If a muffin and a donut had a love affair in a Parisian café, French Breakfast Puffs would be their delicious little secret. Light, fluffy, and drenched in buttery cinnamon sugar, they’re basically the breakfast equivalent of a wink and a smirk.
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Table of Contents
- 🗝️ Key takeaways: why this recipe is your new favorite
- 🧾 Gather your ingredients: what you'll need
- 🔪 How to make French breakfast puffs: step-by-step guide
- 🥫 Leftover love: how to store and reheat
- 💭 Insider tips: things to know
- 📖 Make it your own: yummy variations
- 🍴Must have tools: essential equipment
- 👩🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs
- 📚 More Southern comfort: related recipes you'll love
- 🍽️ No waste: creative ways to repurpose
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
Soft, tender, and just fancy enough to make you feel like you should be eating them in silk pajamas with a tiny espresso. One bite in, and suddenly, you’re making dramatic pronouncements like “I shall never eat a plain muffin again!” They’re dangerously poppable, ridiculously good, and proof that breakfast should always feel a little indulgent.
🗝️ Key takeaways: why this recipe is your new favorite
- With a few pantry staples and just 30 minutes, you can whip up these melt-in-your-mouth treats!
- Serve ‘em warm with coffee in the morning, as a little afternoon pick-me-up, or even as a fancy dessert at brunch with fresh fruit.
- Freshly grated nutmeg makes this recipe a step above the rest!
Don’t let the word “breakfast” fool ya—these French breakfast puffs are a delectable anytime treat.
They’re pillowy on the inside, spiced with fresh nutmeg, dipped in melted butter, and coated with a crunchy cinnamon-sugar topping that creates a mouthwatering masterpiece you won’t want to share!
🧾 Gather your ingredients: what you'll need
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🔪 How to make French breakfast puffs: step-by-step guide
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page. Click on the image to see it full size.
Beat together the butter, sugar, and egg.
Alternate adding dry ingredients with the milk.
Scoop the batter into the muffin tin and bake.
Dip puffs in butter, then cinnamon sugar.
🥫 Leftover love: how to store and reheat
If you have leftovers (bless your self-control), store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days. They’ll go stale if you store them for much longer than that.
I don’t recommend refrigerating French breakfast puffs. The condensation in the container will make the puffs wet and gummy—um, ew!
For long-term storage, freeze them individually on a baking sheet, then put them in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to three months. When you’re ready to indulge, thaw at room temp and reheat in a 300-degree F oven for about 10 minutes.
💭 Insider tips: things to know
- I can’t stress enough how freshly grated nutmeg elevates this recipe! But if you don’t have any or can’t find it at the grocery store, you can use ½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg in a pinch.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Gluten development is for bread, not soft, pillowy muffins!
- Brush the tops of the muffins with melted butter as soon as you remove them from the oven and before rolling them in the cinnamon sugar to ensure that the sweet coating sticks.
Marye's Tip o' the day
Y’all should know to use room-temperature butter in most baked goods, but a reminder doesn’t hurt! You simply can’t blend cold butter with sugar and an egg, no matter how much elbow grease you put into it.
📖 Make it your own: yummy variations
- You can substitute half of the white sugar with packed light brown sugar. A touch of caramel flavor makes these puffs extra decadent!
- If you're feeling fancy, include other warm spices, such as ground cloves, ginger, or cardamom. (Go easy on the cloves, though!)
- Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract, half a teaspoon of almond extract, or go full bougie with a tablespoon of bourbon.
- Before baking, add a dollop of Nutella, peanut butter, cookie butter, or jam to the middle of the batter in each muffin. It’s like a surprise party in your mouth!
🤫 Marye's secret for zhuzhing it up
A little orange or lemon zest will give your French breakfast puffs a delightful citrus twist.
zhuzh: verb. To make something more interesting or attractive
🍴Must have tools: essential equipment
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For starters, you’ll need a standard 12-cup muffin tin. If you wanna make ‘em bite-sized, use a mini muffin tin. (See the FAQ section for further instructions on making mini French breakfast puffs.)
Take out four mixing bowls: one for the dry ingredients, a large one for mixing the dry with the wet, and two small bowls for the melted butter and cinnamon sugar.
You could mix by hand, but let’s be real—ain’t nobody got time for that! An electric or stand mixer is your best friend here.
I recommend using a sieve to sift the dry ingredients. This gets the flour mixture light and fluffy. It isn’t totally necessary, but it sure makes a difference!
If you want evenly sized, bakery-worthy puffs, use a muffin scoop.
Of course, you’ll also need all the typical bakery equipment, like a wire whisk for the dry ingredients, measuring cups and spoons, and a cooling rack.
👩🍳 Let's answer those questions: FAQs
Have other questions? Ask me in the comments!
Absolutely! Since mini muffins are about a third of the size of regular-sized muffins, this recipe will make about 36 mini puffs (3 x 12 = 36). Reduce the baking time to 10-12 minutes.
Well, technically, yes. But that’s like skipping icing on a cake. It’s your life, so you do you, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Sure! The best method is to first portion the batter in the muffin tin, then freeze the entire tin. Bake the puffs from frozen according to the recipe, adding a few extra minutes to ensure they bake through.
⏲️ Marye's time saving hacks -
Use a muffin scoop to portion out the batter. That way, each puff will be the same size, and you’ll reduce prep time and mess!
📚 More Southern comfort: related recipes you'll love
Who doesn't love a tender, buttery muffin for breakfast or brunch?
🍽️ No waste: creative ways to repurpose
Wanna jazz up your leftover French breakfast puffs? You’re in the right place! Here are some fun ideas:
- Breakfast Sundae: Slice a puff in half and top it with vanilla yogurt, honey, and berries.
- Cinnamon Sugar Trifle: Layer crumbled puffs with whipped cream or vanilla pudding and fruit in a jar.
- French Toast Bites: Dip ‘em in an egg-milk mixture and pan-fry for a fun twist on French toast.
- Ice Cream Sandwich: Slice a puff in half and stuff it with ice cream—y’all can thank me later.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
French Breakfast Puffs Recipe
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Put liners in the muffin cups
- Beat butter, ½ cup sugar, and egg until light.
- Sift dry ingredients together.
- Add alternately with the milk to the butter mixture.
- Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake 20-25 minutes.
- Immediately remove from muffin cups and dip in melted butter.
- Roll in mixture of ½ cup sugar and the cinnamon. Serve warm.
Notes
- Always use room temperature ingredients in this recipe.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Gluten development is for bread, not soft, pillowy muffins!
- Brush the tops of the muffins with melted butter as soon as you remove them from the oven and before rolling them in the cinnamon sugar to ensure that the sweet coating sticks.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
Sherlyn says
We only use almond milk - will that work?
Marye says
That should be fine, Sherlyn. You might want to add a half-tablespoon extra of butter to make up for the fat loss but I think it would be fine without it.