These moist apple muffins with a cinnamon streusel topping are sweet, tender, and studded with juicy apple bites. Whole wheat flour gives them a hearty texture that’s perfect for crisp fall days. They’re easy to make in 20 minutes with just a few pantry staples and fresh fall apples!
These apple muffins are one of my best fall apple recipes! They’re spiced and lightly sweet, with a moist, tender crumb studded with fresh bites of apple. And I can’t resist the topping, a crunchy cinnamon sugar streusel with just a hint of salt for contrast. These homemade apple muffins really are perfect, and so easy to make from scratch.
Reasons to Love This Moist Apple Muffins Recipe
- Apples in every bite. Folding chopped apples into the batter doubles the fresh fall flavors and packs in lots of extra moisture.
- Easy to make. Like apple bread and apple cookies, these muffins are quick to prepare. Mix the wet and dry ingredients separately, combine, and bake!
- Ready in 20 minutes. Have freshly baked, warm cinnamon apple muffins ready to eat in under 30 minutes. They’re great for weekends, brunches, and last-minute cravings.
- Crunchy crumb topping. The crumble topping is inspired by my Grandma’s blueberry muffins recipe. This has been one of my favorite muffins since I was a kid. Readers have found this to be a favorite as well!
Ingredients You’ll Need
These easy muffins are made with your standard muffin ingredients, plus a few fall additions to give them the warm flavor you expect from an apple dessert.
- Unsalted butter – If you use salted butter, consider including less added salt later on.
- Buttermilk – This creates a more tender crumb than regular milk.
- Egg and vanilla extract – Use pure vanilla extract (not imitation vanilla extract) for the best flavor.
- Flour – A combination of all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour gives these muffins a tender, yet slightly heartier flavor and crumb.
- Brown sugar – You could use granulated white sugar, but the flavor won’t be quite as rich and caramelized.
- Baking powder and salt – To help these apple muffins rise. Check the expiration date on your baking powder to make sure it’s fresh and active.
- Spices – Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves give these muffins their warm spiced flavor. Substitute apple pie spice in place of the individual spices if needed.
- Apples – Choose sweet-tart baking apples with a crisp texture (see below). Peel and finely chop the apples before you start.
- Crumb topping – I include my grandmother’s famous cinnamon streusel recipe! All you need is sugar, flour, cinnamon, butter, and salt. Bring the butter to room temperature.
The Best Apples for Baking
There are many great apple varieties for baking, from Granny Smith to Honeycrisp to Braeburn. But my personal favorite is the Haralson apple. This variety originated right here in Minnesota, at the University of Minnesota, and I seek these apples out every year. Here are a few reasons why:
- They’re a great medium-sized apple to eat straight from the tree.
- I like their tart sweetness, juiciness, and crunch.
- It’s a sturdy apple that holds up very well in recipes and has great flavor even after being cooked or baked.
- I’m overtaken with nostalgia. My parents planted Haralson apple trees on the farm I grew up on in South Dakota. So each time I twist a Haralson from the tree and taste its familiar tartness…I’m right back there on the farm. A kid again, carefree!
How to Make Apple Muffins with Crumb Topping
These muffins are super easy to make. They bake in under 20 minutes, ideal for conquering any of your apple cravings!
- Mix the wet ingredients. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Meanwhile, whisk together buttermilk, egg, and vanilla in a bowl.
- Stir together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine both flours with sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices.
- Mix the batter. Stir the melted butter into the wet ingredients, then combine the wet and dry ingredients. Fold the apples into the batter.
- Portion the batter and add the crumble topping. Now, divide the batter among the muffin cups. Combine the crumble ingredients with a fork, cutting in the butter until you have pea-size crumbles. Sprinkle over the batter.
- Bake. Bake for 18 to 19 minutes, until puffed and a bit browned. Move to a wire rack to cool.
Tips for Bakery-Style Muffins
- Do not overmix the batter. Once you combine the wet and dry ingredients, mix just until there are no streaks of flour. It is normal for the mixture to be thick.
- Do not overbake. It’s very important not to over-bake these muffins, or you will lose some of their moisture. It’s actually better to just slightly under-bake them!
- Cut the apples into 1/4″ pieces. I think that 1/4″ apple pieces are the perfect size. They’re big enough to see and have a noticeable bite, but not too big that the muffins want to fall apart. You get a little chunk or two of apple in every bite!
Serving Suggestions
Of course, homemade muffins are always best on the day they are baked. Enjoy your apple crumble muffins slightly warm or at room temperature, spread with butter or drizzled with maple syrup or honey. If you want a reeeeeally special treat, serve these moist apple muffins with cinnamon honey butter. Peanut butter would also be delicious, and would turn them into a more filling breakfast!
How to Store Apple Muffins
- Store at room temperature. These apple muffins are best the day they are baked, as that is when the topping is the crunchiest. If you don’t eat them all the same day, I recommend storing them uncovered on the counter for a day or two. If you cover them, the moisture can cause the topping to become soft. They’ll still taste great, but won’t have that same crunch.
- Refrigerate or freeze. You can also place the muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator. And they freeze very well. Store them in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
More Apple Recipes
Easy Apple Muffins
Yield: 12 muffins
These moist, tender apple muffins are filled with spice and studded with juicy apple bites! Topped with cinnamon streusel, they're ready in 20 minutes and perfect for fall baking.
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Ingredients
for the apple muffins:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1.25 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ⅔ cup packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch of ground cloves
- 1.5 cups peeled and finely chopped apple – aim for apple pieces about 1/4″ or just a bit larger in size
for the cinnamon sugar crumble topping:
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature (do not melt!)
Instructions
- For the apple muffins: Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a regular muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
- Gently melt the butter (microwave or stovetop) and then set it aside to cool a bit.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Stir the melted butter into the wet ingredients and then add all the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Fold until combined, taking care to not over mix. The mixture will be thick.
- Fold in the apple pieces and then divide mixture evenly between the 12 muffin cups.
- For the cinnamon sugar crumble topping: In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt with a fork. Add the butter and cut it into the dry ingredients with the same fork until you have pea-size pieces of crumble topping. Sprinkle mixture over muffins.
- Bake: Bake until muffins are puffed and a bit browned, about 18 to 19 minutes, or just until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake, or you will lose some of the moistness. I would rather just slightly under bake these muffins than slightly over bake them! Remove from oven and let muffins rest for a minute or two before removing them to a wire rack to cool. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
The muffins are best the day they are baked, as that is when the topping is the crunchiest.
Notes
Adapted from my grandma’s blueberry muffins.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 1 Calories: 230kcal Carbohydrates: 40g Protein: 4g Fat: 7g Saturated Fat: 4g Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g Cholesterol: 31mg Sodium: 170mg Fiber: 2g Sugar: 19g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a comment below. And share a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #afarmgirlsdabbles or tag @farmgirlsdabble!
This post was originally published in 2014 and updated in 2021.
Perfect muffins for this time of year! I love watching hot air balloons (beautiful photo you took by the way). There’s a hot air balloon festival every year about an hour’s drive from where I live. The sky is ablaze with colour :)
I’d love to take in a hot air balloon festival! We have one close to us, during the winter. Brrrrrrr! We attended one year, but the weather wasn’t right for flying while we were there.
These look amazing! Have you ever tried freezing them? If so, did they freeze well?
Hi Alyssa – I did freeze a few of these. They freeze just fine, but the top does lose its crispiness.
You had me at juicy apple bites and cinnamon. These look perfect Brenda!
These look amazing! Just pinned!
I have been itching to bake with apples, and muffins have been on my mind. You have definitely provoked an interest with this great recipe. I love the crumble topping!
I almost went to Aamodt’s yesterday, but there was a last minute change of plans. After reading this I decided that I must go! And then make these delicious looking muffins.
These were super yummy!!!
Thank you! Was wonderful to have your family here. xo
These muffins sound and look fabulous! I want to add them to my fall baking list, just like Gaby did! :-)
I loved apple picking when we lived in Michigan. It was one of my favorite fall traditions. These muffins look great, I love the crumb topping!
These are going on my fall baking list!
Oh yes, these have my name written all over them. I bought apples over the weekend with a recipe like this I was hoping to make. The crumble topping is a must in my book. Love the pictures with this recipe.
These muffins look so yummy! Hope to make them soon.
Crumble topping makes my world go ’round!! This looks awesome!
Those apples are gorgeous. It’s easy to see why that apples were often used in paintings way back when. Most excellent photo shot of the feet and apples. I used to live in an area where balloons flew overhead all the time. It was a visual treat. Someday I hope to go to New Mexico for their big balloon festival. You were not exaggerating about the muffins being ‘studded’ with apples. That makes them THE best.
I would love to make it to that festival, too!!!
I could eat these for breakfast every day!
I miss Aamodts! A group of girlfriends and I used to go every year for apples (and of course apple donuts and cider). I think I need to go back for a hot air balloon ride too :) I’m glad you had such a beautiful fall day for picking, and these muffins are such a lovely way to enjoy your haul.
I wish I had a muffin right now!
Oh my goodness I love that you went on a balloon ride!!! I’ve never been on one!!!! Loving these muffins – perfect for apple season.
We never actually took a balloon ride, just watched while they were inflating and taking off. But I’d like to get up there some day!
One of my fondest childhood memories is apple picking every year! Definitely one of the things I miss about New York – autumn and apples! I can’t say I have ever tried the Haralson – but am definitely going to be on the lookout for them now. These muffins are so lovely with the crumb topping!!
What a fun apple picking adventure! I am sure it’s one of those things your family will always remember. Very cool!
Love the muffins, the cinnamon sugar crumble sounds to die for!