Carrot Cake Muffins

These easy carrot cake muffins feature two of my favorite muffin things: Streusel and a (cream cheese) drizzled glaze. Moist, tender and full of flavor, these muffins are sure to be your new favorite breakfast treat.

Who says you can't have carrot cake for breakfast?

Could never be me.

And if you're a cake for breakfast kind of gal (or guy), you're gonna want to slow your scroll for these carrot cake muffins.

These tender muffins are jam-packed with carrots and earthy spices, topped with a crunchy, crumbly streusel and drizzled with a tangy cream cheese glaze. And they're an easy bake making them perfect for a busy weekday or lazy weekend.

How to make these carrot cake muffins

First, make the streusel.

In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the streusel. A bowl that's low and with a gentle slope to the sides is easiest for this step.

Use a pastry cutter to cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly and all of the sugar has been incorporated into the butter.

Pastry cutter substitute:
If you don't have a pastry cutter on hand, you can cut the butter together using a fork or by rubbing it together using your finger tips.

Second, make the carrot cake muffins.

In a bowl, whip the eggs and sugars until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).

Recipe Note:
It’s important to give the egg/sugar mixture the benefit of the full 2-3 minute whipping as this will give it a beautifully fluffy texture and is part of the process that will help your cake to rise.

Add the vegetable oil and whip until just combined.

Fold in everything but the carrots until lump-free. Add the carrots and fold to combined.

How do I make my muffins light and fluffy?
Start with room temperature ingredients. This is important because room temperature ingredients mix together more easily, creating a batter with evenly distributed ingredients that traps air and expands during baking. This results in a fluffier muffin with a nice, tall dome.

Generously grease two muffin pans. Making sure the pan is well-greased will be important for removing the muffins later since we're not using liners.

Spoon 6 tablespoons of batter into every other cavity and top with streusel.

Bake at 400F for 16-18 minutes.

Allow the muffins to cool completely before turning them out onto a cooling rack.

Finally, make the cream cheese glaze.

Beat the cream cheese until smooth.

Add the remaining ingredients (powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract) and continue beating until the glaze is smooth. It should resemble a thin frosting.

Spoon into a piping bag (it's not really thin enough to drizzle from a spoon), clip the tip and drizzle over the cooled muffins.

Modifications and substitutions

• Cream cheese glaze: Cream cheese not your jam? You can leave it off (honestly, these muffins are delicious by themselves) or try the brown butter icing from my pumpkin oatmeal cookies.
• Pineapple: Want extra moist carrot cake muffins with a little more sweetness? Pineapple can make a great addition! Fold ½ - ¾ cup of crushed pineapple (drained) into your muffins when you add the carrots and continue as directed. Or try my pineapple carrot cake as cupcakes!

Expert tips

• Bringing cold eggs to room temperature quickly: If you need to bring your eggs to room temperature quickly for this recipe, fill a bowl with hot water from your tap and place the eggs in it for about 5 minutes.
• Greasing your muffin pan: These muffins have a tendency to stick to their pan, so a well greased pan is a must in order to remove them without tearing. I’ve found a homemade pan release or a liberally amount of a cooking spray like Pam, works best.
• Testing for doneness: Although tempting to wait until the toothpick comes out clean, doing so will likely lead to over-baking your muffins. Instead, you want your toothpick to come out without any raw batter and with some cooked crumbs still clinging to it.
• Storage: These muffins can be kept at room temperature (without the cream cheese glaze) in an air tight container or individually wrapped for 2-3 days. If they've already been glazed, these muffins should be stored in the refrigerator.