Posted Sep 13, 2020, Updated Sep 13, 2024 I love waking up on a chilly fall morning and enjoying one of these delicious Apple Muffins, slathered with cinnamon honey butter and a cup of warm coffee or an apple smoothie. These cinnamon apple muffins are everything a muffin should be – moist & fluffy, full of fresh apples and warm fall spices, and topped with a delicious crumb topping (also try this cinnamon apple bread). When I was a teacher I had a group of students who used to meet in my room every Tuesday morning for a student-led bible study. I always tried to bake them something delicious to help them kick-start their day, and these Apple Muffins made a regular appearance, especially in the fall. These apple and cinnamon muffins are easy to make in 30 minutes, plus they are freezer-friendly so you can bake them and enjoy them for weeks (or months if they last that long).
Apple Muffins Recipe: Ingredients & Substitutions
All-purpose flour. There are many possible substitutions for all-purpose flour, some include: bread flour, cake flour, white whole wheat flour, a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour, etc. If you would like to use whole wheat flour, I suggest only substituting up to half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat, otherwise you risk a more dense, less fluffy texture. Granulated sugar. White granulated sugar and organic cane sugar work well in this recipe. Light Brown sugar. If desired, you can us dark brown sugar for a richer molasses taste. Salted Butter. Unsalted butter works beautifully in this recipe. Also canola oil, coconut oil, ghee, etc. Whole Milk. 2% milk or half and half can be used in place of whole milk. I don’t recommend using anything with a lower fat content. Unsweetened Applesauce. Any applesauce variety works well in this recipe, sometimes I like to use cinnamon applesauce! Egg. I have not tried any egg substitutions, but if you do let me know in the comments below. Old-Fashioned Oats. Quick cooking oats can be used in the crumb topping in place of old-fashioned.
How to Make Apple Muffins
This apple and cinnamon muffin recipe is really easy to make, but as always we’ll walk through it step by step, and don’t forget to watch the video. Bring by combining the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sea salt in a medium bowl, then set aside. I like to do this in the beginning so the dry ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the batter, however you could just add them on top of the wet ingredient so you can only use one bowl. Then, whisk the melted butter, vanilla, applesauce, milk and egg together in a large bowl. Next, add the sugars to the wet mixture and whisk to combine. I like to add the sugars separately to ensure all the brown sugar is dissolved before proceeding with the recipe. You don’t want to find hard brown sugar chunks in your muffins! Once the sugars are mixed in, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Then, stir the apples into the batter.
Make the Crumb Topping
The crumb topping is really easy to make. Simply add all the topping ingredients, besides the oatmeal, to a large bowl and use a fork or pastry cutter to combine until large crumble pieces form. Add the oatmeal and stir it in with a fork or pastry cutter.
Assemble
Use a cookie scoop or ¼ cup measuring cup to measure portions of apple muffin batter into the greased wells of a standard muffin tin. Then, add about 1 Tablespoon of the streusel topping to each apple muffin.
Bake and Cool
Bake until the tops spring back when touched and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs Once the apple muffins are baked, remove them from the oven and use a spoon or knife to immediately remove any streusel that baked onto the pan. Push in the sides of each muffin gently to release them from the muffin pan. Let the muffins cool in the muffin tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely (or serve slightly warm).
Serve!
Serve these apple muffins slightly warm with a slather of this homemade honey cinnamon butter or homemade apple butter. Yum! You can also serve them with homemade peanut butter, homemade vanilla almond butter and a warm mocha latte or matcha latte.
Store/Freeze
Store muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. To freeze, let the apple muffins come to room temperature. Then transfer them to an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheat
Simply warm the muffins in the microwave for 30-60 seconds (depending on the number of muffins being reheated). You can also reheat them in the oven. To do so, place them in a small baking dish or loaf pan and cover with aluminum foil. Warm at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through. If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can see your creations!
