Go beyond the cereal bowl and bake these irresistible cinnamon-scented muffins made with Cinnamon Toasters cereal milk, finished with a crunchy cereal streusel on top.
There’s something nostalgic about sipping the sweet, cinnamon-infused milk left at the bottom of a cereal bowl. That flavor—warm, sweet and slightly toasty—is the inspiration for these muffins. Instead of leaving that delicious cereal milk to the last spoonful, we use it as the liquid in a tender muffin batter and boost the texture with a crunchy Cinnamon Toasters streusel. The result is a breakfast muffin that tastes like a bowl of cereal in muffin form: comforting, flavorful and delightfully crunchy on top.
These muffins are simple to make and rely on straightforward pantry ingredients. The technique is easy: steep crushed Cinnamon Toasters cereal in milk to extract the cinnamon-sugar flavor, then combine that cereal milk and softened cereal pieces into a classic muffin batter. A quick streusel—made with more crushed cereal, butter, brown sugar and flour—crowns each muffin and bakes up crisp and fragrant.
These muffins bake up soft and moist inside with a crunchy, cinnamon-sweet top. They make a great weekend breakfast, an easy brunch addition, or a grab-and-go treat for busy mornings. The recipe makes a dozen standard muffins and takes about 35 minutes from start to finish—15 minutes of prep and roughly 20 minutes in the oven. Because the cereal is steeped in the milk and then folded into the batter, you get pockets of toasty cereal flavor throughout each muffin.
Tips for success: gently crush the cereal for a mix of fine crumbs and small pieces to add texture without making the muffins dense; avoid overmixing the batter—stir until just combined; and fill the muffin cups nearly to the top so the streusel bakes into a satisfying crown. Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days, or freeze for longer storage and reheat briefly before serving.
Cinnamon Toasters Cereal Milk Muffins
- Author: Maegan – The BakerMama
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Breakfast
Description
These muffins are flavored with milk steeped in Malt-O-Meal Cinnamon Toasters cereal, which gives the batter a warm cinnamon-sugar note. A crunchy cinnamon cereal streusel tops each muffin for contrast. The combination creates a familiar cereal flavor in an elevated, portable breakfast muffin.
Ingredients
- Muffin Batter:
- 2 cups Malt-O-Meal Cinnamon Toasters cereal, finely crushed
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Streusel:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup Malt-O-Meal Cinnamon Toasters cereal, crushed
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Pour the milk over 2 cups of finely crushed Cinnamon Toasters cereal in a medium bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes so the milk absorbs the cinnamon-sugar flavor.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray or paper liners.
- Make the streusel: In a small bowl, microwave the butter until just melted. Stir in the crushed cereal, brown sugar and flour until crumbly. Set aside.
- For the muffin batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg with the canola oil and vanilla extract.
- Add the egg mixture and the cereal milk (including the softened crushed cereal) to the dry ingredients. Stir gently until just combined—do not overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling nearly to the top. Generously sprinkle the streusel over each muffin so the tops are almost completely covered.
- Bake 20–25 minutes, until the tops are golden and the streusel is crisp. Let the muffins rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
