Apple cinnamon muffins have the lovely flavor of fall in every bite.
Chunks of apples are baked into a flavorful muffin batter for a moist and fluffy muffin. It is then topped with a crumble that creates the perfect fall muffin.
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Easy Cinnamon Apple Muffins
When meal prepping for the week I like to make something that can be my “breakfast” for the week. One of my favorites is my overnight oatmeal. But lately I love to meal prep green smoothies and then have some sort of homemade muffin, granola bar, or a healthy breakfast cookie and these apple muffins are the perfect choice for fall.
- Use just simple pantry ingredients.
- Each apple cinnamon muffin is bursting with apple.
- Topped with a simple streusel topping
Ingredients
- flour: be sure to use the scoop and level method for the most accurate flour measurement. To make these muffins gluten-free, swap for gluten-free all-purpose flour.
- baking powder
- cinnamon: ground cinnamon provides the warm, aromatic flavor in both the crumble topping and the muffins.
- salt
- sugar
- brown sugar: I love the addition of brown sugar as it adds a lovely caramel flavor and helps keep the muffins more moist.
- eggs
- vegetable oil: I always have vegetable oil on hand and it’s easy to use in this recipe. Swap melted butter if you prefer.
- milk: any type of milk including non-dairy options can be used.
- vanilla
- apples: my go-to apples for these muffins are Honeycrisp, but for a breakdown of the best apples for baking, see below.
- crumble topping: a simple crumb topping of butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon take these muffins to the next level.
To make these muffins vegan, use a non-dairy milk in the batter and non-dairy butter in the crumble topping.
The Best Apples for Baking
- Granny Smith: These apples are known for their tartness and firm texture, making them a great choice.
- Honeycrisp: Honeycrisp apples are sweet and have a pleasing crunch.
- Fuji: Fuji apples are sweet and firm, with a subtle tartness.
- Jonagold: Jonagold apples have a balanced flavor with a hint of tartness and sweetness.
- Braeburn: Braeburn apples have a sweet-tart flavor and hold their shape when baked.
You will want to avoid soft and mealy apples like Red Delicious, Gala, and McIntosh.
How to Make Apple Cinnamon Muffins
I love to bake but also will always look for the easiest recipe. Particularly one that does not require my stand mixer as I don’t want to lug it out. This recipe uses vegetable oil instead of butter and does not require creaming of butter which makes it that much easier!
- Whisk together dry ingredients.
- Mix together wet ingredients.
- Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in apples.
- Fill muffin tin to the top and top with crumble topping.
- Bake until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.
How to Make a Crumb Topping
Muffin crumble is very easy to make and I find adds a nice extra layer to the muffins. You can make these as apple crumble muffins or you can leave the crumble off if you’re trying to make them a bit healthier.
Mix together brown sugar cinnamon, and room-temperature melted butter. Stir in flour until just combined. Do not overmix or it will start to become paste-like.
And just like that you have delicious crumb topping!
More Fall Breakfast Ideas
Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Equipment
- mixing bowls
- muffin tin
Ingredients
Crumble Topping
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons butter melted
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
Muffins
- 1¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 medium apples peeled, cored, and chopped, about 1½ cups
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425℉. Prepare a muffin pan.
- To make the crumble, in a small bowl stir together the brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir in the melted butter. Using a fork add the flour stirring just until crumbs form. Do not overmix.
- To make the muffins, in a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a large bowl stir together the sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until well combined. Add in the vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. Gently fold in the apples.
- Fill each muffin cup filling to the top. Gently press the crumble mixture onto the batter.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425 degrees. Reduce oven temperature to 350℉ and continue to bake for an additional 13-16 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.
Nutrition
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