French Breakfast Puffs with Fresh Strawberries
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French breakfast puffs are light and fluffy vanilla muffins with a deliciously buttery cinnamon-sugar topping. Serve with fresh strawberries for the perfect breakfast treat.
I’m sharing this easy french breakfast puffs recipe with you as part of my White Lily series. A family-friendly company, White Lily encourages folks to share their knowledge in the kitchen and help pass on their cooking heritage.
This recipe is perfect for that because my mother taught me how to make these when I was a little girl. They are a simple muffin, perfectly suited to a cup of coffee or juice, and especially delicious when paired with fresh fruit like I’m doing here.
Despite the name, french breakfast puffs are not French. The recipe first appeared in a Betty Crocker cookbook decades ago and immediately became a favorite Southern breakfast treat. They’re super quick and easy to make and I bet you already have most of the ingredients at home.
The lightly cinnamon-spiced vanilla muffins are perfectly tender with a golden brown top, which we then dip in melted butter and cinnamon sugar. Serve them with some fresh strawberries and you have yourself a winning breakfast.
If you like snickerdoodle cookies or cinnamon toast, I just know you’re gonna fall head over heels for these breakfast puffs as well. So let’s make some french breakfast puffs today and make sure you share the results with someone you love!
Recipe Ingredients
- Self-rising flour
- Ground cinnamon
- Granulated sugar
- Unsalted butter (or margarine)
- Egg
- Milk
- Shortening
How to Make French Breakfast Puffs
Place 1/2 of the sugar, egg, and shortening in a medium bowl.
Mix.
You saw that coming, didn’t ya?
Gradually add in milk, vanilla extract, and flour.
Or just dump it all in like I do.
Now mix that up.
Boom! Here is our muffin batter.
Spray a muffin tin with some cooking spray.
This recipe makes 15 but I fill mine a little more and just spread it out over 12.
Divide batter evenly into each and then bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
While those are cooking, wash and chop up some fresh strawberries if you’d like. Sprinkle them with a little sugar to taste.
Stir to coat and set aside for a bit so the strawberries can release their juices.
Then, to make them even saucier, smash them up a wee little bit with a fork or pastry cutter.
Like so.
Stir remaining sugar together with cinnamon and place in a small bowl.
Melt butter in another small bowl.
Dip the top of each muffin in the butter.
And then dip the buttered top into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Like this.
Serve plain…
With fresh strawberries…
Or add some whipped cream!
Storage
- Store puff leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. You can quickly reheat them in the microwave or air fryer.
- You can also freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before reheating as above.
Recipe Notes
- The original recipe calls for ground nutmeg, and I note that I don’t use it in my first cookbook (page 190), so I’ll note it here as well. I don’t personally like ground nutmeg (although I’m sure it’s very nice and comes from a lovely family and all that), so I use ground cinnamon in its place.
- If you have and want to make mini french breakfast puffs, they’ll take between 12 and 14 minutes to bake instead. They’ll resemble delicious baked doughnut holes.
- Instead of only dipping the tops, go ahead and roll the entire muffin in butter and then cinnamon sugar.
- For nutty french breakfast puffs, add 2 tablespoons of finely chopped nuts to the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Recipe FAQs
Can I double this recipe?
Absolutely! It’s so easy to double this recipe and make 24 breakfast muffins. Enjoy!
Check out these other scrumptious muffin recipes:
Gluten-Free Banana Nut Muffins No Dairy or Eggs
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg I substitute cinnamon
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
Topping
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup or 1 stick of melted margarine or butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and grease 12-15 medium muffin cups (I just divide it among 12).
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the shortening, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and the egg thoroughly. Mix in the flour and nutmeg (or cinnamon as a substitute) alternately with the milk and vanilla (if using vanilla).1/2 cup shortening, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
- Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
- In a small bowl, mix the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon together. Immediately after baking, dip the puff tops in the melted margarine and then in the sugar mixture. Serve hot.1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup or 1 stick of melted margarine or butter
Nutrition
“On days when warmth is the most important need of the human heart, the kitchen is the place you can find it”
~E. B. White
Submitted by Jackie. Click here to submit your own.
Special thanks to White Lily for sponsoring this post.
LOL! I don’t like nutmeg either. How refreshing to read your posts! Eileen
Thank you Eileen, that is so sweet of you to say!!
Have both your cookbooks Being raised in Ga married at 16 had 2 children moved to Texas for 33 years then moved back to Mentone Al SO being Southern to the bone I also cook a lot like you Your little tidbits cheer me I lost my love of 50 years in Sept 2010 “and they say teen marriage does not work” since I attend a COG we love to WORSHIP PRAISE and eat! LOL Pray for you daily If you come close I want to get my books signed Dianne
Thank you so much for your prayers Dianne!! They mean more to me than you could ever imagine!
Oooh yeah, that looks yummy…and easy! Makes me think of cinnamon donuts. I love them especially when they’re coated heavily in sugar and cinnamon and even more so when they’re hot and fresh! I know you understand the allure of hot fresh donuts. 😉
I would also probably substitute the shortening for butter. It’s not common here to use shortening so I can only think butter or margarine would be the alternative.
Oh my goodness do I ever understand that lure Su!!! And yes, you can substitute with butter. I haven’t tried it but it should work just fine.
Christy: Is this a mini muffin pan or a full size muffin pan. On the tray they look so tiny? Thanks
They are regular sized muffins, but it is a larger tray. 🙂
These look just wonderful. I have made these since I was first starting to bake, lo these many years ago, and I adore them. And yes, I like the nutmeg in them, but please don’t hold that against me. The addition of strawberries is absolute genius!
It has been a few very difficult days here in Darrington, WA, and I really appreciate looking at something that is so yummy and lovely. God used you to turn my thoughts to better times.
~HUGS~ to you Patty! You will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Hmmm…I must be the weirdo here, but I like nutmeg – for a change I’ll even put it instead of cinnamon in my oatmeal! Be that as it may, for dipping buttered muffins in, I’ll go with cinnamon every time! I don’t do strawberries, but I’ll have to make these for my dad next time I visit and he’ll have the strawberries!! Thanks for another great recipe. Every time I read your posts, my day is brighter and my spirit lighter – thanks for always being so positive! You haven’t said lately, but how are you healing from your up-close-and-personal horse trials? When I feed my horses, I always think of you and say a little prayer.
You are too sweet Susan!! I am doing really good! Very little traces of anything even happening. I do have the occasional ache and pain but that is about it, Praise the Lord! Thank you so much for all of your continued prayers, they mean the world to me!!
Can you substitute butter for the shortening?
I haven’t tried it but it should work. If you try it please let me know how they turn out, I would love to hear 🙂