One of Panera’s most beloved pastries, the Cobblestone muffin stands as a testament to bakery perfection with its enormous, fluffy sweet base loaded with spiced apples, warm cinnamon, and plump raisins. These extraordinary muffins feature a delicate streusel topping and sweet vanilla icing that transforms an ordinary morning into something special. Now you can recreate this bakery favorite at home with this detailed copycat recipe that captures every layer of flavor and texture.
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Table of Contents
What Makes This Recipe Special
When you genuinely love something from a restaurant, especially a chain that lists its ingredients online, the challenge becomes replicating that exact flavor and texture experience at home. These Panera Cobblestone muffins represent the pinnacle of bakery engineering, with multiple components working together to create something far greater than the sum of their parts. The result is a muffin that rivals anything you can buy, made with ingredients you can pronounce and customize to your preferences.
Recipe Ingredients
For the Bread Base:
- Butter – Creates rich flavor and tender crumb structure essential for bakery-quality results
- Sugar – Provides sweetness and helps develop a golden color during baking
- Eggs – Add structure, richness, and help create the characteristic fluffy texture
- All-purpose flour – Forms the foundation structure while maintaining a tender crumb
- Active dry yeast – Creates the light, airy texture that sets these apart from regular muffins
For the Cinnamon-Raisin Layer:
- Dark brown sugar – Contributes a deep molasses flavor and creates caramelized pockets
- Ground cinnamon – Provides warm spice that defines the signature flavor profile
- Raisins – Add chewy texture and concentrated sweetness throughout each bite
For the Apple Filling:
- Apple pie filling – Delivers tender spiced apple pieces with authentic bakery flavor
- Honey – Enhances natural apple sweetness and adds floral complexity
- Cinnamon baking chips (optional) – Provide extra cinnamon bursts and textural interest
For the Finishing Elements:
- Kosher salt and table salt – Enhance flavors and balance sweetness throughout
- Powdered sugar – Creates smooth, sweet icing for the final touch
- Vanilla extract – Adds aromatic depth to the icing
- Lemon extract – Brightens the icing with subtle citrus notes
- Milk and water – Provide proper consistency for dough and icing
How to Make Panera Apple Cinnamon Raisin Muffins
- Make a simple bread dough for the muffin base.
- Make a cinnamon mixture.
- Make a cinnamon apple filling.
- Roll out the dough into a rectangle.
- Sprinkle cinnamon mixture and raisins on the dough.
- Roll up the dough and cut it into slices.
- Cut the slices into pieces.
- Place a third of the pieces into a jumbo muffin pan.
- Put the apple filling on the pieces.
- Repeat this process with the remaining dough pieces and apple filling, creating 3 layers of dough pieces and 2 layers of apple filling.
- Make the streusel topping and sprinkle it on top.
- Let the muffins rise, then bake them.
- Make the vanilla icing and drizzle it on the muffins.
Storage & Reheating Instructions
- Room Temperature Storage: Store in airtight containers for up to 3 days, maintaining optimal texture
- Refrigerator Storage: Keep for up to 1 week, though texture is best within the first few days
- Reheating Method: Warm in a 300°F oven for 5-8 minutes to restore just-baked texture and aroma
- Freezing: Wrap individually and freeze for up to 3 months, thaw at room temperature before reheating
Love Panera Bread? Look at these copycat recipes!
- Panera Black Bean Soup
- Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup Recipe
- Panera Green Goddess Salad
- Panera Macaroni and Cheese
- Panera Tomato Soup
Favorite Sweet Breakfast and Bread Recipes
- Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls
- Donut Muffins
- French Cruller Recipe
- How to Make French Toast Sticks
- Monkey Bread
- Oatmeal Muffins
- Starbucks Blueberry Muffin
- Starbucks Pumpkin Bread
Check out more of my easy bread recipes and the best Panera recipes here on CopyKat!
This recipe is from Jenni Field from the Online Pastry Chef, be sure to check out more of her recipes on her blog.
Panera Cobblestone Muffins Recipe
Fluffy apple cinnamon raisin muffins with streusel topping and icing. This Panera copycat recipe brings bakery favorites home!
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Servings: 12
Calories: 651kcal
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 cup water plus 2 tablespoons
- 1/4 cup butter melte
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Cinnamon Raisin Filling
- 1⁄4 cup butter softened, not melted
- 1⁄4 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1⁄2 large egg (beat 1 large egg and then measure out half. Use the rest in your scrambled eggs)
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup raisins if you like more add an addition 1/4 cup
Spiced Apple Filling
- 1 cup apple pie filling Lucky Leaf brand recommended
- 1/4 cup cinnamon baking chips OR 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Streusel
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup butter cool, should be softened
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Icing
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2 teaspoons milk
Instructions
For the Dough
- Put the water, butter, sugar, egg, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. Stir briefly with a whisk. Add the flour, and then add the yeast on top. Mix on low speed with the dough hook until a shaggy dough forms, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium and knead for 10 minutes. The dough will be soft, very shiny, and supple. It will also be very soft. Don’t worry about that–we want a soft dough. Leave the dough in the mixer bowl, and scrape it into a ball, spray with pan spray, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 1⁄2 hours.
For the Cinnamon Raisin Filling
- Using a whisk or a hand mixer, mix all the ingredients except the raisins together until smooth. Reserve the raisins for assembly.
For the Spiced Apple Filling
- Using a chef knife, or a mini-prep, chop or pulse the apples until the pieces are about the size of small peas. You don’t want it completely smooth like applesauce. Think more like salsa. Stir in the salt and cinnamon chips, if using. If not using cinnamon chips, stir in the ground cinnamon and set aside.
For the Streusel
- Using 2 forks, a pastry blender, or your fingers, mix all the streusel ingredients together until sandy with little clumps of butter. Set aside.
To Assemble and Bake
- Sprinkle a bit of flour on top of the dough and then punch it down to press out the gases. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and flour the top of the dough lightly as well. Roll dough into a rough rectangle about 18” x 10”. Spread the Cinnamon mixture evenly over the surface of the dough. Sprinkle on the raisins, if using. Starting from a long end, roll up the dough into a cylinder as if you were making cinnamon rolls. Pinch the seam to seal. Cut the dough into 9 equal pieces. Cut each of these pieces into 3 pieces for a total of 18 “cinnamon rolls.”
- Line 2 jumbo muffin tins with jumbo muffin liners (you will only need to line 3 cavities in the second pan since this recipe makes 9 muffins). For each muffin, you’ll be using 3 of the “cinnamon rolls.” Cut the first in 4-5 pieces and put them in a lined muffin cavity. Top with a spoonful of apple filling. Repeat twice more with the second and third “cinnamon rolls.” When finished, you’ll have a muffin with 3 layers of cinnamon roll and 2 of spiced apple. You will be filling the muffin cups almost to the tops.
- Continue making muffins with the rest of your dough and apple filling. Evenly sprinkle on the streusel, dividing it evenly among the 9 muffins. Cover muffins and let rise in a warm place until puffy, about 45 minutes. While muffins are rising, place a rack in the center of your oven, and preheat to 350 F. Bake until golden brown and well risen. The internal temperature of the muffins should be about 195F, give or take 5 degrees. This will take about 30 minutes. If the muffins seem to be browning too quickly, loosely tent with foil. Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes and then remove muffins to a rack to cool completely. Once cool, use a fork to drizzle each muffin lightly with the glaze.
For the Glaze
- Whisk the ingredients together until smooth. You can wait until the muffins are cooling after baking to do this part.
Notes
Ways To Simplify the Cobblestone Recipe
Start with store-bought sweet dough, such as the type made by Rhodes Bake-N-Serv. Instead of rolling out the dough and making “cinnamon rolls,” you can also roll the dough into ping pong ball-sized balls, dip them into the cinnamon mixture, and roll them in raisins. Use an equal number of balls for each muffin, making sure to add in the apple mixture. Leave out the apple mixture entirely. You can also leave off the streusel or the glaze if you prefer. Make a Cobblestone coffee cake by making the whole thing in a well-greased tube pan or springform pan.
Equipment
Nutrition
Calories: 651kcal | Carbohydrates: 92g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 647mg | Potassium: 156mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 895IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 2.8mg
We loved these muffins!
I here informing you that i always like to come here and read your perfect kind of information which you always share in your post. I never miss your blog layout and your post. Please keep sharing latest and wonderful information with us.
I’ve been going to Denny’s and they came out with a pancake cinnamon hole, they are to die for. Can you see if you can copy the recipe?
google
very delicious
Wow, I really impressed. I love to have it once. ill try to make it at home.Hope it be nice. Thanks for shearing that instructions with us.
I have loved this muffin for such a long time. I asked for recipe when in Panera once and was told “Nope”. I WAS told it had apple pie spice in it ?? Matters not to me, I am using your recipe !!
This will be on my to-do list tomorrow. Think a few special folks will receive for Christmas Eve so they can warm and enjoy with coffee, Tea, or a Mimosa Christmas morning.
With apples so plentiful right now, I may ‘push the envelope’ and make my own apple filling. I will let you know how my culinary adventure turns out .
Many Thanks.
wow what a great post is this… thanks for sharing boss, keep share these valuable content.
I’m really impressed with your article, such great & usefull knowledge you mentioned here
Thanks for all the grrrreat recipes.
Really?? a whole egg divided into 9 large muffins will taste “eggy” …well, it is for breakfast, but how about a small egg?
You are welcome to use the whole egg. Go for it! if I’m going for a copycat recipe, I try to make it as similar as I humanly can to the original, and I’m generally pretty exacting in my work. But again, if you find it fussy to use half an egg, nothing terrible will happen if you add the whole thing. It just won’t be quite as an exact a copycat.
The share your really gives us excitement. Thanks for your sharing. If you feel tired at work or study try to participate in our games to bring the most exciting feeling. Thank you!
GREAT option @ Panera. Excited to try the recipe.
Thanks for all the good recipes, your amazing. You must have great taste buds to figure what’s in a recipe. That’s a real talent.
A great and new dish from the familiar ingredients. Most importantly, you teach very detailed and easy to understand. Thanks a lot. I will cook for my family.
How do you measure out half an egg?
Good question. Just crack it into a little bowl, beat it with a fork, and measure out half, which will be about 1 1/2 tablespoons or so. Put the rest in your scrambled eggs or an omelette. I know it’s a bit fussy to call for half an egg, but the egg is there for a binder to keep the muffin together rather than to break apart like monkey bread when you take it out of the wrapper. Too much egg could make it taste eggy, which is not what we want. If you’d rather, you can use the white by itself.
Thank you for the directions!
sounds good to me. You hit the nail on the head with their chicken and rice soup,and i make it a lot. so I will definitely try this one
Hello and thank you so much for adding the Directions. Can’t wait to make them. Nancy
Thank you, can’t wait to make them. ????
They are a bit of work, but man are they fantastic. 9 huge muffins seems like a lot, but you will want more than that, I guarantee! 🙂
Thanks for the directions…as well as the yummy recipe.
It’s up now, but I will email you a copy of the recipe.
CST? Does that stand for Crunchy Snack Time? ; )
It does now! lol
It sure does.
Great idea, and perhaps I will take your advice