These holiday or birthday breakfast muffins are so light, fluffy and tender, with the perfect touch of cinnamon and sugar!
Yesterday was my husband’s birthday. I don’t usually do anything special for Christmas breakfasts, but this year I did and I admit it was for selfish reasons.
I saw this breakfast muffin recipe on the King Arthur Flour blog and was excited because I was looking for a recipe to make on Christmas morning that wouldn’t take up much time the morning of.
When I saw this, I decided to surprise my husband and bring him a birthday treat to try. Two things happened: a) the cakes were a huge hit, and b) my husband thought I was the best wife in the world (and I didn’t have the heart to tell him I did it just to see if it was worth it for Christmas morning breakfast).
Anyway, the gist of the story is that these cakes will definitely be made on Christmas morning.
I was surprised that a homemade cake could be so light and fluffy and that breakfast was such a hit in my house.
The cakes are very soft with just the right touch of cinnamon and sugar, and not too sweet, which is great, in my opinion, for a breakfast recipe.
I can’t wait to make them again and again – a little work in the evening to make a special, hassle-free breakfast in the morning is a great recipe in my opinion.
Holiday (or Birthday) Morning Muffins
Makes: 9 x 13-inch pan
Prep time: 12 hours 15 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Total time: 13 hours 5 minutes
Ingredients
Rolls:
- 3½ cups (497 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 to ¼ cup heavy cream
Topping:
- 7 tablespoons (100 g) melted butter or 2 5/8 ounces milk
- Cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling, I mixed them together
Instructions:
- Lightly grease a 9×13 pan, line it with parchment paper, then line it with parchment paper. The parchment paper isn’t absolutely necessary, but it makes it easier to remove the sugar cookies from the pan once they’re baked.
- Mix together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add 2 cups of the cream at a time, then stir until the dough comes together. If necessary, add more cream to help the dough come together. Gather the dough between your hands and knead it a few times to make sure there are no dry spots.
- Place the cinnamon sugar in a shallow bowl or mold. Or in a resealable plastic bag. Cut off dough balls the size of a ping pong ball, or about 1 1/8 ounces. Dip each piece in melted butter or milk, then roll in the cinnamon and sugar to coat. Place the cinnamon-coated dough balls in the pan of your choice in a single layer; they will touch each other, which is good.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for about a week. If you are freezing longer than overnight, wrap the entire pan in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. The next day, remove the pan from the refrigerator and let the cakes sit at room temperature while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. There is no need to thaw them.
- If you are baking the cakes immediately (not frozen), bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the center of the cake is fully cooked. You can check this by taking a toothpick and sticking it in the center of the cake to look; it should look fully cooked, not doughy. If the cakes are frozen, bake for 65 to 70 minutes, checking for doneness as above. Cover with aluminum foil after 45 minutes of baking. (I actually forgot to “roll” and the cakes didn’t burn, ouch!)
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, if desired, just before serving.
