Irish Coffee Muffins

All the flavors of an Irish coffee baked into a muffin. Real Irish whiskey and Kahlua go directly into the batter alongside heavy cream, giving these a warm, boozy flavor that’s more grown-up brunch than Sunday school bake sale.

The heavy cream instead of milk makes these muffins rich and tender with a tight, moist crumb. Combined with melted butter, there’s enough fat in the batter to keep them soft without needing to overmix. And overmixing is the biggest risk with any muffin: stir the wet into the dry just until moistened, lumps and all.

The alcohol doesn’t fully bake off in 20 minutes at this temperature, so there’s a subtle boozy warmth that lingers in each bite. The coffee liqueur does most of the flavor work, adding deep roasted coffee notes that the whiskey’s caramel undertones complement.

Chef Tips

• Do not overmix the batter; stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened and stop. Lumpy batter makes tender muffins
• Fill the liners completely full, not the usual two-thirds; these don’t rise as much as standard muffins due to the heavy cream and alcohol
• Test with a toothpick at 20 minutes; the alcohol can make the centers seem underdone when they’re actually set
• These taste even better the next morning as the whiskey flavor mellows and melds with the crumb

Variations

• Cream cheese glaze: Top with a glaze made from powdered sugar, cream cheese, and a splash of Kahlua
• Chocolate chip: Fold in ½ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips for a mocha Irish coffee muffin
• Non-alcoholic: Replace the whiskey with strong brewed coffee and the Kahlua with coffee extract