With the perfect amount of cinnamon, little pockets of apples, and a sweet crumb topping, these Apple Cinnamon Muffins are the perfect way to start your day.
Looking for a way to use up those apples? Also try this German Apple Pancake or Apple Crisp.
I love muffins. I have over 30 different varieties here on Taste and Tell.
But there are a handful of them that we tend to go back to over and over again.
These Apple Cinnamon Muffins are one of those recipes. They first appeared here in 2010, and many years later, they are still going strong.
I love them because I almost always have all of the ingredients on hand. They are easy to whip up a batch, taking only about 30 minutes. And my whole family will gobble them up, which is always a plus!
And don’t think that apple muffins are just for the fall. We gladly make these all year round!
Ingredients
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour. I have not tested this recipe with any other flours.
- Cinnamon: You need lots of cinnamon so that the cinnamon flavor will shine! The majority will go in the muffins, but you will also add some to the crumb topping, as well.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: You need both baking powder and baking soda for this recipe to give them the perfect texture and lift.
- Salt: The salt will help to balance the flavors.
- Sugar: The muffins have granulated sugar, but then you will also need light brown sugar for the topping.
- Oil: I originally used to make these muffins with vegetable oil, but I’ve been trying to switch over to avocado oil. Both will work here, and if there is another neutral oil you like, it can also be substituted.
- Eggs: I like to whisk the eggs slightly before adding to the batter, just so that you don’t end up over-mixing.
- Applesauce: I usually have unsweetened applesauce on hand, but I have had people use sweetened applesauce, as well.
- Vanilla: A good vanilla extract will give you the best flavor.
- Apples: You will need a total of 1 1/2 cups of chopped apples. I like to chop them fairly small.
How to Make Apple Cinnamon Muffins
STEP 1: Combine all of the dry ingredients. This is the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. I like to use a whisk to make sure everything is evenly combined.
STEP 2: In another bowl, whisk together the sugar and the oil. Then add the eggs, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
STEP 3: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and mix just until it is almost combined. I like to leave a few dry patches here still, because you still need to add in the apples.
STEP 4: Add the apples to the batter. Mix just until combined.
STEP 5: Divide the batter between 12 muffin cups that have been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
STEP 6: Make the crumb topping by combining the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add the butter, and use a fork or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the mixture, forming a crumb. Sprinkle this evenly over the muffin batter, then bake the muffins until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Tips and Tricks
- Don’t overmix your batter. Mix just until everything is combined.
- You can use an ice cream scoop or a spring loaded scoop to fill the muffin tins. This helps you to get even amounts of batter in each tin.
- Don’t overbake your muffins. Dry muffins are not good muffins. Bake them just until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, or once you can touch the top of the muffin and the muffin springs back.
- Let the muffins sit in the tin for about 10 minutes before removing to serve.
- You can either bake muffins in a greased muffin tin or with paper liners.
When using apples in baking, you want to use an apple that will remain crisp. I like using granny smith, but honeycrisp or braeburn are also good choices. You just don’t want an apple that will turn to mush when it is baked.
People have used many different substitutions for the applesauce with great results, including Greek yogurt, crushed pineapple, sour cream, and even orange juice! There are some great substitution ideas in the comments.
This is a personal preference. I usually keep them on because I don’t mind the texture and it’s faster than peeling the apples. But if you don’t like the texture, you can peel the apples. Or many people have shredded the apple, as well!
More Muffins Recipes You Need
Banana Crunch Muffins
Red Velvet Cream Cheese Muffins
Banana Muffins
Brown Sugar Muffins
Cinnamon Roll Muffins
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Cinnamon Muffins
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Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup neutral oil (I use avocado oil, but vegetable oil can also be used.)
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups chopped apples
Crumb Topping:
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon butter cut into small pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- In another bowl, stir together the sugar and the oil. Stir in the eggs, applesauce and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup neutral oil, 2 eggs, 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Gently stir in the apples.1 1/2 cups chopped apples
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan, dividing the batter equally between the cups.
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a fork or a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the crumb over the batter in the muffin pan.1/3 cup light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon butter
- Bake the muffins until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let the muffins sit in the pan before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Store any leftover muffins in an airtight container.
Charlene says
Does this only make 6 muffins? Your recipe doesn’t state serving yield.
Deborah says
Hi Charlene – in the recipe card it states 12 muffins in the recipe header. I hope you enjoy them!
Kelly says
This recipe makes delicious apple muffins, my family loved them! I used yogurt instead of applesauce since I didn’t have any on hand.
Deborah says
I’m glad to hear yogurt worked well as a substitute. I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
pam foss says
can I use frozen apples, have tons in the freezer. defrosted or frozen, ???
Deborah says
I have not tried them with frozen apples, but I would think it would work. I would just add them in frozen. If you try it, let me know how it works out!
Thom says
I am a beginner cook, but when I made these as a trail run my wife gave me a 10. She actually went back for seconds. Thanks to you I appear to know what I’m doing. This recipe gets 5 stars and 2 thumbs up! I’m looking forward to trying more and more recipes. Keep them coming!
Deborah says
Thanks, Thom – I’m so glad they were such a hit!
Sheena says
We made these with fresh picked apples and store bought applesauce (because that’s all we had on hand) and they were so good!!! Can’t wait to try them with some homemade applesauce. Thank you for this recipe!!!!
CH says
Excellent recipe! Brought these to a potluck brunch and got many compliments. I used half whole wheat flour and grated the apples instead of chopping but otherwise followed the recipe. Definitely a keeper!
Hailey says
Amazing recipe. I used plain yogurt instead of applesauce because that’s what I had, and melted butter instead of vegetable oil. They are amazing.
Shea says
These are so delicious (and I never write reviews but I had to with this one)! I needed to make some muffins for our Christmas program tomorrow and wow they are so tasty! Definitely making these again! The only thing I did different was I used sweetened applesauce and not unsweetened, because that’s all I had in the fridge. Oh and I used real vanilla and not vanilla extract. Such wonderful flavor. Will be making over and over!
Darlene says
This recipe was rich and tasty. This is my new favorite cinnamon apple muffin recipe
Roberta Legault says
Very easy, tasty recipe that was a huge hit with my family. I will most definitely add this recipe to my go-to list for quick delicious breakfast or snack items.
Donna woods says
I do love this recip.it’s awesome
Caroline says
So delicious! I used a mashed old banana instead of applesauce since that’s all I had, and added raisins too.
Marie Yuen says
Just made these, they smell and taste amazing! A must try.
Kate says
Super yummy and very easy to make! I grew up on Jiffy Apple Cinnamon muffins which my husband is not a fan of. These are definitely a few million steps up from those. My hubby is very happy and my children gobble them up! Thank you so much