Cinnamon Apple Muffins Recipe

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4.95 from 550 votes
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Cinnamon Apple Muffins are so scrumptious and full of warm cinnamon and crisp apple bits and finished with a cinnamon sugar topping. Favorite bakery style muffins recipe with amazing flavor and aroma, perfect to enjoy anytime.

Cinnamon Apple Muffins Recipe | ยฉaddapinch.com

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!

Cinnamon Apple Muffins Recipe | ยฉaddapinch.com

Cinnamon Apple Muffins Recipe | ยฉaddapinch.com

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.

What Apples to Use for Cinnamon Apple Muffins?

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?

Cinnamon Apple Muffins Recipe | ยฉaddapinch.com

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.

Cinnamon Apple Muffins Recipe | ยฉaddapinch.com

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.

These muffins are so easy to make ahead so you can have this delicious muffin when ever you want.

Freeze instructions: You can make these muffins ahead and store them in an airtight container for a couple of days or freeze them to keep them longer up to 3 months. Just cool the muffins completely, wrap them in 2 layers of freezer wrap so they are airtight and place them in the freezer. You can also freeze them after you add the topping.

To Reheat: You can either let them thaw at room temperature or heat them frozen, unwrapped in the microwave, or wrapped in foil in the oven. If you want, you can wait and add the topping after you reheat them.

Other Favorite Muffin Recipes

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Blueberry Muffins

Pancake Muffins

More Muffin Recipes

Here’s my Cinnamon Apple Muffins. Make them soon.

Cinnamon Apple Muffins Recipe

4.95 from 550 votes
Cinnamon Apple Muffins make the perfect addition to any breakfast. Get this family favorite recipe for Cinnamon Apple Muffins.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (240 +.02 g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour, for coating apples
  • 1ยฝ teaspoons (6 g) baking powder
  • ยฝ teaspoon (1 g) kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons (5 + 1 g) ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, for coating apples
  • 2 cups (240 g) diced apples
  • ยฝ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup (198 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large (100 g) eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons (9 g) vanilla extract
  • ยฝ cup (113.5 g) milk

For the Topping:

  • 1/2 cup (113 g) butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup (31 g) ground cinnamon

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 375ยบ 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.
  • Mix flour with ground cinnamon used to coat the apples. 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

Updated Cinnamon Sugar Topping:
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.ย 

Nutrition

Calories: 335kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 184mg | Potassium: 149mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 571IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 100mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Enjoy!
Robyn xo

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About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

4.95 from 550 votes (203 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Review




1,150 Comments

  1. Annie says:

    what temperature do you cook at and how long in the oven?

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Annie, you will bake these muffins at 375ยบF for about 30 minutes per the recipe instructions. I hope you enjoy the muffins.

  2. Danielle says:

    These look delicious – Iโ€™m making these with a bunch of extra apples Iโ€™ve got from the apple orchard, but do you peel the apples or do you leave the skin on?! Also going to be using maple syrup instead of granulated sugar โ˜บ๏ธ

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Danielle, I peel the apples before I dice them. Hope you enjoy.

  3. Kirsten says:

    Have you ever made these using paper liners? Wondering if they’d stick too much?

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Kirsten, you can use cupcake liners if you want. Many people do.

  4. Emil says:

    The crumble topping recipe above calls for 1/4 cup ground cinnamonโ€ฆis this a mistake?

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Emil, this is not a mistake. However, if you prefer less cinnamon, I explain in the NOTES section of the recipe card: 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.