These apple cinnamon muffins start with an easy muffin batter that’s flavored with cinnamon, brown sugar, and plenty of juicy apples. We use the same base recipe when making blueberry muffins because the simple batter produces moist, soft, and cakey muffins with tall muffin tops. They’re always a favorite! Enjoy the muffins plain or top them with crumb topping before baking and smooth vanilla icing before serving. If you love apple cinnamon bread, you’ll enjoy these apple muffins!
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more success tips.
These crumb-topped apple muffins have been a personal and reader favorite for many years. When you crave a big slice of apple pie for breakfast, these apple-studded muffins fill the gap 🙂
Tell Me About These Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Flavor: These are buttery muffins where apple and cinnamon flavors take over. It’s always disappointing when you bite into a muffin and there’s hardly any “stuff” like blueberries, chocolate chips, etc. Today we’re using extra apples so you get the delicious fruit in nearly each bite. If you’re looking for a fall baking recipe where apples shine, this recipe fits the bill!
- Texture: The apple cinnamon muffins are moist because we add yogurt or sour cream to the batter. just like we do when making sour cream coffee cake. And because we start with creamed butter and sugars, the muffins are soft, light, and cakey like a cupcake. We don’t overload the batter with milk (use only 1/4 cup (60ml)), so you still have a slightly dense texture. I like to describe these muffins as having the perfect harmonious balance between soft and dense!
- Ease: I categorize this recipe as a beginner baking recipe because you use simple ingredients and easy mixing methods. An electric mixer is key for creaming the butter and sugars together and if you decide to add the icing, you just need a whisk. Some crumb toppings require cold butter and a pastry cutter to mix, but we’re using melted butter here so you just need a fork. Easy! All of the ingredients used are baking staples, so there’s nothing new or difficult. I love easygoing recipes that produce consistently delicious results and know you appreciate that too!
One reader, Katrina, commented: “This is the best apple cinnamon muffin recipe I’ve tried, and at 67-years-young, I have tried many. ★★★★★”
One reader, Caroline, commented: “The perfect apple muffins! These are a hit every time. Don’t skip the crumb! ★★★★★”
One reader, Kaley, commented: “This is my new favorite muffin recipe. It’s PERFECT! First apple treat I’ve found where I can taste the actual apples, not just cinnamon or sugar. It was SO easy, and now I’ve applied the baking trick to other muffins. I love them! ★★★★★”
Why This Apple Cinnamon Muffin Recipe Works
Today’s muffin recipe uses my all-star muffin batter. This batter can be used to create endless muffin varieties and you’ll see it again in my blueberry muffins, peach muffins, lemon poppy seed muffins, cranberry orange muffins, and more. In fact, this “Master Muffin Batter” has become such a hit with readers that I created a separate page dedicated to all its possibilities: Best Muffin Recipe. It starts with basic dry ingredients like flour, baking powder + soda, and salt. More often than not, I add ground cinnamon and you’ll see its addition in today’s apple cinnamon version. The wet ingredients are just as straightforward—creamed butter with sugars, plus 2 eggs, vanilla extract, sour cream/plain yogurt, and milk. I use either plain Greek yogurt or sour cream based on what I have and the same goes for the milk. Use whole milk, 1%, almond milk, buttermilk, oat milk, etc. I’ve made these muffins what seems like 1,000x with various milks and trust me, they all work!
- By the way, if you’re a muffin aficionado, you might also love my bakery-style muffins, which are denser, jumbo in size, and have a distinctively tight crumb.
Overview: How to Make Apple Cinnamon Muffins
I like to make the crumb topping first so it’s ready as soon as the batter comes together. The crumb topping, while certainly optional, comes together with ingredients you use in the muffin batter—very convenient. (It’s the same crumb topping we use on peach muffins.) After that, you can peel and chop the apples into roughly 1/2-inch pieces. Pictured below is 1 cup plus several chunks on the side. You need 1 and 1/2 cups (about 180g), which is about 2 medium apples. Fold the apples into the batter.
How to Create the Perfect Tall Muffin Tops
Press crumb topping into the tops of each muffin before baking. For tall muffin tops, there are 3 directions to follow closely:
- Make sure your muffin batter is THICK. (This one is!)
- Fill your muffin tins/liners all the way to the top with batter.
- Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at an initial high temperature, and then lower the temperature.
This initial high oven temperature quickly lifts up the muffin top. Once the temperature is lowered, the centers of the muffins bake. I recommend this in nearly all of these muffin recipes.
By the way, if you want to skip the mixer, try these applesauce muffins, pumpkin muffins, & healthy apple muffins.
Best Apples to Use in Apple Muffins
Firmer apples are ideal for baking so avoid soft, mealy, and mushy apples. If you’re baking a recipe that calls for many apples such as apple crisp, apple cobbler, or apple crumble pie, use a mix of tart apples and sweet apples. These apple cinnamon muffins only need 1 or 2 apples (just like apple cupcakes), so it’s fine to use tart apples like Granny Smith or sweet apples like Honeycrisp, Fuji, and Pink Lady.
For a detailed list of my favorite apple varieties, and when to use each, you can visit my post The Best Apples for Baking.
More Apple Breakfast Recipes
- Apple Cinnamon Scones with Salted Caramel
- Baked Apple Cider French Toast
- Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal Cups
- Apple Cinnamon Rolls
- Apple Crumb Cake
Apple Cinnamon Crumb Muffins
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 14 muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These apple cinnamon muffins start with an easy muffin batter that’s flavored with cinnamon, brown sugar, and plenty of juicy apples. Enjoy the muffins plain or top them with crumb topping before baking and smooth vanilla icing before serving.
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (15g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2/3 cup (84g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
Muffins
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120g) yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk (any kind), at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) peeled & chopped apples (1/2-inch chunks; you need about 2 medium apples)
Vanilla Icing (Optional)
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream (or milk for a thinner consistency)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. You may need a 2nd pan as this recipe makes up to 14 muffins, though you can always bake in batches using 1 pan. Set aside. *See note about jumbo size & mini muffins.*
- Make the crumb topping: Mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Stir in the melted butter, and then gently mix in the flour using a fork. Keep the mixture as large crumbles and do not over-mix. If over-mixed, this will turn into a thick paste. Set topping aside.
- Make the muffins: Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, yogurt, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute, then turn up to high speed until the mixture is combined and mostly creamy. (It’s ok if it appears somewhat curdled.) Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients and milk into the wet ingredients and beat until no flour pockets remain. Fold in the apples.
- Spoon the batter evenly into each cup or liner, filling each all the way to the top. Spoon crumb topping on each, gently pressing it down so it sticks.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 15–18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 20–23 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Make the icing: Whisk all of the icing ingredients together and drizzle over warm or cooled muffins.
- Iced or plain muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze baked & cooled muffins for up to 3 months. It’s best to freeze the muffins without the icing and add the icing after thawing and before serving. (Freezing them with the icing on is completely fine, but the muffins taste better with fresh icing.) Thaw muffins in the refrigerator or at room temperature before icing/serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Muffin Liners | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack | Peeler
- Yogurt or Sour Cream: You can use either regular or Greek plain yogurt in this recipe (any fat content) or sour cream. The same amount of unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana may also be used if needed.
- Milk: You can use any milk, dairy or nondairy.
- For a jumbo muffin pan: Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce to 350°F for 22–25 minutes, for a total of 27–30 minutes. Makes about 6. For mini muffins: Bake at 350°F for 12–14 minutes. Makes about 36–40.
- Quick Bread: Here is apple cinnamon bread, which is close to the same recipe and baked in a loaf pan.
- Why is everything at room temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Read here for more information.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Is it possible to shred the apples instead of dicing them ? would that affect the bake time?
Hi Jackie, chopped apples are best here, because they act more like an add-in vs. shredded apple, which acts more like a wet ingredient. If you’d like to use shredded apples, we recommend these healthy apple muffins instead. You could even use the crumble and icing topping from these on that muffin recipe. Hope they’re a hit!
I think that everyone should try this recipe at least once, it was so yummy and my 11 kids gobbled up right away!!
Hi Sally. I made these and everyone I gave them to loved them! I want to try something similar. Would swapping the apples for Pears be ok? What about adding a berry along with the apples? So maybe apple and blackberry/cranberry crumb muffins.
Hi Gary, swapping for apples should work just fine! So should swapping some of the apples with berries, but keep in mind that baking time may vary slightly depending on the berry and how wet it is. Let us know what you decide to try!
Could I use this batter for your 6 inch layer cakes as you say can be done for many of your other cupcake recipes?
Hi Amanda, this muffin batter would be a bit thick for cakes, but it could be done. We’d recommend using our apple cupcakes batter instead for a 6-inch cake.
Made these muffins with the crumb topping. Delicious, moist and flavourful. Will definitely make again but without the crumb topping-really not necessary.
Found muffins to be a bit dry, think I will try adding some apple sauce
Would it work to add in some raisins?
Hi Cheryl, absolutely. We’d recommend swapping some of the apples for raisins, keeping the total amount of add-ins about the same. For example, 1/2 cup raisins and 1 cup chopped apples.
These are great! I made them along with your pumpkin crumb cake muffins, and they were a hit! What do you think about making a caramel glaze, kind of like the maple glaze on the pumpkin muffins? Can you recommend ingredient proportions for something like that?
Hi Dayvid, so glad you enjoyed these muffins! You can certainly add a glaze. You could go with salted caramel, or you might like the brown sugar glaze from our apple Bundt cake. Let us know what you try!
I love all of your recipes! I opted for the little bites. It made 48. They are tender, sweet, and absolutely wonderful. I will be making these at Christmas for all of our friends and family. Thanks so much for all that you do for all of us. You can truly AWESOME!
Amazing !! So delicious !! I followed the recipe exactly and they were perfect.
Mine were giant – cooked longer. I also made some muffin tops – cooked less.
Great recipe !!!
Can I double the recipe or do I need to make separate batches?
The batter is pretty thick, which means it will be easy to accidentally over-mix it if doubled. I strongly recommend making 2 separate batches; that’s what I usually do when I make these!
Hi. These muffins are delicious. Made them multiple times. My question is, can I make this as a cake? If so, recommendations for pan size and cooking time? Thank you, Michelle
Hi Michelle, you could make this apple cinnamon bread, which is close to the same recipe and baked in a loaf pan. Then just add your crumb topping and icing. Enjoy!
I made pumpkin muffins and the apple cinnamon muffins from your recipes. LOVE LOVE LOVE. The tastiest muffins i EVER had. For the crumble topping, I found that cooling the melted butter to room temp vs. straight warm from the microwave makes the crumble less runny and pasty keeps it more crumbly looking. First time i made the recipe, i had to let the crumble mixture cool and then added a bit more flour to make it less pasty. Hope it hels someone else. Thank you for delicious fool proof recipes. You got me into baking again.
Can I use already peeled and sliced apples from the store and chop them up?
Hi Carrie, if they are similar to the 1/2-inch chunks needed here, that should work just fine!
Hi! I really want to try this recipe – it looks delicious! But I was wondering what would be the best replacement I could try for 2 large eggs?
Hi Madhu, we haven’t tested this recipe with any egg substitutes, so we’re unsure what might work best. Let us know if you try anything.
My kids get weird about texture – can I grate the apples instead of cubing? Love all your recipes!
Hi SM, chopped apples are best here, because they act more like an add-in vs. shredded apple, which acts more like a wet ingredient. If you’d like to use shredded apples, we recommend these healthy apple muffins instead. You could even use the crumble and icing topping from these on that muffin recipe. Hope they’re a hit!
I just made these and grated them- turned out just fine 🙂
I had some apples to use up from visiting an orchard a few weeks ago. These muffins are amazing!!! I didn’t even make the icing and they were soo good! Better than a bakery!
Just cooling out of the oven…after a few minutes had to add the drizzle. OH, my STARS!!! I made them for Bible Study in the morning. They will not disappoint anyone. A great fall muffin for breakfast, having a friend over for coffee, or any occasion even if you have to make one up. I will make these again.
These was absolutely scrumptious. I made 3 dozen to use up apples from the tree, and will definitely use this recipe again!
Great muffins! I usually make a welcome treat for our Abnb and we have great apple trees that bare wonderful baking apples. I made Jumbo muffins and they were the perfect combination of light, flavorful, not to sweet and texture that skyrocketed with the crum topping. Just lending itself to a light glaze drizzle for impact. I’ll keep making them! Thanks for the recipe
Made these spur of the moment to use some fuji apples I had left over. I had everything in the cabinet and they came out stunningly!! So yummy, moist, and so comforting for fall! I didnt made the icing but honestly they just dont need it.
This recipe makes for delicious apple muffins. The direction, as always were easy to follow. Will be making them again.
These are great! For the topping I kept the butter a little more firm than room temp and added 1/4 cup almonds and pulsed it with a small food processor. It was good and added a little more crunch!
I have two questions- 1. It says 1 teaspoon of baking powder- is that correct? as most muffin recipes call for 3 traspoons. 2 Has anyone made the recipe with gluten free flour? I did make the recipe and liked it but increased the baking powder.
Hi Pegg, 1) yes that is correct. 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of baking soda provide plenty of leavening for this batter. 2) I have not tested this with gluten free flour, but I know some readers have without making changes to the baking powder and baking soda.
Easily the best thing I’ve baked. Thank you!!!
This looks like a wonderful recipe. Are they really muffin tins or are they cupcake tins? Thanks!
Can we make ahead?
Hi Michelle, we don’t recommend making the batter ahead of time since the baking powder and baking soda are activated once the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together. Iced or plain muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or, see recipe notes for freezing instructions.
I have the 1/3 cup of brown sugar for the topping and almost 1/4 cup for the actual muffins can I substitute regular sugar for the rest of the needed amount
Hi Amy, that should work in a pinch.
Can I use gluten flour for muffins? How do I know the amount of flour
Hi Judi, we haven’t tested these muffins with a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour, so we’re unsure of the results. Let us know if you try anything!
I made these a few days ago substituting 1:1 gluten free flour (I like PC blend if you’re in Canada), and they came out perfect with no other modifications. I didn’t bother with the icing and they didn’t need it.
We’re so glad they were a hit, Jenn!
Unbelievably awesome muffins. I serve these at our Bed and Breakfast and the guests just love them. Thank you again Sally and team for the wonderful recipes and detailed instructions you provide us all with.