These tasty Apple Cinnamon Muffins are bakery-style muffins studded with fresh apple chunks and crowned with a streusel crumb topping. Enjoy these quick and easy muffins anytime. They stay moist for days and freeze well for up to three months.
Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients below on the recipe card.
- Apples: My go-to apples for this recipe are crisp apples like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith. Other good choices are Braeburn or Pink Lady.
- Baking powder: for the best rise
- Eggs: large ones warmed to room temperature
- Vanilla extract: the pure stuff, please, for the best flavor.
How to make Apple Cinnamon Muffins
This is the summary version; see the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients and the instructions.
Whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Using a fork, add the flour, stirring until the mixture forms crumbs. Place the bowl in the fridge for a few minutes while you make the muffin batter.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla extract until combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing just until combined. Do not over-mix the batter, as this can cause tough gummy muffins. Fold in the apples, trying not to overmix the batter.
Fill a standard 12-count muffin pan with paper liners. Then, fill the muffin tin shy of the top with the batter. Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the top of the muffins and gently press down so it adheres. Bake just until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Preparation Tips and Storage
- Line the muffin tin with liners. They help keep the muffins from sticking to the pan. I like the unbleached chlorine-free ones. They peel away perfectly from muffins and cupcakes.
- Add a little protein and texture by adding 3/4 cup chopped walnut or pecans.
- Stir the batter just until combined. Overmixing can make the muffins dense and rubbery.
- Do not overbake the muffins. Cook just until a toothpick inserted in the top center of one of the muffins, comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the cooked muffins rest in the tin for 5 minutes before carefully removing them to wire racks.
- Thoroughly cool the muffins before storing them in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or up to 5 days in the fridge.
How to Freeze Them
First, let the muffins fully cool by removing them from the tin about 5 minutes after they come out of the oven. Place the muffins on a cooling wire rack and do not wash the tin.
Once the muffins have thoroughly cooled, return them to the tin and place the tin on a level surface in the freezer. Once fully frozen, place them in a heavy-duty freezer zipper bag or sturdy container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter at room temperature.
More Muffin Recipes
Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
- 7 tablespoons butter melted
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Apple Cinnamon Muffin Batter
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups diced apples peeled and cored
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Fill a standard 12-count muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, and, cinnamon. Using a fork add the flour stirring just until the mixture forms crumbs. Place the bowl in the fridge for a few minutes while you make the muffin batter.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon.
- In a large bowl stir together the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla extract just until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients mixing just until combined. Do not over-mix the batter. Fold in the apples trying not to overmix the batter.
- Fill the muffin tin just shy of the top with the batter. Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the top of the muffins and gently press down so it adheres.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425 degrees. Without opening the oven reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes before moving them to wire racks to cool.
Notes
- Line the cupcake/muffin tin with liners. They really help keep the muffins from sticking to the pan. I really like the unbleached chlorine-free ones. They peel away perfectly from muffins and cupcakes.
- My go-to apples for this recipe are crisp apples like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith apples. Other good choices are Braeburn or Pink Lady (also known as Cripps Pink).
- Add a little protein by adding 3/4 cup chopped walnut or pecans.
- Stir the batter just until combined. Overmixing can make the muffins dense and rubbery.
- Do not overbake the muffins. Cook just until a toothpick inserted in the top center of one of the muffins comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs.
- Let the cooked muffins rest in the tin for 5 minutes before carefully removing them to wire racks.
- Fully cool the muffins before storing them in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days or up to 5 days in the fridge.
- Freeze in a heavy-duty freezer bag or sturdy container for up 3 months. Thaw at room temperature. See below for more about freezing muffins.
Nutrition
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Neely Moldovan
I needed a new muffin recipe to make the kids this week! Going to try this!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Neely! Enjoy!
Rosey
Apples and cinnamon are such good partners, aren’t they?! Great muffins, thanks for sharing!
Olga
Apple and cinnamon is always a great combination. My toddler prefers muffins because they are cute and easy to hold. I`ll try this recipe in a couple of weeks!
Julie
One of the things I love about these muffins is how moist they stay for days. You can enjoy them at your own pace without worrying about them drying out. And if you have any leftovers (which might be rare because they’re so good), I love being able to freeze them, allowing you to savor the delightful flavors whenever you please.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Julie! I could not agree more!
Monica
I stumbled upon your apple cinnamon muffins recipe and I have to say, they are absolutely delicious! The combination of flavors is perfect, and the muffins turned out moist and flavorful. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
MELANIE E
These apple and cinnamon muffins sound delicious. The flavours work so well in cakes. I have not tried the combo in muffins yet!
Nyxie
I love apple and cinnamon together! The flavors just remind me of my favorite time of the year (fall)! I have to say that these muffins you’ve made look so good and moist!
Sammy
Wow, these Apple Cinnamon Muffins are absolutely delicious! They taste like they were freshly baked in a bakery. I love the chunks of fresh apple and the streusel crumb topping adds the perfect amount of sweetness and crunch. It’s so convenient that they stay moist for days and can even be frozen for up to 3 months. I can enjoy these quick and easy muffins anytime, anywhere!
Jennifer L Prince
These were so delicious and a great way to start the day! I froze half of them for during the week.
Debbie
Yum! These Apple Cinnamon Muffins have everything I love in a tasty treat! Having chunks of fresh apple and a streusel crumb topping is delish! I can’t wait to try them!
Stephanie
Apples and cinnamon were made for each other! These muffins were so fluffy and tasty.
Christine Weis
Omgoodness! These muffins were so delicious! We gobbbled them right up. Now I need to make them again!
Alita Pacio
If you’re looking for a fall baking recipe where apples shine, this recipe fits the bill!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Alita!
Bruce Schinkel
What a nice, easy-to-follow recipe! I especially appreciate that you’ve given thought to liners that are simple to remove, and how to freeze extras (though when they’re this good I don’t see having many extras!).
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much, Bruce! So glad that you enjoyed them!
Stephanie
These will be perfect for my son and me for breakfast tomorrow. It’s just the two of us this weekend as my husband and son are out of town. He will be so excited and we already have all of the ingredients here.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Stephanie! Enjoy!
Bryan Carey
Real apple chunks makes the difference for me! And who doesn’t love cinnamon?
Beth Pierce
So true!