Brown Butter Sour Cream Spice Muffins

Brown Butter Sour Cream Spice Muffins are a delightful combination of spices and brown butter. These may very well become your favorite muffins!

Spice Muffins Made with Brown Butter

There’s something so comforting about baked goods with plenty of spices. Something magical happens when cinnamon, nutmeg, and their friends show up for the baking party. From the flavor to the aroma, those kinds of baked goods just make me want to curl up with a cozy blanket and dig in!

These Brown Butter Sour Cream Spice Muffins are a simple celebration of your favorite blend of spices. They mix quickly and easily with ingredients you’re likely already to have in your kitchen. Combined with brown butter to add a nutty flavor and just the right amount of sweetness, these muffins are absolutely delightful.

These muffins are so soft and flavorful. They were an instant favorite with us. While they conjure thoughts of cool fall and winter days, I’d happily eat these any time of year. And I 100% plan to do that often!

If you love muffins packed with lots of spices, try Cookie Butter Crumb Muffins, Pecan Spice Muffins, and Cinnamon Mini Muffins next!

What You’ll Need

Don’t be put off by the long ingredients list, as many of them are spices along with basic baking ingredients. See the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions. Here are some helpful notes about the ingredients you’ll need.

• Unsalted butter
• All-purpose flour – Measure by weight or lightly spoon into the measuring cup. Learn more: How to Measure Flour
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Cinnamon – Make sure your cinnamon and other spices are fresh and fragrant for the best flavor.
• Salt
• Nutmeg
• Ginger
• Cardamom
• Allspice
• Granulated sugar
• Brown sugar – I like light brown sugar for these muffins, but you can use dark brown sugar or a combination of the two if you like.
• Eggs – Let the eggs come to room temperature for mixing.
• Sour cream – Full-fat sour cream works best. Bring it to room temperature, too.
• Vanilla extract – Almond extract is a great choice, too.
• Pecan halves – At first glance, these are some fairly, well, beige muffins. For a little aesthetic interest, I like to top each with a pecan half. It makes them a little prettier and, of course, adds a bit more flavor plus a little crunch. They’re optional if you prefer to bake without nuts.
• Turbinado sugar – This is also optional but adds a sweet bite and a bit of sparkle to the muffins. Either white sanding sugar or turbinado sugar will work just fine. I just prefer turbinado in this case because of its color.

How to Make Brown Butter Sour Cream Spice Muffins

These muffins come together quickly and easily. Let’s take a look at what you’ll need to do to whip up a batch.

• Brown the butter. Place the butter in a medium saucepan or skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts and begins to foam. Continue cooking until the bubbling begins to subside. You should see brown specks at the bottom of the pan, and the butter should have a nutty aroma. Set the butter aside to cool slightly.
• Prepare for baking. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line or grease 12 standard muffin cups. I recommend paper liners or a cooking spray with flour.
• Combine the dry ingredients and sugars. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, and allspice. Stir in the sugar and brown sugar. Make a well in the center.
• Combine the wet ingredients. Beat the eggs lightly in a separate bowl. Add the cooled butter, sour cream, and vanilla. Stir until combined.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Pour the butter mixture into the well in the flour mixture. Stir just until combined or a few small streaks of flour remain.
• Portion the batter. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. You’ll use about 3 tablespoons of batter per cup to fill each cup 3/4 full. If you like, top each muffin with a pecan half and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
• Bake. Place the pan in the heated oven, and bake the muffins for 14 to 16 minutes. When the muffins have browned and a pick inserted into the center comes out clean, they’re ready to come out of the oven.
• Cool. Place the pan on a wire rack, and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Then transfer the muffins from the pan directly onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Tips for Success

See my tips for making muffins, and then follow these tips to help make your spice muffins turn out perfectly.

• Lining the pan. Line the muffin cups if you want softer edges (and more portable muffins). Leave them unlined if you want crisper, browner edges.
• Don’t over-mix. Only mix the batter until everything is combined or a few small streaks of flour remain.
• Check your spices. If it’s been a while since you took some of those jars out of the cabinet, give them a sniff. If they don’t have a strong aroma, it’s time to replace them.
• Use a different blend of spices. The blend of spices in this recipe is one of my favorites. If you have a favorite blend, feel free to use that instead. Just use about the same total amount of spice in the recipe.

How to Store Leftovers

Once the muffins have cooled, place them in an airtight container. You can line the container with paper towels to keep them from getting soggy. They should keep at room temperature up to 3 days.

For longer storage, place the muffins in an airtight, freezer-safe container or zip-top bag. For extra protection, you can first wrap the muffins individually in plastic wrap. Properly stored, they should keep in the freezer up to 3 months. Thaw for an hour or so at room temperature, or warm them briefly in the microwave.

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