A sweet treat in the morning can be a great way to kick off your day. While I’ll always have a soft spot for a chocolate chip muffin, these funfetti muffins are special. They feel like a birthday cake muffin but also just a happy, cheery muffin to start any day on a better note. From the colorful sprinkles to the blast of vanilla flavor, they’re a treat that you can easily make at home.
Light and Fluffy Bakery-Style Muffins
When I was developing my small batch chocolate chip muffin recipe, I wanted to learn more about baking with oil versus butter.
I was so curious about the benefits of baking with these two fats that I put together my findings in a post on my blog about baking with each of them.
With everything I read in mind, I landed on using a combination of butter and oil. The butter gives these muffins flavor and structure, while the oil helps make them softer.
Vanilla Funfetti Muffins Ingredients
The full list of ingredients is in the recipe card below, but I’m calling out some of the noteworthy ingredients:
- Unsalted butter, softened to room temperature – Room temperature butter mixes more evenly with ingredients. Give your butter time to reach room temperature before using it.
- Canola oil – Canola oil helps keep these muffins moist for days!
- Granulated sugar – In an effort to keep the insides a light color, we use granulated sugar instead of other options like brown sugar. Also, when sugar is creamed with butter, it traps air. That helps the muffins expand and become nice and fluffy while baking.
- Room temperature egg whites – Funfetti or confetti cakes have a light, airy texture. I tweaked my blueberry chocolate chip muffin recipe to incorporate egg whites to make these muffins. They are key in recreating that soft, nostalgic feel you’ll find in vanilla Funfetti or confetti cake.
- Room temperature buttermilk – Buttermilk tenderizes the gluten in the muffin. This process yields a softer texture.
- Clear imitation vanilla extract (pure vanilla extract works but is different) – Not only does clear imitation vanilla extract tend to be cheaper, it actually creates a more authentic Funfetti flavor. It also keeps your cake whiter (given that vanilla extract is brown) and retains more flavor when baked at higher temperatures. You can read more about it from Wilton’s blog.
- Almond extract – Taking a note from Molly Yeh’s funfetti cake recipe, we use a hint of almond extract to bring in those sweet and classic Funfetti box cake vibes.
- Rainbow sprinkles – Whether you’re making this recipe for a birthday celebration or a regular weekday, these muffins call for sprinkles! The pops of color are truly a joy as you bite into these fluffy treats.
How to Make Vanilla Funfetti Muffins at Home
About an hour before beginning this recipe, bring your buttermilk, eggs, butter, and full-fat Greek yogurt (or sour cream) out of the refrigerator. Place them on your counter so they warm to room temperature.
Preheat your oven to 425°F. Generously grease and flour a standard muffin pan or line with muffin liners. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together your sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, and butter on medium-high speed until well-incorporated, about 4 minutes.
Scrape down bowl before then adding oil, eggs, and egg whites. Mix together until combined, about 4 mins. Follow up by adding sour cream (or Greek yogurt) and buttermilk and mixing well.
Pour wet ingredients into bowl of dry ingredients. With a wooden or rubber spatula, fold together wet and dry ingredients until just combined. Avoid over-mixing, as it can yield a more dense muffin. The batter will be thick. Gently fold in the sprinkles.
Distribute batter evenly into the pan, filling each muffin cup to the top.
Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then, keeping the muffins in the oven, lower the temperature to 375°F. Continue baking for 12-13 more minutes. You’ll know they’re done when the tops are a light golden brown. Test doneness with a toothpick in the center of a muffin, and if it’s clean, remove the pan from the oven.
Keep them in pan for about 10 minutes. Then let them come to room temperature on a cooling rack before storing in a container or serving immediately if desired (but they’ll be even tastier the next day!).
Funfetti Muffins FAQ
Oil is key! It gives the muffins a more lightweight texture. It also helps them stay fresh longer. In this recipe, egg whites also contribute a light and airy texture to the end result.
While most sprinkles should work just fine, I recommend a high-quality brand like Wilton. They usually are in grocery stores and are reasonably priced.
Baking muffins at a higher temperature for a few minutes before then lowering the temperature helps give them rise. Here, you’ll distribute batter evenly into each muffin cup and fill it to the top. You’ll bake these muffins at 425°F for 5 minutes, then, keeping the muffins in the oven, lower the temperature to 375°F. Continue baking for 12-13 more minutes. You’ll know they’re done when the tops are a light golden brown.
More Tips and Tricks for Moist and Fluffy Homemade Muffins
- Hold off on biting into these muffins immediately after baking. I know it’s tempting! But when you cut into a freshly baked good, you’re releasing its steam. That steam is key in keeping your baked goods stay moist and delicious for longer.
- When possible, prepare these muffins an evening or day before you actually plan to eat them. Allowing the flavors time to meld together makes the taste ultimately a stronger one.
- And if you want a warm muffin the next day, simply reheat them for about 10 seconds in the microwave on medium power.
- If you’re not already, use a kitchen scale for accuracy in baking. Weighing your ingredients and writing or following a recipe using a standard metric like grams ensures consistency. You may use a set of measuring cups, but the problem is that yours and mine could be quite different. That can result in noticeable discrepancies in the end product between what each of us is baking.
I highly recommend investing $30 or less in a kitchen scale. I almost always write my recipes using grams and many other food bloggers do, too. If you want the same kinds of baked goods and treats you see from recipes online, this is an important step to take.
More Sweet Recipes
If you liked these colorful Funfetti muffins, you may also want to try my matcha white chocolate cookies. The bright green is so cheery and pretty.
And if you’re looking for a something more citrusy, check out these very cute mini lemon Bundt cakes. They’re great for sharing with a crowd, and everyone gets to enjoy his or her own mini cake! They’d make for a more decadent breakfast dessert or anytime-of-day dessert, really.
PrintFunfetti Muffins
Looking for birthday cake muffins or fun recipe for a regular weekday? These vanilla Funfetti muffins are a colorful, sweet breakfast treat!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 and 2/3 cups (340 g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick/8 tbsp (113 g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 T (50 grams) canola oil
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs and 2 egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (130g) full-fat sour cream or greek yogurt, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (80 grams) buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 1/2 teaspoons imitation clear vanilla extract OR pure vanilla extract (see notes*)
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1 cup (160 grams) rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F. Generously grease and flour a standard muffin pan or line with muffin liners. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together your sugar, vanilla extract, and butter on medium-high speed until well-incorporated, about 3 minutes.
- Scrape down bowl before then adding oil and eggs. Mix together until combined, about 2 mins. Follow up by adding sour cream (or Greek yogurt) and buttermilk and mixing well.
- Pour wet ingredients into bowl of dry ingredients. With a wooden or rubber spatula, fold together wet and dry ingredients until just combined. Avoid over-mixing, as it can yield a more dense muffin. The batter will be thick. Gently fold in the sprinkles.
- Distribute batter evenly into the pan, filling each muffin cup to the top.
- Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then, keeping the muffins in the oven, lower the temperature to 375°F. Continue baking for 12-15 more minutes. You’ll know they’re done when the tops are a light golden brown. Test doneness with a toothpick in the center of a muffin, and if it’s clean, remove the pan from the oven.
- Keep them in pan for about 10 minutes. Then let them come to room temperature on a cooling rack before storing in a container or serving immediately if desired (but they’ll be even tastier the next day!).
Notes
Typically, confetti and Funfetti cake recipes call for imitation vanilla instead of pure vanilla extract. The colors vary – imitation vanilla is clear while the true extract is brown. In terms of taste, the flavor in the imitation vanilla is simple and more pronounced. While real extract will taste different, if that’s all that you have, use it. You’ll still have colorful and delicious vanilla muffins.
Keywords: muffins, funfetti muffins, sprinkle muffins, birthday muffins, vanilla funfetti
These are so cute. Love the colors. Not too sweet either. What do you think of a chocolate ganache drizzle on top? Or fudge in the middle to not ruin the fun colors?
★★★★★
Glad you like them! Chocolate would definitely make them different but would be doable as a drizzle. Check out my chocolate chip muffin recipe if you’re looking for more chocolate in a muffin. 🙂
Hello, first time baking muffins and they turned out great! I used regular sour cream but in your recipe it says you can substitute greek yogurt. Are they really 1 to 1 subs? Would you taste a difference? Thank you!!
★★★★★
Thanks for making this recipe! And yes, sour cream and greek yogurt are generally interchangeable ingredients. I can’t taste much of a difference between the two in baked goods, as far the flavor and texture that they create.