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 all-purpose flour, + 2 teaspoons for coating apples
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, + 1/2 teaspoon for coating apples
- 2 cups diced apples
- ½ cup 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
I made apple cinnamon muffins for the first time. Friends tried them, never having eaten one before. They said they were amazing. One person said it was the best muffin he ever had. I’ve been asked to make some more. The 12 went in 2 days!
Karen, don’t you just love it when friends think something you baked is the best! Happy baking!
Delicious! Ran out of sugar and used 1/2c sugar and 2 Tbsp golden syrup instead. Topped with a thin slice of apple. Once cooked, I brushed the muffin tops with melted golden syrup and butter, with a sprinkling of cinnamon. Used tin liners and Cooked for 25 mins. That was enough in my oven. Apple was still a little crunchy but made a nice contrast. Yum! 😋
Thanks for the tips, Justine. Happy you found substitute that worked so well for you.
Was just looking to make these muffins and now I know I have to that another Justine gave them her approval 🙂
Best muffins ever! Sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on them before baking . Didn’t need the extra calories from the butter. Gave them a little crunch on top❤️
So glad you liked these muffins. Thanks!
These are great! Adding to my cooking notebook to make again and again! Everyone loves them
Thanks so much, Beth.
Great recipe! I doubled the amount of apples and used slices, then only used up 1/2 the topping (with 1/2 brown and 12 white sugar) and there was plenty. They were amazing! The muffins still held together fine with all the extra apple and tasted just like apple pie! Yum!
Thanks, Robyn. So glad this worked out for you with the extra apples.
Fabulous recipe! I doubled the apple and added a cup of walnuts. I also skipped the topping (with another cube of butter) and just sprinkled the muffins with cinnamon sugar. It made 15 and they’re nearly gone. Time to bake some more………
Thanks so much, Ms. Foster. I’m thrilled you have enjoyed the muffins.
B Dylan Hollis made these live on TikTok last night, and he said they were incredible. I don’t usually bake, especially from scratch, but I definitely want to try these.
I hope you enjoy the muffins, Vickie!
Wanting to make these in the morning, do they store well? Can you freeze and re warm would love to make a big batch and have them on hand for my toddlers
Shelby, you can store these in an airtight container a couple of days or freeze to keep longer. You can freeze them after you add the topping. You can either let them thaw at room temperature or heat 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.
Excellent recipe! I love the cut up apples. I use less topping to cut down on sugar; everyone loves them!
Thanks, Karen. I’m so glad everyone loves the muffins.
Does it really take 5 minutes to prep? It just seems like dicing 2 cups of apple would take at least that?
Mandy Louise, the prep time in a recipe refers to the time it takes to follow the steps in the instructions up to the cook time. The time it takes to peel, chop, dice, melt, etc. varies so much with different people that the time to mix the batter after all ingredients are prepped and pour the batter into the muffins tins is a more accurate time. Hope you enjoy the muffins.