Cinnamon Roll Focaccia Muffins

My viral cinnamon roll focaccia recipe was the inspiration behind these delicious little muffins. Because I’m a huge fan of having tinier versions of my favorite foods, this recipe came to be. Focaccia dough packed into a muffin tin, dimpled with cinnamon brown sugar, and topped with my favorite cream cheese icing. This takes a little more effort than one focaccia, not as much effort as a batch of cinnamon rolls but are 100% worth it and equally as delicious.

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❤️ Why You’ll Love Cinnamon Roll Focaccia Muffins

If you love the fun of making focaccia, and the deliciousness of homemade cinnamon rolls, then this is the recipe for you. It’s crunchy on the outside just like sourdough focaccia bread would be, but pillowy and delicious on the inside. You get all the flavors of a cinnamon roll without being overly sweet which makes it the perfect breakfast, dessert, or after dinner treat. In my opinion, cinnamon roll focaccia muffins are the total package.

🍲 Ingredients

Sourdough Starter – This is the leavening agent of your focaccia dough. I recommend feeding your starter a 1:3:3 ratio in the morning, letting it rise throughout the day, and using it in the afternoon when its bubbly, doubled, and at its peak. (ex. 50 grams of starter + 150 grams of water + 150 grams of flour)

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Honey- Traditional focaccia calls for olive oil, but because this bread is made with a sweeter dough, we substitute what would be olive oil, for honey.

Water – Filtered, room temperature water.

All-purpose flour – Unbleached all-purpose flour is best.

Whole wheat flour – There is a small amount of whole wheat flour in this recipe, if you don’t have whole wheat flour on hand that is totally okay just substitute it for all-purpose, I just like the flavor (and color) a bit of whole wheat flour brings to focaccia.

👩‍🍳 How to Make Cinnamon Roll Focaccia Muffins

In the morning, feed your sourdough starter.
In the afternoon when your starter has peaked and doubled in size, assemble your dough.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your bubbly starter, warm water, and honey until a milky liquid forms. Add in all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and salt and mix together until a shaggy dough forms. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
After resting, pull the sides of the dough up and towards the middle, rotating the bowl each time until a semi – smooth ball forms. Cover and let rest for one hour.
After one hour, perform one set of stretch and folds/ coil folds. Cover and let rest on the counter overnight for 12 hours.
The next morning, turn your dough over onto a clean workspace. lightly stretch it out into a square shape, and using your bench scraper, cut the dough down the middle. Separate each half into 6 equal (80 gram) pieces. Roughly roll each piece into a ball.
Oil each space in your muffin pan and place a dough ball into each muffin tin. Roll them inside the muffin well so the dough is evenly coated in the olive oil. Cover and let rest for 1 – 2 hours until the dough has risen and is puffy.
While the dough is rising – melt together the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small saucepan.
When the dough has doubled, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Spoon the brown sugar mixture over each muffin. Dimple the top of each dough ball with your fingers. When all the muffins are coated with brown sugar and dimpled, bake at 450 for 20 minutes.
While the muffins are baking, blend together the cream cheese, heavy cream and maple syrup until a smooth icing forms. (you can do this on the stove with an immersion blender or heat the ingredients up and transfer to a regular blender).
When they are done baking, use tongs to remove the muffins from the muffin tins and transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Spoon the cream cheese icing over each muffin, let cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!

🪄 Bakers Schedule

9am: feed your starter, leave it on the counter to rise
5pm: assemble your dough.
6pm: work dough into a smooth ball
7pm: stretch and fold, cover and leave on the counter overnight.
between 6 and 7am: separate the dough into balls and place into your muffin tin.
between 8 and 9am: when your dough is doubled, dimple the top and bake.
8:30 – 9:30am: Top with cream cheese icing and enjoy!

🗒 Variations

I can’t wait until garden season to see what kind of fresh vegetables and herbs would be able to top these delectable little muffins!

Garden Focaccia Muffins
Classic Focaccia Muffins
Chocolate Focaccia Muffins

🗒 Substitutions

I have gotten a lot of feedback from my first cinnamon roll focaccia recipe about the icing – I don’t like an overly sweet icing, especially for breakfast. But if you have a cream cheese icing you prefer, or even to use a powdered sugar icing instead of cream cheese, then I encourage you to do so!

Whole Wheat – All-purpose flour
Powdered Sugar Icing

🗒 Best served with

Breakfast
Cup of coffee
After dinner treat
Brunch spread

👝 How to Store Leftovers

I’ve found that the best way to store these muffins is in a sealed Tupperware & in the fridge, but you can also use a Ziplock bag. It will be good in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. When you’re ready to eat the leftover muffins, place them on a baking sheet and into a 300 degree oven until they are warmed through. You can also make the icing and keep in the fridge to top the muffins off individually as you eat them.

🤔 Common Questions

How do I make the icing if I don’t have an immersion blender?

A regular blender or nutribullet work great, just transfer all the ingredients at once and blend until smooth. You can also use a stand mixer and top the muffins off more like a cupcake.

I like a sweeter icing; could I add powdered sugar?

A little powdered sugar goes a long day, I would add a 1/2 tablespoon at a time to the normal recipe until the sweetness and consistency is what you are looking for.

4.50 from 20 votes