Robyn Stone
Cinnamon Apple Muffins just kick my mornings off to the perfect start. Full of warm, spicy cinnamon, delicious crisp apple bits, and so, so scrumptious they are hard not to start anyone’s morning off in the right direction, honestly.
And believe me, when autumn rolls around, these babies are in high demand.
In reality, they are perfect as a year-round breakfast treat, but for some reason, I immediately associate them with cool autumn mornings with all that cinnamon and apple deliciousness they have in their favor.
And luckily, these babies definitely have lots going on in their favor!
Oh my yum!
These cinnamon apple muffins use just one apple to make a dozen muffins, but if you prefer more apple bits in your muffins, by all means, I’d increase it to two. Dice them small so that the pieces of apple aren’t overwhelming when you take a bite of muffin. You want every single bite to be well-balanced in flavor and texture.
You can use whichever baking apple you prefer. I like to use Braeburn, Rome, Jon Gold, Gala, Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, and SweeTango apples in these muffins. I also like that when I bite into the apple pieces, I still know that it is apple and not make me think it is applesauce or apple butter included. Don’t you?
Along with apples, flour, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla, you’ll just need some butter, milk, baking powder, salt, and eggs. The classic ingredients for a cinnamon apple muffin, I think. Nothing weird here.
Once the muffins are in the oven baking, I like to brown a little bit of butter and mix together a bowl of cinnamon sugar. Then, once the muffins have cooled slightly, I dip the tops of the muffins into the slightly warm brown butter and then into the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Talk about perfection!
Amazingly enough though, folks don’t just eat the tops of the muffins and then forget about the sweet little base. They gobble the whole thing up it’s so well balanced in flavors.
But, just in case you were wondering, you can skip that indulgent little coating on the top, but I seriously recommend you don’t. Skipping it is pretty close to a sin, I’m sure.
Here’s my Cinnamon Apple Muffins. Make them soon.
Cinnamon Apple Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour + 2 teaspoons for coating apples
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon for coating apples
- 2 cups diced apples
- ½ cup (1 stick ) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk
For the Topping:
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º F. Spray muffin tins with bakers spray or coat well with shortening or butter and flour, making sure to discard any excess flour from the tins after coating.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Toss together diced apples and 2 teaspoons of flour to coat apples in a separate bowl. Set aside.
- Cream together butter and sugar until lightened in color, about 3 minutes. Add an egg, one at a time, taking care to fully incorporate before adding the other. Mix in vanilla.
- Gently fold in flour mixture, alternating with milk. Stir until just combined. Fold in diced apples and scoop mixture into prepared muffin tins, filling about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
- Prepare topping for muffins while the muffins are baking by melting the butter and allowing to cool slightly. Pour butter into a separate bowl sized easy for dipping tops of muffins. Mix together granulated sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl and set aside.
- Once muffins have baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly in the muffin tin. Then, remove each muffin and brush the butter on with a pastry brush (or dip into the melted butter) and then into the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place onto a plate to finish cooling.
Notes
The original recipe called for a 1 to 1 mixture of sugar and cinnamon. If you prefer a less cinnamon flavor in your topping, reduce the mixture to 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Loved these muffins! Was thinking about baking the entire batter recipe in a loaf pan instead of muffin tin. Do you think one recipe would be enough for a loaf. Also, how much should the baking time be increased?
Thanks!
Absolutely EXCELLENT delicious need the top I dipped in butter the top
Super delicious
And cut apples a little bigger than diced for visual
Thank you decilious
Baked today. Absolutely divine. Loved them.
Thanks, Syn,
So glad you liked them!
you would have to increase the baking time by 1.5 so about 45-50 minutes!
I can’t wait to try this recipe, it will be later this morning, sounds simply yummy, thank you
Hi Lorna,
Hope you enjoy the muffins!
Such a great cupcake/muffin for a colder day!
These are a keeper!
Changes I made : Added a dash of honey and did not making the topping. I cooked these at 200C for 10-12min.
The ratio of ingredients are great for a nice fluffy cake. Not dense or wet. The muffin top has a nice crunchy crust.
Sooooooo good. 🙂
Thanks Sarah! xo
I’m planning to make these today and have a question. If I want to make these as mini-muffins, how long would I bake them? And if it’s closer to 15 minutes, will the apples get soft enough? Thanks!!
This is probably too late, but in case it’s helpful for anyone in the future, I make these as mini-muffins and I bake them for about 20 minutes (check at 15, but usually they take about 20], and as long as I dice the apples really small, they definitely get soft enough. Delicious! I also always use 2 apples for even more apple-y flavor.
So easy to make and they’r presently in my oven just now. The smell is divine. Perfect for this time of year!
Thanks so much Evangeline! xo
Hello, I’ no baker but thought I would give your recipe a try. I baked a dozen muffins, absolutely delicious !!! That’s a first for me.
Would it work as well if I poured the batter into a loaf pan?
Need a coffee cake for Sunday brunches .
Thank you so very much !
Hi Rita!
So glad you enjoyed the muffins! Aren’t they scrumptious?!
I haven’t tried this recipe as a cake, but I do have several, several cake recipes you may want to take a look at. There are several bundt cakes and coffee cakes there too. I hope you find more recipes that you will enjoy! xo
Wonderfully light and flavourful. I used a silicone brush to spread some melted butter on the tops and then spooned the sugar cinnamon on top. They were great!
So glad you liked them, Susan!
These were really good! Thanks for posting 🙂
You forgot to say when you add the milk. I added after the eggs.
Hi Rachel,
Look at step 5 in the Instructions. You fold in the flour mixture, alternating with the milk. Hope you enjoy the muffins.
I made these last night and they were just okay as written. I dipped the warm muffins in the butter and cinnamon sugar as directed but I didn’t care for the results. I made a second batch and put a simple streusel topping on before baking and they were delicious. The muffins themselves were very good last night but today (the leftovers) are very dry. I would like to continue to use this recipe as my guide for apple cinnamon muffins but I will experiment with the addition of another ingredient to try to make them a bit moister. My sister recommended trying some applesauce or maybe a vegetable shortening to replace some of the butter. I will report back.
Hi Donna,
I’m sorry you didn’t care for them as written. I do love the idea of using a streusel topping on these muffins. I bet they were delicious. To add more moisture to the muffins, you can reduce the butter to 1/4 cup and add in 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. xo
I hope you enjoy them, Alex! xo
Delicious. Didn’t even need the topping. Found a good use for the apples in the backyard
Wonderful to hear, Jonah! Fresh apples are so great to have! Thanks so much!
Fantastic recipe! It’s true, the flavor is so good you won’t just want to eat the top and leave the rest. We used Honeycrisp apples for ours. Can’t wait to try it with other apple varieties! This is going to be a staple for us.
Honeycrisps are such delicious apples aren’t they, Patricia?! I’m so happy you enjoyed the muffins! I always look forward to the aroma my house gets when I bake them! Thanks! xo
We are a “chunk adverse” family, could you advise on an amount of applesauce or Apple butter i could sub for chopped apples?
Try shredding the apples instead if chopping.
They were delicious!
Definitely on my make again list!
Thank you for sharing.
I used tart apples from a tin.
Very moist en fluffy.
I am happy you enjoyed them, Astrid! Thanks!
Really enjoyed these muffins! They are easy to make and absolutely delicious. I followed your recipe, but just sprinkled turbinado sugar and cinnamon on top before baking, instead of the topping. Thank you for the perfect apple muffin recipe.
Thanks so much Robby! Glad you enjoyed them!
These muffins were a hit at my home. I didn’t make the the coating but either way DELICIOUS. I’m about to make them again!
Glad you enjoy them, Janire! xo
These were the perfect treat! The topping was a little to gritty for my liking so didn’t use but served 21, added a little more sugar & vanilla! So good!! Thank you!
Has anyone tried these with the addition of white choc? Wondering how that would go, or if it would be too sweet?
If I made the mixture overnight, and baked the muffins in the morning, would that be okay? Also, would substituting whole milk make the muffins more moist? Thanks!
Just made these. But also put in raisins and pineapple. They look scrumptious now to taste. Yum yum absolutely divine
Super easy n fast to make..
All gone in 5 minutes 😂😂😂
Great, Shirlene! xo
I’m a big fan of oats in my apple muffins what would be best for incorporating some into this recipe.
Thank you.
I made these on Saturday. They are so darn good!!! I did use 2 apples and did the cinnamon/sugar topping. I will definitely be making these again, the only thing I will be doing different is I’m going to try a strusel topping. Definitely recommend this recipe!!
Thanks so much Norma! Glad you liked them! xo
Hello could you provide the recipe in metric mesurements (in grams / ml) rather than cups? Many thanks.
Hi Wendy,
Here is a link to my Conversion Chart. Hope you enjoy them!
I have made these muffins twice now in the last two weeks for adults and grandchildren. I made the mini version and followed the recipe. Delicious! Thank you.
So glad to hear that you enjoy them too, KJ! Thanks! xo
Best recipe ever! Delicious! I didn’t want to waste cinnamon, so I just started with the 1/4 cup sugar + 1 tsp cinnamon topping. That worked out great and definitely enough flavor.
Just made these today with my 10 yr old daughter. My whole house smells delicious and the muffins were amazing!! My husband doesn’t normally like fruit based baked goods but, he ate four of them!! Definitely a recipe we will use often. Thank you so much for sharing.
I am so glad to hear that you and your daughter made these together and that you enjoyed them, Stephanie! I hope this was a fun activity for you both! Thanks so much for sharing this with me! xo
I’m not sure what happened, but my muffins wouldnt come out of the pan. They were falling apart. Super good, but they fell apart. I did spray the pan, and followed the recipe exactly.
I’m sorry your muffins fell apart, Sydney. I’ve never had mine do that and always have great results. Thanks.
THE. BEST. Thanks so much for sharing!!
Thanks Courtney! xo
Delicious, made these according to recipe, except added 1 tea. cinnamon to the 2 tea. Flour on the apples. Also before baking sprinkled tops of muffins with cinnamon/sugar and wheat germ mixture. Wonderful, big hit with family.
Sounds like a yummy recipe! I plan to make these soon, but have a question. Do you peel your apples or leave the peel on? Thanks!
Hi Susan,
It’s really a personal preference. Most of the time I peel mine. Enjoy them! xo
Made these exactly as written and they have become our favorite muffin recipe! Thank you for posting this!
Glad you enjoy them too, Gen! Thanks!!!
Hi! Great recipe!!!
So-due to not having all the ingredients…. this is what I did and it was great.
Sub coconut oil instead of butter
Sub (1tbsp chia + 3tbsp water- soak 10min) for one of the eggs
Sub coconut milk for milk
It worked great! Batter was quite thick but they baked beautifully in 27 min
Hi, I was wondering is there any way to add banana into this?
Hi Deidre,
I’ve never added bananas to this muffin recipe, but I do have some banana muffin recipes you may want to try. Thanks!
Hi. I used nutty wheat (whole wheat flour) and it came out great. Thanx for sharing the recipe. My family loves it.
Thanks, Anette, for sharing your way of making this. So glad your family enjoys these muffins.
I made these muffins this afternoon to take to my step daughter. She has an egg allergy, so made these using the ground chia/water combination. Therefore the milk (non dairy almond milk) was increased to one cup. I also prefer to taste the apple so chopped them versus dicing. It’s nice to taste the chunks of apple in the muffin. Because the batter was dense, the muffins baked in 20 minutes.
For the topping, I used coconut sugar versus white sugar as I felt there was enough sugar in the recipe, and also added some nutmeg with the cinnamon in the topping.
This was an excellent recipe – as posted. The changes made were only for the purpose of allergies to eggs/milk.
I’ve just found this website and will be trying many more of the recipes.
Welcome to Add a Pinch, Valerie!
Your changes for your stepdaughter’s allergies sound delicious!
Hi Robyn, thank you for sharing this recipe! I would like to know if I can make this without using an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar? Is it possible to beat the egg first and add it to the mixture? Please let me know, I would love to try this recipe out! (
Hi Jenny,
You can make this recipe without an electric mixer. Make sure your butter is at room temperature and cut it into small pieces. That will make it easier to mix with the sugar. Put your butter and sugar into a large bowl and use a fork or a pastry blender to cut the butter and sugar together until they are well blended. I would not beat the eggs first. Just add one egg at at time into the batter and stir until each is mixed into the batter well. Hope you enjoy this recipe!
Do you think this recipe could be baked in round cake pans?
Carolyn,
I’m sorry but I’ve never made this muffin recipe in round cake pans.
These are my go-to muffins for lunch boxes. We all LOVE them!! I am just about to do my usual Sunday baking and shock horror am almost out of flour. I have one cup left, but also SF flour in the cupboard. If I used one cup plain and one cup SF and ditched the baking powder I wonder if that would work!?
Thanks,
Rosie
Ps. We all love your site. My 11 year old son loves cooking and only ever uses recipes from your site because they always turn out for him and are easy too follow 🙂
Rosie,
I love that your son makes my recipes when cooking and that your family loves these muffins! I haven’t tried this but I think you can use one cup self-rising flour and 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Let me know how it works! xo
Hi!
Love your recipes, and thank you for sharing. We have a couple of family members that are celiac. Have you every made this recipe with GF flour? Or can you recommend another one of your muffin recipes that would hold up well with a GF flour mix?
Really appreciate the help,
Dawn
Thanks, Dawn,
I have used Cup 4 Cup Gluten Free Flour in recipes as a substitute for flour. Hope this helps!
Do these muffins freeze well? I want to make a big batch to have on hand for lunches and I’m wondering if they will taste the same after being in the freezer?
Hi Diana,
These muffins do freeze well. Just cool them completely, wrap securely so they are airtight, and freeze for up to 3 months. You can either let them thaw at room temperature or heat frozen, unwrapped in the microwave or wrapped in foil in the oven. Hope you enjoy!
Is it normal if the batter is thick
The batter will be thick for these muffins. Hope you enjoy!
Apple Cinnamon Muffins….1/4 cup .cinnamon in the topping. Really?
Hi Carole,
This ratio of cinnamon, sugar, and cinnamon is the one my family loves. As I tell you in the post and also in the Notes section of the recipe, if you don’t like that much cinnamon, you can either omit the topping or reduce the cinnamon. Thanks.
I am a novice baker and always check “Add a Pinch” when I’m looking for a recipe. As a super-thrifty baker, I wanted to take advantage of the season and bake with applies. These muffins turned out perfectly. thank you for the tip on less cinnamon option. Thank you thank you thank you for all your great tips, recipes and information! PS – I always hear your adorable accent in my head when i read your writing. 🙂
Awww! Thank you so much, Shona. I’m so glad you loved the muffins. They are perfect for right now! (and bless on the accent!!!). xo