Cinnamon Apple Muffins Recipe
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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.
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!
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?
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.
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
More Muffin Recipes
Here’s my Cinnamon Apple Muffins. Make them soon.
Cinnamon Apple Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 +.02 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour, for coating apples
- 1½ teaspoons (6 g) baking powder
- ½ 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
- ½ 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
- ½ 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 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.
- 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
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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
These are absolutely amazing! My first time making muffins from scratch and I’m so impressed! I’m going to be making these often! My only question is should I change my pan, I used a lighter muffin tin and they came out just a little overdone, at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes? I really love this recipe and the directions are so spot on!
Eleni, one cause of muffins being overcooked is leaving them in the pan too long to cool. I would let them cool 2-3 minutes in the muffin tin and then remove the muffins. The muffins will continue to cook if left in the muffin tin. Also, sometimes muffins in lighter tins do bake faster. I hope this helps.
Can I use salted butter
Mary, I always salted butter. I hope you enjoy!
I never use salt or salted butter and it’s totally fine!
I have made these for at least 3 years now at every apple harvest time. They are always a huge hit with everyone that eats them. From my little daisy’s in my girl scout troop to my coworkers. Not one person has been able to eat just one. It has become a staple for this time of the year and something my kids cannot wait for.
Oh, thanks for letting me know how much everyone loves these muffins, Tosha.
I’m assuming we’re supposed to peel the apples?
It’s really a personal preference, Carrie. Most of the time I peel mine.
Delicious
Thanks, Christine!
Did 1 1/2 tbsp and 1/2 tbsp of baking soda, and gluten-free flour. They turned out AMAZING. Everyone said they were the best muffins they’ve ever tasted. YUM
I’m so glad everyone loved these muffins, Abby!
Abby, you wrote, “Did 1 1/2 tbsp and 1/2 tbsp of baking soda, and gluten-free flour.” Do you mean 2T total baking soda or is it 1 1/2 T of something else?”
These muffins came out great. I’m not an experienced muffin maker, but the instructions were easy to follow. I experimented by using paper muffin cups for half of the recipe, they came out of the tin so much easier. The cooking time was spot on, 30 minutes as stated. But the prep time is way more than 8 minutes. It took me over 30 minute, between greasing the tins, dicing the apple and everything else. Next time I will try it without the topping. It came out great with it, but I wonder if the texture of the muffin top would have been even better without it.
Patty, prep time in a recipe considers that the chopping, measuring, etc. have been done and the ingredients are at the level described in the recipe ingredient list and just figures the time it takes to follow the steps in the recipe instructions. Some have left off the topping and said the muffins were still delicious.
These were delicious! I added roasted walnuts & peacans to mine as well and I think it really took them over the top. They are very sweet though (think more cakey), so this is definitely too rich as a breakfast muffin for me. Perfect for coffee/tea or dessert however!
They sound delicious with the pecans and walnuts, Katrina. Thanks!
Great recipe! My kids loved them and they held up well overnight.
Thanks, Veronica! I’m so glad they loved them.
These are absolutely delicious. They freeze really well and are such a nice treat to bring out of the freezer! Thanks so much – they are my new “go to” muffins!
Thanks, PJ. I love having these made ahead and in the freezer, too, so I can just warm them up as I need them.