar on top! So glad you liked them!
M says
Made these in mini bundt pans… drizzled with a powder sugar glaze that I flavored with a touch of lemon extract! They were a huge hit.
Sgal says
This recipe got me super excited, especially since I had all the ingredients, so as soon as I saw it, I got right on it. The result was, eh, ok, they had no taste. I got to thinking, what would be good with these muffins, that would still keep them healthy? Answer…..NUTELLA!!! Amazing!!! Add a glass of milk to go with it.
Krista says
Can you substitute vegetable oil or coconut oil for the butter?
Deborah says
I haven’t personally tried it, but I would guess that it would work!
Jennifer says
I’m wondering if I could use Almond milk?
Deborah says
I haven’t tried them with almond milk, but I’m guessing it would work.