This is the best butter rum muffin recipe. It’s made with buttermilk for a tender, moist, melt-in-your mouth muffins, loaded with butterscotch chips, and brushed with a hot butter rum sauce.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe
Top Reasons You’ll Love These Muffins:
- Fluffy, moist, and tender
- Alcohol-free
- Perfect for breakfast or brunch
They are fluffy and soft, with that rich buttered rum flavor that is only enhanced by the butterscotch chips in them. The hot butter rum syrup adds an extra pop of flavor, while also helping to keep these muffins extra moist.
I always remember one of my close friends talking about butter rum muffins from their New England grocery store, Hannaford. While I cannot compare these to the Hannaford muffins, I can attest to the deliciousness of these butter rum muffins with butterscotch chips.
We love an easy muffin recipe, and I love that I don’t actually have to go out and buy an rum for these muffins, they are alcohol-free! They are a simple treat that can be whipped up in a few minutes for breakfast, brunch, or as a sweet snack.
If you love muffins made with buttermilk be sure to try out our buttermilk blueberry muffins and our buttermilk cinnamon streusel muffins next!
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Ingredient Notes
- Flour. We use all-purpose flour for the body of this muffin recipe.
- Baking Powder. Baking powder is our main leavening agent.
- Baking Soda. A little baking soda helps give these butter rum muffins extra rise.
- Salt. Salt helps bring out the flavors.
- Butter. You can use butter or unsalted butter. The butter should be room temperature before using. Butter goes in the muffin batter and the butter rum syrup.
- Sugar. White, granulated sugar helps give these muffins a light texture. Sugar sweetens the muffins and the hot buttered rum syrup.
- Brown Sugar. The molasses in the brown sugar gives these a richer flavor and compliments the rum and butterscotch flavor.
- Vanilla. A little vanilla gives a classic bakery flavor.
- Rum extract. These rum muffins don’t actually contain any rum, they are flavored with rum extract. Rum extract goes in the muffin batter and in the butter rum syrup.
- Butter Extract. Butter extract really amps up that buttery, rich flavor that you need in a hot buttered rum muffin.
- Eggs. We use large eggs. Eggs act as a binder and help the muffins rise.
- Sour Cream. Sour cream keeps these muffins moist, if needed you can substitute Greek yogurt.
- Buttermilk. Buttermilk makes these muffins moist and tender.
- Butterscotch Chips. Butterscotch chips compliment and boost the rum flavor.
- Water. Water makes up the base of the butter rum syrup.
How to Make this Recipe
- Whisk dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until thoroughly combined.
- Cream butter and sugar. In a separate bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar with a hand mixer or stand mixer for 2 minutes.
- Add eggs & extracts. Add both eggs, vanilla, rum extract, and butter extract to the butter and sugar. Beat on high for an additional 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add liquid ingredients. Pour in the buttermilk and sour cream and mix on low until the batter looks smooth.
- Add dry to wet. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low until just barely combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and make sure there are no pockets of flour in the batter. Fold in the butterscotch chips.
- Scoop batter. Line the muffin pan with muffin papers and fill the batter, evenly dividing between 12 muffin papers. I fill mine to the top with batter. Top off each muffin with a few extra butterscotch chips if desired.
- Bake. Bake the muffins at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes before lowering the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for an additional 11-14 minutes.
- Make butter rum syrup. While the muffins are baking, prepare the butter rum syrup. Add sugar, water, and butter to a small pot and bring mixture to a boil. Let boil for 1-2 minutes before removing from the heat. Then stir in the rum and vanilla extract.
- Brush and cool. Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the muffin pan. Brush them generously with the butter rum syrup.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Butterscotch has a similar flavor to caramel, but is made with brown sugar instead of white sugar. The molasses in the brown sugar adds deep, warm flavor, with some subtle smoky notes.
Butter rum has buttery, sweet, and caramelly flavor with vanilla notes that complement the rum flavor.
These butter rum muffins are sweet, buttery, with a hint of brown sugar, and a distinct, but not overwhelming rum flavor. The muffins are peppered with butterscotch chips and brushed with a hot buttered rum sauce.
Toasted or candied chopped nuts, like pecans or walnuts would be a great addition to these muffins. You could also try adding in a little bit of cinnamon for a spiced rum flavor. I wouldn’t add more than ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon or you may find that the cinnamon overpowers the butter rum flavor of these muffins.
Yes, you could make these into jumbo muffins or mini muffins. If making jumbo muffins you will need to bake the muffins for longer. If you decided to make these into mini muffins, skip the first bake at 425 degrees, bake them at 375 until they are done.
Expert Tips
- Measure flour correctly. Too much flour is a common mistake in baking. I typically use a food scale to measure my flour (measurements are provided in grams in the recipe card). If you are not weighing your flour, fluff up the flour, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off with the back of a knife. See our guide on How to Measure Flour if you want a step-by-step guide.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Room temperature ingredients will incorporate better, giving you a smoother batter, and better rise to your muffins.
- Don’t over mix the batter. Once you add the dry ingredients you do not want to over mix the batter. Mix the batter just enough to incorporate the flour evenly. Overworking the batter causes gluten to start to develop resulting in tough, and gummy muffins.
- Don’t over bake them. Be careful not to over bake the muffins or they’ll be dry.
- How to check doneness. Every oven runs a little differently, so don’t rely exclusively on the timer. I recommend setting the timer for less time than called for, checking them and adding more time as needed. To check for doneness I like to use two tests—one the toothpick and the other is the spring back. The toothpick is simple, insert the toothpick into the center of the muffin, you should have a few moist crumbs but no batter. For the spring back test, gently press on the top of the muffin, the muffin should spring back slowly and not stay indented. If it stays depressed it will need to bake a little longer.
How to get Tall muffins
- Fill every other well. Fill ever other well in the muffin pan. This allows the muffins to spread and heat to circulate more evenly, giving them a larger and more domed muffin top.
- Fill them to the top. Fill the muffins papers all the way up! This recipe should make 12 muffins, in my pan that means I’m filling the batter all the way to the top of the muffin paper.
- Bake at high temperature. We bake these muffins for a few minutes at a high temperature of 425 degrees and then drop it to finish baking. The high temperature helps activate the leavening agents, giving them an extra boost and making them extra tall.
Buttermilk and Buttermilk Substitutes
What is Buttermilk?
Buttermilk, a type of fermented milk, is the liquid that remains after cream is churned into butter. Modern buttermilk that is commercially produced and available in stores has been cultured, pasteurized, and homogenized. Buttermilk’s signature tangy flavor is thanks to the presence of lactic acid.
How Does Buttermilk Affect Baked Goods?
Baked goods, like muffins, that use buttermilk have a subtle tangy flavor due to the acidic nature of buttermilk. Buttermilk helps keeps our baked goods moist and tender by breaking down gluten in the flour, giving them a light crumb with a melt-in-your-mouth texture. The acidity of buttermilk also helps get a chemical reaction between buttermilk and baking powder and baking soda, make them rise, giving your muffins a nicely domed top.
Buttermilk Substitutes
Using real buttermilk is always best, however, one of these buttermilk substitutes will do in a pinch. Here are three options for buttermilk substitutes. My personal favorite is Greek yogurt + water, I’ve found it to be the closes to the real deal.
How to make buttermilk substitute for 1 cup of buttermilk:
- 1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon Lemon juice or white vinegar—let mixture stand for 10 minutes
- ¾ cup plain yogurt + ¼ cup water
- ⅔ cup plain Greek yogurt + ⅓ cup water
NOTE: This recipe calls for ¾ cup of buttermilk so reduce measurements by a quarter.
Storing this Recipe
Once cool, store these butter rum muffins in an airtight container at room temperature to prevent them from drying out. They are best eaten within 3 days of making.
These buttered rum muffins can also be frozen. To freeze, cool completely, place in a freezer gallon bag and remove any excess air. OR, place in a food storage container and cover the tops of the muffins with plastic wrap before placing the lid on to help prevent freezer burn. Freeze for up the three months. Thaw at room temperature before eating.
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Butter Rum Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour (325 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter (113 grams) salted or unsalted, room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
- ¼ cup light brown sugar (52 grams) packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon butter extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons rum extract
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup sour cream (60 grams) room temperature
- ¾ cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
Butter Rum Syrup
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 1 tablespoon butter (14 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon rum extract
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and light brown sugar for 2 minutes. Add in eggs, vanilla, rum extract, and butter extract and whip for 2 minutes until super smooth and light and fluffy.
- Add the sour cream and buttermilk and mix on low until smooth.
- Then add in the dry ingredients. Mix until just barely incorporated, scrape down the sides and make sure there are no pockets of flour then stir in the butterscotch chips.
- Line a muffin pan with paper liners, and divide the batter between 12 muffins. If you want your muffins to rise extra, only fill every other slot (this may mean you do two batches). Top with a few extra butterscotch chips if desired.
- Bake at 425 for 5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 11-14 minutes. Watch them closely so they don’t get too dark.
- While baking, make the butter rum syrup. Place the water, sugar, and butter in a small pan and bring to a boil. Let boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and rum extract.
- Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Brush the tops of the muffins with the butter rum syrup generously while the muffins are still hot.
Video
Notes
- 1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon Lemon juice or white vinegar—let mixture stand for 10 minutes
- ¾ cup plain yogurt + ¼ cup water
- ⅔ cup plain Greek yogurt + ⅓ cup water
Nutrition
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