Cinnamon Apple Muffins are a delicious muffin that you can have for a snack, or a tasty breakfast treat. The fresh apple pieces baked into these muffins, and the cinnamon-sugar topping make these moist and delicious. These are easy muffins from scratch.
Cinnamon Apple Muffins
Apples and cinnamon go perfect together! These quick and easy-to-make Cinnamon Apple Muffins are full of apple-cinnamon flavor.
They are a bit crisp on top, thanks to the cinnamon-sugar topping, and are soft and moist on the inside.
Which Apples Are Best for These Muffins?
You can use any variety of apples you like. Personally, I keep to the sweeter varieties and save the Granny Smiths for pie.
A Word About Cinnamon
Without going through a long spiel about cinnamon, I'll tell you that there are 2 categories that we see most often; Cassia cinnamon and Ceylon cinnamon.
• Cassia is the usual cinnamon we have here in the USA. It's fine to use.
• When you make a cinnamon dominant recipe, I suggest trying the Ceylon cinnamon. It has more kick, and really tastes amazing!
• If you want to read a good article on the subject, This bon appétit article is great.
How to Make Cinnamon Apple Muffins
Gather the ingredients together. Add dry ingredients to a bowl. Add butter and sugars to a bowl.
Mix the butter and sugars together. Then mix in eggs and vanilla.
Set the butter mixture aside. Toss apples with flour and cinnamon. Reserve 4 Tablespoons.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet, alternating dry and milk.
Fold in the apples, then fill the muffin cups. Press reserved apple pieces on the tops.
Bake until tops are golden and toothpick comes out clean.
Muffin Storage
- Cinnamon Apple Muffins will remain fresh for 1-2 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature or for 3-4 days when stored in the fridge.
- These muffins can also be frozen for around 2 months when stored properly in a heavy-duty freezer bag. To reheat, thaw them for 5-6 hours or overnight at room temperature and then bake them in a preheated oven at 375° F for 4-5 minutes or until heated. Or air fry them.
Tips for the Best Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Be sure to dice the apples small for a balanced distribution.
- You can use all white sugar if you don’t have brown sugar on hand.
- You can use any milk in the recipe. However, if you use lower fat milk, your muffins will be less flavorful and moist.
- Letting the batter rest while preheating the oven will help the muffins to rise a bit and form a beautiful dome shape.
- Make sure all the ingredients are at room temp. This ensures that they mix evenly and easily in the batter.
- Baking muffins initially at 425° F will cause steam in the batter to release rapidly, this allows the muffins to form a beautiful dome. However, make sure you don’t bake them for more than 6-7 minutes at this temperature, otherwise the top and bottom might burn.
You Might Also Like
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Lemon Yogurt Muffins
Hard Apple Cider Bread
Pistachio Cherry Bread
If you make these delicious apple cinnamon muffins, please let me know. Leave a comment with a star rating below. I'd like to know how you liked them!
Cinnamon Apple Muffins
Equipment
- Hand Mixer
- 3 Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
- 2 cups plus ½ Tablespoon All-Purpose Flour, divided
- 2½ teaspoons Ground Cinnamon, divided
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter, softened
- ½ cup Light Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 large Eggs (at room temp.)
- 1½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups Apples, diced
- ½ cup Whole Milk (at room temp.)
For Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- 3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
Instructions
- Prepare your muffin pan by lining it with liners and greasing the liners generously with butter; set aside.
- Mix the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder in a bowl; set aside. This is the dry mixture.
- Add butter and both the sugars in a large bowl and beat, using an electric hand mixer at medium-high speed, until the mixture turns light and creamy. This might take around 2-3 minutes.
- Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter-sugar mixture and beat on medium speed, until well combined. This is the wet mixture.
- Gently fold the dry mixture into the wet mixture alternating the milk and the dry mix. Mix just until the flour disappears. Do not over mix as that can make the muffins dense.
- Toss the diced apple with ½ Tablespoon of flour and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon; doing so will keep them from sinking to the bottom while baking. Reserve 4 Tablespoons of the apples and set aside.
- Gently fold the non-reserved apples into the batter using a silicone spatula until evenly distributed. Do not over mix.
- Divide the batter between the muffin cups, filling almost to the top. Press the reserved apples on the top of each.
- Preheat the oven to 425° F and let the batter rest while the oven preheats.
- Bake at 425° F for 6 minutes, then, without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 375° F and bake for another 18-20 minutes, or until the muffins turn golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 3-4 minutes before coating them with cinnamon-sugar.
- Mix ¼ cup sugar with 1 Tablespoon of ground cinnamon (you can increase or decrease the amount of cinnamon as per your liking). pour the mixture onto a plate or shallow dish.
- Remove the muffins from the pan and brush the melted butter on top and then dip them into the cinnamon-sugar mixture while they are still warm.
- Serve while still a little warm, or cooled.
Notes
STORAGE
Cinnamon Apple Muffins will remain fresh for 1-2 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature or for 3-4 days when stored in the fridge. These muffins can also be frozen for around 2 months when stored properly in a heavy-duty freezer bag. To reheat, thaw them for 5-6 hours or overnight at room temperature and then bake them in a preheated oven at 375° F for 4-5 minutes or until heated. Or air fry them.TIPS
- You can use whichever apples you like. Just make sure to dice them small for a balanced distribution.
- You can use white sugar if you don’t have brown sugar on hand.
- You can use any milk in the recipe. However, if you use lower fat milk, your muffins will be less flavorful and moist comparatively.
- Letting the batter rest while preheating the oven will help the muffins to rise perfectly and form a beautiful dome shape.
- Make sure all the ingredients are at room temp. This ensures that they mix evenly and easily in the batter.
- Baking muffins initially at 425° F will cause steam in the batter to release rapidly, this allows the muffins to form a beautiful dome. However, make sure you don’t bake them for more than 6-7 minutes at this temperature, otherwise the top and bottom might burn.
Lori says
I made these for an easy snack for the kids and we all loved them! I had some apples that were kind of mealy but I didn't want to throw them out. This was a great way to use them. This will be a regular recipe for us.