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.
grace says
mmm, apples AND applesauce, so there must be cinnamon involved. lovely recipe, deborah–i love a quick fix!
ajcabuang04 says
These muffins look great and simple to do!! No need to wait for butter to come to room temp. to make this. Love that!!
Vivienne says
I love all apple treats – this looks so simple and nice! def weird how there are not many recipes out there for apple and cinnamon muffins!
Barbara says
Sometimes the metric conversions online are not accurate. Have you noticed that? I double checked everything the last time.
Love that you are posting muffins, Deborah, because they are a favorite in my house too. Keep them coming!
Miss Meat and Potatoes says
Yes you should start a muffin day or maybe even a separate blog! Cupcakes have had their moment in the sun for far too long!!
Cassie says
We love muffins at our place too. Andrew is a muffin nut! I'm definitely putting these on my (very long) list of muffins to try!
Joanne says
No apple cinnamon! That's crazy talk. And you are more than welcome to post muffin recipes for as long as you like. And I will be more than happy to salivate over them.
Holly says
The best kind of muffins-apple cinnamon:)
Jennifurla says
these look perfect if you ask me!
Susi says
These muffins look delicious! I'm making note of them. I had the same problem with finding a muffin recipe for almond poppy seed muffins. I thought there would be many out there but that wasn't the case. I thought it was actually quite strange.
Pam says
That's one delicious looking muffin! I've never had an apple cinnamon muffin and it will be a great one to try. Thanks for the recipe!
Debbi Does Dinner Healthy says
Muffin day would be awesome! These look great!
Debbi Does Dinner Healthy says
Muffin day would be awesome! These look great!
kat says
Seems like a flavor that should be everywhere
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
A great muffin flavor! Yummy!
Cheers,
Rosa
Simply Life says
wow, those muffins look great!
Anna says
I made these and they were a big hit. I’m actually going to make another batch this morning. The crumb topping was good but too sweet for my family’s liking so I plan on making the muffins this time without the topping. Thanks for a great recipe!