These Cinnamon Apple Muffins are incredibly soft, full of warm cinnamon flavor, and bake up with tall, golden muffin tops. You’ll love my easy trick for a bakery-style rise. Every bite is loaded with tender bites of apple and an irresistible buttery crumb topping. This might become your favorite Fall muffin recipe!
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Apple Muffins Video
This recipe is loosely based on my family-favorite Blueberry Muffins featured in my Natasha’s Kitchen Cookbook, but with their perfect spices and soft chunks of apple, these apple muffins are a uniquely Fall recipe. They are perfect for breakfast or a sweet treat after dinner. Watch my easy video tutorial and you’ll be biting into a homemade apple muffin in no time!
Easy Apple Muffins Recipe
These apple muffins are my kind of cozy, nostalgic treat, and they make my whole house smell amazing! The combination of brown sugar and sour cream creates an unbelievably moist, tender crumb, while the cinnamon and tender apple chunks make each bite taste like fall.
I love seeing the look on my daughter’s face when she comes home from school to warm apple muffins. It’s seriously hard to stop at just one!
If you’ve been around my blog a while, you know my daughter and I share a love for baking muffin recipes together, especially developing new ones, like this Apple Muffins recipe. Some of our top favorites are Zucchini Muffins, Banana Muffins, Chocolate Chip Muffins, and Mixed Berry Muffins.
Apple Cinnamon Muffin Ingredients
Honestly, the hardest part of this recipe is measuring all the ingredients; the rest is easy. Make sure all the refrigerated items are at room temperature before beginning!
- Crumb Topping – flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and unsalted butter
- Dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. You’ll also need both granulated and light brown sugar (the molasses in brown sugar adds moisture, deeper flavor, and better color).
- Butter – unsalted butter at room temperature. This helps the butter mix evenly and helps to trap air bubbles for a fluffy crumb.
- Wet Ingredients – you can use sour cream or Greek yogurt (at room temperature). You’ll also need vanilla extract and eggs. Bring eggs to room temperature quickly by placing them in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
- Apples – Any crisp-tart apples, like Granny Smith, Macintosh, Golden Delicious, Honey Crisp, Gala, Pink Lady, Fuji, Braeburn, etc. will work great for this recipe, so use what you have on hand.
The BEST TOOL for Apple Recipes
If you love apple recipes, this apple peeler/corer/slicer is a must-have! It saves so much prep work, especially if you are making desserts like Apple Crisp, Apple Pie, or Applesauce, where you need a lot of apples. I know I talk about this a lot on social media, but it’s a total game-changer. I even got one for my Mom, and she loves it too.
How to Make Apple Muffins
This recipe is simple and foolproof, but don’t leave out the crumb topping — chef’s kiss!
- Prep – Preheat the oven to 425°F and line the muffin tin (I love these parchment liners because they are super non-stick).
- Make the crumb topping – Mix the crumb ingredients, and then use your fingers to pinch and rub the mixture until crumbs form.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt).
- Mix the wet ingredients – In a separate large bowl, beat the butter and sugars, then beat in one egg at a time. Beat in vanilla, then sour cream and milk. I like using an electric hand mixer to easily mix the batter, but a stand mixer or mixing by hand works (it’s a good arm workout).
- Mix the apple muffin batter – In 3 parts, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing gently. Stop mixing when it just comes together without streaks of flour. Overmixing can make the muffin dense!
- Gently fold the apples into the batter. Scoop the batter into the muffin tin. The apple muffins will be generously filled, but it works. Add the crumbs to the center and lightly press them on.
Natasha’s Pro Tip:
Most muffin recipes will tell you to fill the muffin cups less, while this recipe has the batter mounded over the top. Stick with me and you’ll see that this apple muffin recipe creates the most beautiful domed muffin top that looks like it came out of a professional bakery. P.S. (I use a heaping trigger-release scoop, which makes portioning easier with less mess).
- Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a rack. Once cooled completely, store in an airtight container on the counter up to 3 days.
The Secret to Those Tall Muffin Tops
Baking at 425˚F works best for apple muffins to give them a classic, tall, rounded bakery-style top. The high heat creates a burst of steam to quickly activate the leavening, which forces the muffins to rise instead of spreading. You also get a deeper golden brown color on top while the center stays moist, which is perfect for muffins with fruit pieces.
My apple muffins taste and smell just like Fall, and so they are irresistible to anyone passing by the serving plate. Make a batch of these muffins for a sweet, nostalgic treat everyone will love.
Cinnamon Apple Muffins
Ingredients
For the crumb topping
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
Apple Muffin Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, aluminum-free
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream, or Greek yogurt, at room temperature
- ¼ cup whole milk, at room temperature
- 2 medium apples, any kind*, cut into 1/4” thick pieces (2 cups diced)
Instructions
- Prep – Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with liners and set aside.
- Make the crumb topping – In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub the mixture together until pea-size crumbs form throughout and the mixture is no longer sandy. Set aside.
- Mix the dry ingredients – In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Mix the wet Ingredients – In a large bowl with a hand mixer (or in a stand mixer), cream together both sugars and butter on high speed for 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate between each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add sour cream and milk and beat on medium speed until well blended.
- Combine the batter – Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 additions, gently mixing on low-medium speed. DO NOT OVER MIX- stop when it comes together and there are no dry streaks- the batter will be thick. Scrape down the bowl.
- Add the apples – Use a spatula to gently fold the diced apples into the batter until just combined. Divide the batter evenly between the lined muffin cups (a trigger-release scoop is helpful). It will seem like too much batter, but it works. Top each muffin with about 1 tablespoon of the crumb topping, keeping it toward the center. Lightly press the crumbs down.
- Bake at 425°F for 15-18 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and enjoy.
Notes
To freeze – Wrap cooled muffins individually in plastic wrap and pack into an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter or in the fridge overnight.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Cozy Apple Recipes
Apple season is here, so after you enjoy these apple muffins, don’t miss these other great recipes that feature this favorite fall fruit.
- Cinnamon Apples
- Apple Turnovers
- Apple Cider
- Easy Apple Cake
- Apple Roses
- Apple Fritter Rings
- Baked Apples
- Dutch Apple Pie
- Apple Pancakes
- Caramel Apples
Loved the recipe!! made these 2 weeks back and the muffins taste amazing!
So very happy to know you loved them! Thanh you for sharing.
I made these muffins this week…they are absolutely delicious!
Hi Susan! I’m so glad you enjoyed them. They have quickly become a family favorite around here.
I made these apple cinnamon muffins for my coworkers. They loved them and were raving about the flavor. Thank you for sharing your great recipes with us 😊
That’s so great to hear, Maria!
These muffins were so delicious! My kids ate every crumb in a day and a half! I used the Greek Yogurt, but I think next time I’ll go with sour cream. These are SO good!
Hi Becky! I’m so glad to hear you and your family loved the recipe. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Excellent moist Muffins, a few more steps and a bit messy but best ever recipe!
Hi Deana! So glad to hear you loved the recipe. The extra steps are definitely worth it!
I made this the other evening. The two guys that were here, and me, gave it two thumbs up. I will admit that I made kind of a mess in the kitchen with the topping 🙄
So glad it was a hit!
Have you ever combined apple and banana muffins?
Hi Susan! See my Apple Banana Muffins recipe here.
Thk you :-). I look forward to trying. I will try tomorrow.
You’re welcome. Let us know how it turns out.
Everything I make from your recipes always turn out great. This one only yielded 11 muffins and it was a bit of a stretch. I didn’t use liners. Could that be the reason?
Hi Maryte. Yes, I think that was likely what happened since liners take up space in each well of the pan.
This was an easy recipe. Best apple muffin i have made!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Carrie!
Hi, can you use coarsely grated apples instead of chopped? I make 6 or so dozen at a time, so I’m looking for easy prep. Thank you, love your recipes 😘
Hi Patti! That would work too. They may not be as noticeable since they’ll cook more and be softer than if using larger chunks.
I think I would like to make these in mini foil loaf pans to give as gifts. I wonder how long they would need to bake.
Hi Louisa! That’s a great idea. I haven’t tested that but likely they’ll bake closer to 22-25mins so keep an eye on them.
These turned out perfect, I used buttermilk instead of whole milk. Twelve beautiful muffins!
So glad you loved the recipe, Rebecca!
We love most anything with apples in it. Made your apple pie last night and it was delicious so now I want to make these apple muffins if you will send the recipe. I love trying your recipes.
Hi Kathe! The recipe is at the bottom of the page. But you can click on the “jump to recipe” button at the top and it will take you to the recipe card. I hope you love them!
Can you use 1% milk instead of using whole milk
Hi Sherrie! That would be fine. I hope you love the muffins.
These muffins were easy to make. They looked scrumptious when they were done. They were moist and tender with a light sweet taste that paired well with the recommended coffee. We ate them warm, right from the cooling rack. My daughter doesn’t care for fruit in sweet treats but she loves these and ate two. This is one of those recipes I’ll be coming back to.
That’s wonderful, Marybeth! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with the recipe.
I saw “Sharkey” on your pepper mill after you took the apple muffins out of the oven when they were done!!!
You’ve got him! Thanks for watching, Joanna!
If making these into jumbo muffins, what temperature would it be safe to bake them at? Cannot wait to make and eat them!
Hi Laurie! You should be able to keep the same temperature and bake them longer. Keep an eye on them, they’ll likely take 22-25mins to bake through, but check earlier on just in case.
I made these for our ladies coffee klatch and they were a hit. The crumble top and apple pieces took them to the next level of yum!
Hi Robin! I’m so glad you loved the recipe. Thank you so much for the feedback. I’m happy to know they were a hit with the ladies at coffee.
I would love the link to the apple peeler please. I didn’t see it in your recipe.
Hi Shirley! See the section in the blog post above (in the pink box) that says: “the best tools for apple recipes”. Click on the bold words, they are links. I hope you love the recipe.
Sharkey is on top of the black giant pepper grinder
Good catch, Melinda!
It would be so helpful (especially for bake goods) if you have grams or ounces for the measurements.
Hi Lisa! Click on the metric button at that top of the recipe card and it converts the ingredients for you.