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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Kay
Amazing recipe! Thank you! I tweaked the recipe to make an eggless version by using egg replace! Came out perfect!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Kay! So glad that you were able to tweek the recipe.