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 2 cups flour, baking powder, salt, and 2 teaspoons cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Mix 2 teaspoons flour with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Toss diced apples with the flour/cinnamon mixture 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
These were really good and made my house smell divine. I used 1 & 1/2 fuji apples, used cinnamon generously (I love cinnamon!!) and I was out of milk so I substituted coconut milk and it turned out great. I didn’t make the topping but it was delicious nonetheless. Awesome fall flavors.
Thanks so much, Sophie! I’m so glad you loved these muffins. I haven’t tried these with coconut milk yet but that is a great non-dairy option.
These are delicious and kiddo approved! I followed the exact directions and I’ll definitely be adding this to my list of breakfast recipes. ( Although we had a few as a snack tonight! ) Thank you very much for the recipe!
Kiddo approved is the best compliment I could receive for a recipe. Thanks so much, Danielle!
These muffins turned out EXACTLY like I was wanting an apple muffin to be. I used two honey crisp apples, leaving the peel on. Browning butter didn’t work for me when I’ve tried it before and I was pressed for time, so I just sprinkled sugar and cinnamon on the top before baking. TASTY and easy. Will definitely make again.
Thanks so much, Dana. I’m so glad you liked these muffins.
Great recipe, my home smells great! I substituted with cloud 9 flour(rice flour, buckwheat flour) its cup for cup as reg flour). Also used coconut sugar.
Thanks, Debbie. I’m so happy you liked this recipe and glad you could adapt it to your needs. I love how my house smells every time I make these, too.
These muffins are delicious! Can they be frozen? If so, what’s the best way to reheat?
These muffins do freeze well, Jenn. 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!
The muffins were very tasty. I might try substituting apple juice/cider for some of the milk for even more apple flavor.
So happy you liked the muffins, Marnie! I haven’t tried substituting apple juice or cider for milk. Let me know how it does.
So perfect! Second time I made them I added clove, nutmeg and cardamom with cinnamon for a total of 2 teaspoons. Even better.
Thanks, Melanie!
I’m excited to make these muffins but have a question. On the ingredient list it mentions coating apples with flour and cinnamon, but in the directions it just mentions flour. Is this an error? Thanks!
Thanks for catching that, Sandy. I have updated the instructions. You mix the 2 teaspoons flour with the 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to coat the apples.
1/4 CUP of cinnamon for the topping?
I make these with the 1/4 cup cinnamon for the topping and everyone in my family loves them. As I state in the Notes section, you can reduce the amount if you want. Hope you enjoy!