Y’all, I have absolutely fallen in love with making homemade muffins, and these delicious Apple Cinnamon Muffins are no exception. These muffins are fluffy, moist, and include juicy, sweet apples in every bite. And my favorite part…the cinnamon crumble topping! I used the same streusel crumb topping from my coffee cake recipe, and it took these cinnamon apple muffins to the next level! Oh, and did I mention they’re freezer-friendly too!😉
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I love when I can reuse different ingredients to make multiple recipes—it’s the ulitmate budget-friendly kitchen hack! For this easy recipe, I took the base ingredients I used in my carrot cake muffins and zucchini muffins but switched up the flavors by using cinnamon, nutmeg, and diced apples to make the most delicious, perfectly moist apple cinnamon muffins. It couldn’t be easier to make these muffins from scratch! Trust me; they’re so much better than store-bought.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this easy apple cinnamon muffins recipe:
- Apples: For the best apple cinnamon muffins, I recommend using a firm, semi-sweet apple like Gala, Fuji, or Honeycrisp. They hold their shape well and don’t become too mushy while baking. I use 2 small apples, which I dice into small pieces.
- All-Purpose Flour: Gives the muffins structure. If you like, you can substitute up to half of the flour for whole wheat flour without affecting the flavor or texture too much.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: I use both leaveners to give the muffins a nice rise due to the extra acidity from the apples and apple sauce.
- Eggs: You’ll need 2 large eggs to bind the ingredients together. Make sure they’re at room temperature before using, so they mix in better with the other ingredients.
- Sweetened Applesauce & Oil: I give these muffins a double dose of apple flavor by adding apple sauce to the batter! The combination of applesauce and oil helps them bake up perfectly moist, not oily or dense, with a ton of flavor.
- Plain Yogurt: My secret ingredient for making these homemade muffins extra moist and rich.
- Brown & White Sugar: Adds moisture, texture, and just the right amount of sweetness.
- Cinnamon, Nutmeg, & Vanilla: Of course, this recipe NEEDS cinnamon, but I also add a touch of nutmeg for extra warmth and depth. A splash of vanilla extract is also a must for any baked good!
- Salt: Don’t forget to add a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness and enhance the other flavors.
- Streusel Topping: The crunchy, buttery streusel topping might just be my favorite part! I make it using a simple mix of all-purpose flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cold butter. It adds the best texture and even more flavor to these already delicious muffins.
Recipe Success Tips
This recipe for apple cinnamon muffins has everything you need to make fluffy, moist, and perfectly spiced muffins. But because I have lots of experience making homemade muffins, I thought I’d share a few extra tips to help yours turn out perfectly, even if it’s your first time making muffins:
- Don’t over-mix the batter! Over-mixing will cause the muffins to become dense instead of light and fluffy. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together until they’re barely combined, with no traces of dry flour left in the bowl.
- I highly recommend dicing your apples small to avoid large chunks of apples in your muffins (see the example in the step-by-step photos below).
- Use both baking powder and baking soda! They’re not the same thing and can’t be used interchangeably. Baking powder helps the muffins rise, while baking soda neutralizes the acidity of the applesauce.
- I butter my muffin pan REALLY well before adding the batter. This makes it much easier to remove the muffins once they’re done baking and stops them from sticking to the pan. You can use muffin liners if you prefer. Don’t forget to let them cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing them.
Stretch this Recipe Further!
I prefer larger, bakery-style muffins, so I divided the batter into ten muffin wells. However, you can easily stretch this batter and get 12 regular-size muffins. This would slightly reduce the cost of each serving and mean you can have more muffins for later!
How to Store
These homemade apple cinnamon muffins are my new breakfast obsession. I love eating them fresh from the oven, but they also store well. Simply let them cool completely and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. They also freeze really well for up to 3 months. Let them thaw at room temperature, or if you’re in a rush, microwave them for 30 seconds until thawed and warm.
Got Some Spare Apples?
If you find a really good price on a large bag of apples, it usually works out cheaper to buy the whole bag than just a few. This apple cinnamon streusel muffins recipe is really easy to double if you want to make a few batches to freeze. But why stop there? There are so many delicious recipe ideas that use apples. My apple cinnamon pancakes use very similar ingredients to this muffin recipe, so you can easily make both in one go. Or try making homemade applesauce or an apple crumble for a simple dessert!
However, apples aren’t just for sweet treats. I love using apples in savory dishes like my chicken and apple skillet, apple and cheese grilled sandwiches, or even sausage stuffing for the holidays.
Apple Cinnamon Muffins Recipe
Servings 10 muffinsIngredients
Crumb Mixture
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour ($0.10)
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed ($0.24)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon ($0.05)
- 3 Tbsp salted cold butter, cubed ($0.42)
Muffins
- 2 small apples ($1.05)
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour ($0.40)
- 1 tsp baking powder ($0.10)
- ½ tsp baking soda ($0.05)
- ½ tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon ($0.15)
- ¼ tsp nutmeg ($0.05)
- ½ cup brown sugar ($0.30)
- ¼ cup white sugar ($0.08)
- ¼ cup plain yogurt ($0.30)
- ½ cup sweetened applesauce ($0.32)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil ($0.32)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature ($0.49)
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract ($0.45)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Start by making the crumb mixture. In a medium bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Then add the cubed cold butter to the bowl. Combine the butter and the flour mixture together with a fork, pastry cutter, or clean hands. Once the mixture is well combined and crumbly, set it to the side.
- Next wash, peel, and remove the core from the apples. Dice the apples into small cubes. I like to first slice the apples, then cut them into strips, then dice them into small cubes. Set the diced apples to the side.
- Now in a large bowl add the dry ingredients for the muffins (all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg). Whisk together until combined.
- In a separate bowl combine the wet ingredients together (brown sugar, white sugar, plain yogurt, applesauce, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Mix together until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the same bowl as the wet ingredients. Stir together until just combined. Be careful not to overmix at this point.
- Add the diced apples to the bowl and fold them into the batter until just combined.
- Divide the batter between ten greased or lined muffin wells (I used butter to grease my muffin wells really well).
- Now divide and top each muffin with the streusel crumble mixture.
- Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 26-28 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool for about 5 minutes, then carefully loosen the edges with a knife and transfer the muffins to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
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Equipment
Nutrition
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how to make Apple Cinnamon Muffins – step by step photos
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Start by making the crumb mixture. In a medium bowl, whisk together ⅓ cup all-purpose flour, ⅓ cup brown sugar, and ½ tsp cinnamon.
Then, add 3 Tbsp cubed cold butter to the bowl. Combine the butter and the flour mixture together with a fork, pastry cutter, or clean hands. Once the mixture is well combined and crumbly, set it to the side.
Next, wash, peel, and remove the core from 2 small apples. Dice the apples into small cubes. I like to first slice the apples, then cut them into strips, then dice them into small cubes. Set the diced apples to the side.
Now, in a large bowl, add the dry ingredients for the muffins (1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt, 1 ½ tsp cinnamon, and ¼ tsp nutmeg). Whisk together until combined.
In a separate bowl combine the wet ingredients together (½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup white sugar, ¼ cup plain yogurt, ½ cup applesauce, ¼ cup oil, 2 large room temperature eggs, and 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract. Mix together until well combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the same bowl as the wet ingredients. Stir together until just combined. Be careful not to overmix at this point.
Add the diced apples to the bowl and fold them into the batter until just combined.
Divide the batter between ten greased or lined muffin wells (I used butter to grease my muffin wells really well). Now divide and top each muffin with the streusel crumble mixture.
Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 26-28 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool for about 5 minutes, then carefully loosen the edges with a knife and transfer the muffins to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
My simple cinnamon apple muffin recipe is quick, easy, and always delicious. They’re perfect for a weekend breakfast, brunch, or a midday snack!
