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These delectable apple cinnamon muffins start with a straightforward batter infused with cinnamon, brown sugar, and an abundance of juicy apples. The base recipe is versatile enough to create other favorites like blueberry muffins, ensuring moist, soft, and cakey muffins with beautifully tall tops. They’re always a hit! You can enjoy these muffins plain or elevate them with a crumb topping before baking and a drizzle of smooth vanilla icing before serving. If you’re a fan of apple cinnamon bread, these muffins will surely delight you!
Since I published the recipe in 2014, these crumb-topped apple muffins have been a personal and reader favorite. They’re perfect when you’re craving a big slice of apple pie for breakfast. These apple-studded muffins satisfy that craving splendidly.
Why You’ll Love These Apple Cinnamon Muffins:
Flavor: These muffins are bursting with buttery goodness, with the flavors of apple and cinnamon taking center stage. It's disappointing when a muffin lacks sufficient “stuff” like fruit or chocolate chips, but these muffins are packed with apples in every bite. This recipe is perfect for showcasing the flavors of fall.
Texture: The addition of yogurt or sour cream to the batter keeps these muffins incredibly moist, much like in sour cream coffee cake. Creamed butter and sugars make the muffins soft, light, and cakey, like a cupcake, without being overly dense. The small amount of milk (only 1/4 cup) ensures a perfect balance between soft and dense textures.
Ease: This recipe is ideal for beginner bakers because it uses simple ingredients and easy mixing methods. An electric mixer is helpful for creaming the butter and sugars, and a whisk suffices for the icing. The crumb topping is made with melted butter, so no need for a pastry cutter. All ingredients are baking staples, making this an accessible and straightforward recipe that consistently delivers delicious results.
Why This Apple Cinnamon Muffin Recipe Works:
Today's muffin recipe uses my all-star muffin batter, which can create endless varieties like blueberry muffins, peach muffins, lemon poppy seed muffins, cranberry orange muffins, and more. This “Master Muffin Batter” has become a hit with readers, earning its dedicated page: Best Muffin Recipe. The dry ingredients are basic—flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt—often with ground cinnamon. The wet ingredients are equally simple: creamed butter with sugars, eggs, vanilla extract, sour cream/plain yogurt, and milk. You can use various types of milk, including whole milk, 1%, almond milk, buttermilk, oat milk, etc., all of which work well.
If you’re a muffin aficionado, you might also enjoy my bakery-style muffins, which are denser, jumbo-sized, and have a distinctive tight crumb.
How to Make Apple Cinnamon Muffins:
I like to prepare the crumb topping first so it's ready when the batter is mixed. The crumb topping, though optional, uses ingredients from the muffin batter, making it very convenient. After that, peel and chop the apples into roughly 1/2-inch pieces. You need 1 and 1/2 cups (about 180g), which is about 2 medium apples. Fold the apples into the batter.
Tips for Perfect Tall Muffin Tops:
1. Ensure your muffin batter is THICK. (This one is!)
2. Fill your muffin tins/liners all the way to the top with batter.
3. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at a high temperature, then lower it.
This initial high oven temperature quickly lifts the muffin top. Once the temperature is lowered, the centers of the muffins bake. This method is recommended for nearly all muffin recipes.
If you prefer to skip the mixer, try applesauce muffins, pumpkin muffins, or healthy apple muffins.
Best Apples for Apple Muffins:
Firmer apples are ideal for baking, so avoid soft, mealy, and mushy varieties. For recipes needing many apples, like apple crisp or apple crumble pie, use a mix of tart and sweet apples. For these apple cinnamon muffins, you only need 1 or 2 apples, so it's fine to use tart apples like Granny Smith or sweet apples like Honeycrisp, Fuji, and Pink Lady. For more on my favorite apple varieties and their uses, visit my post The Best Apples for Baking.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
The above recipe draws inspiration from the renowned culinary experts, Sally and Lindsay.
Ingredients
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.
😎 Total Time: 50 minutes
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 2 minutes. 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.
