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    Home ยป Breakfast ยป Muffins

    Apple Muffins

    September 12, 2022 By Sam 149 Comments

    This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
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    collage of apple crumb muffins, top image of multiple closer up, bottom image of multiple further away at a different angle

    There are apple muffins, then there are these irresistibly moist and tender Apple Crumb Muffins! My simple recipe is packed with apple pieces and piled high with a buttery streusel topping. Recipe includes a how-to video!

    close-up view of apple muffins with a crumb topping on a metal cooling rack

    Easy Apple Muffins

    This isn’t just an apple muffin recipe, this is possibly the best one you’re likely to stumble across on the internet. Bold claim, I know, but I really love this recipe and am excited to be re-sharing it with you today.

    This recipe is super simple and comes together easily by hand (no mixer), including the streusel topping. Unlike many recipes that use a pastry cutter to cut in cold butter, my recipe uses melted butter and a fork to create that sweet, crumbly top. It’s the perfect way to welcome Fall, or just use up a surplus of apples from apple picking. Overall, it’s a game changer!

    With fall just around the corner, you’re going to want to save this recipe for those soon-to-be chilly autumn mornings. These apple muffins will cozy up your kitchen real quick!

    Why I Love These Apple Crumb Muffins:

    • Springy-soft & fluffy interiors
    • Punctuated with tart apple pieces
    • Thiiiickย layer of cinnamon/brown sugar streusel on top
    • No fuss, no electric mixer, no headache
    • Almost like an apple crisp in muffin form, only a bit less work.

    What You Need

    overhead view of ingredients including eggs, buttermilk, apples, and more

    Here are the key ingredients you’ll need to make my apple muffins:

    • Apples. I talk a little more about what type of apples to use in the video and FAQ section below. Whichever you use, make sure to peel and chop them into small pieces before adding them to the batter.
    • Buttermilk. Buttermilk makes these apple crumb muffins beautifully moist and tender. If you don’t have any on hand, you can use my easy buttermilk substitute.
    • Butter. Use unsalted butter in the streusel and make sure it’s cooled down after melting. If you only have salted butter, you can omit the salt.
    • Brown sugar. A combination of light brown sugar and granulated sugar in both the apple muffins themselves and the streusel topping adds a noticeable depth of flavor.

    SAM’S TIP: If you have extra streusel, you can store it in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days or in the fridge for longer. It’s great for adding to my banana muffins and pumpkin muffins! Personally though, I never have extra–the more crumb on my apple crumb muffins, the merrier ๐Ÿ˜Š

    Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

    How to Make Apple Crumb Muffins

    collage of four photos showing muffin batter being prepared and divided into cupcake liners
    1. Whisk together the dry ingredients.
    2. Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, then stir them into the dry ingredients until everything is about 50% combined.
    3. Gently stir in the apple pieces until just incorporated. Don’t over-mix your batter or the muffins will be dense and dry!
    4. Evenly divide the batter into a lined muffin tin and set aside.

    Preparing the Streusel & Baking

    collage of four photos showing streusel being prepared and sprinkled over muffins
    1. Whisk together the sugar, flour, salt, and cinnamon (and try to break up any large clumps of brown sugar), then drizzle in the melted butter. The butter should be melted, but it shouldn’t be scorching hot to the touch!
    2. Use a fork to work the butter into the streusel until you have a clumpy mixture.
    3. Sprinkle streusel over the apple muffins, then bake for 24-25 minutes. One thing I love about this recipe is that, unlike with my chocolate chip muffins or my new and improved lemon muffins, you only need to bake these on one temperature instead of changing mid-way through baking!
    4. Let the muffins cool in their tin for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely (or to enjoy still warm!).

    SAM’S TIP: Don’t overwork your streusel, or you will end up with a paste that will be impossible to sprinkle over your muffins. Just toss/claw together with a fork until it’s combined and clumpy!

    streusel topped muffin that's been cut in half to show bits of apple baked inside

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What apples are best for baking muffins?

    I always recommend using an apple you enjoy eating, and for me that’s Gala or Golden Delicious (also my apples of choice for apple turnovers recipe and apple butter). Keep in mind that firmer apples are best for baking, so I don’t recommend McIntosh or anything similar in your apple crumb muffins. You could use Granny Smith apples, but I prefer to save them for apple pie since they’re so tart.

    Why are my apple muffins dry?

    Dry muffins are typically a result of over-mixing your batter. These apple crumb muffins are a quick bread, much like apple cider donuts or pumpkin bread, and they should be mixed as little as possible. Use a gentle hand next time and make sure to mix until just combined. Over-baking the muffins can also cause them to be dry, so if you think you didn’t over-mix them, your oven may be running a bit hot and you may need to pull them out of the oven a minute or so sooner next time.

    Can apple muffins be frozen?

    Yes! You can wrap and freeze your apple muffins for up to one month. Be careful when wrapping and make sure you don’t knock off too much of the streusel!

    SAM’S TIP: If you’d like your apple muffins to have a bakery-style look, follow my tutorial for how to make muffin liners out of parchment paper. They’re surprisingly easy and instantly elevate the look of your muffins!

    crumb-topped muffins on a cooling rack

    I know some of you will want to make this recipe in a loaf pan, and while you certainly could do that, I personally think you should try my new apple bread recipe instead!

    Enjoy!

    Letโ€™s bake together! Iโ€™ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook

    close-up shot of an apple muffin topped with streusel

    Apple Muffins

    There are apple muffins, then there are these irresistibly moist and tender apple crumb muffins! My simple recipe is packed with apple pieces and piled high with a buttery streusel topping.
    Recipe includes a how-to video!
    4.75 from 52 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Bread, Breakfast, muffins, quick bread
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
    Servings: 12 muffins
    Calories: 390kcal
    Author: Sam Merritt

    Ingredients

    For Muffins

    • 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
    • ยฝ cup (100 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
    • ยผ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ยฝ teaspoon table salt
    • ยฝ cup (120 ml) canola oil may substitute vegetable oil or other neutral cooking oil
    • ยฝ cup (120 ml) buttermilk
    • 2 large eggs lightly beaten
    • 1 ยฝ teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 1 ยฝ cups (215 g) peeled chopped apples

    For Crumb Topping

    • 1 ยผ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour
    • ยฝ cup (100 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
    • โ…“ cup (66 g) granulated sugar
    • ยฝ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ยผ teaspoon table salt
    • 6 Tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter melted but cooled so no longer warm to the touch

    Recommended Equipment

    • Muffin tin
    • Mixing bowls
    • Spatula
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
    • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
      2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, ยฝ cup (100 g) light brown sugar, ยผ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ยฝ teaspoon table salt
    • In a separate bowl (or large measuring cup), whisk together oil, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract until well-combined.
      ยฝ cup (120 ml) canola oil, ยฝ cup (120 ml) buttermilk, 2 large eggs, 1 ยฝ teaspoons vanilla extract
    • Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a spatula or spoon to gently stir ingredients together until approximately 50-75% combined. Add apple pieces and continue to stir until ingredients are just combined (over-mixing may result in dense, dry muffins).
      1 ยฝ cups (215 g) peeled
    • Evenly divide batter into prepared muffin tin. Set aside while you prepare your crumb topping.

    Crumb Topping

    • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt.
      1 ยผ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour, ยฝ cup (100 g) light brown sugar, โ…“ cup (66 g) granulated sugar, ยฝ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ยผ teaspoon table salt
    • Drizzle melted butter over the flour mixture and use a fork to toss/claw the mixture together until all of the dry ingredients are moistened and you have a crumbly streusel.
      6 Tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter
    • Evenly divide streusel over the muffins.
    • Transfer to center rack of 375F (190C) oven and bake for 24-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
    • Allow muffins to cool in muffin tin for 10 minutes before carefully removing to a cooling rack (I use a butter knife to gently pry them up and then lift them from the pan) and allow to cool a bit before enjoying.

    Notes

    Apples

    A firm apple that you enjoy eating on its own works best for this recipe. I prefer Golden Delicious or Gala apples. Granny Smith are a bit too tart for my taste here.

    Storing

    Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. These muffins may also be carefully, tightly wrapped and frozen for up to a month.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 390kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 226mg | Potassium: 105mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 240IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 2mg

    Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

    Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

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    This apple muffin recipe was originally published September of 2015. I have updated the photos, added a how-to video, and updated the post to be as helpful as possible. The recipe itself has been slightly updated; I’ve slightly re-written it to help with the flow of the recipe and have cut down slightly on the amount of streusel, as some readers complained it was too much!

    « Apple Turnovers
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Snyder Joyce

      January 29, 2024 at 2:08 pm

      I actually used the leftover streusel topping on top of french toast which I baked, This was terrific, I used cinnamon bread for french toast, & added streusel on top of each slice after I turned them over & baked till the streusel browned. Excellent taste. I do recommend the original recipe cut the streusel topping measurements in half.

      Reply
    2. Joyce

      January 25, 2024 at 4:20 pm

      I just made these, and I added some
      Pecans to streusel topping! I love these muffins! Can I freeze the leftover streusel? I have 1/2 of total leftover. Or I may use on French toast which I bake. When I make this recipe again, Iโ€™ll make 1/2 streusel ingredients.

      Reply
      • Sam

        January 29, 2024 at 11:25 am

        Hi Joyce! I have never personally tried freezing the streusel topping, but I think it could work. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    3. Jill

      December 23, 2023 at 7:31 pm

      5 stars
      Received a bag of apples for Christmas. Will be making your delicious muffins. Merry Christmas!

      Reply
    4. Eileen

      November 04, 2023 at 1:18 pm

      I am not a huge muffin fan because I never had a recipe like this one! We loved these muffins! There is an abundance of apples in the muffins and I think it’s what makes the texture so wonderful. I would prefer a more tender crumb though. America’s Test Kitchen recommends using cake flour in their NY crumb buns. For my next batch, I’ll try that or switch the amounts for the brown sugar and granulated sugar.

      Reply
    5. Natalie K.

      October 21, 2023 at 1:20 am

      5 stars
      Very simple, moist and delicious! I didn’t end up using all the streusel but not a huge deal.

      Reply
      • Sam

        October 21, 2023 at 12:27 pm

        I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Natalie, thank you so much for trying my recipe!!

        Reply
    6. Courtney

      October 02, 2023 at 9:09 pm

      I love making this recipe every year around the fall time! The muffins are most delicious and moist the morning after baking, in my experience. My friends and family love when I share. 10/10!

      Reply
      • Sam

        October 03, 2023 at 9:48 am

        I’m so glad everyone enjoys them so much, Courtney! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    7. Sarah Leverett

      December 20, 2022 at 12:39 am

      5 stars
      Super easy & amazing. Thanks for sharing & being here. From Chef to Chef you are wonderful. Thanks again for sharing ๐Ÿ˜Š

      Reply
      • Sam

        December 20, 2022 at 8:30 pm

        Thank you so much, Sarah!

        Reply
      • Charmaine

        March 17, 2023 at 3:17 am

        5 stars
        Really nice delicious recipe thank you.

        Reply
        • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

          March 17, 2023 at 9:33 am

          Enjoy the muffins, Charmaine! โค๏ธ

        • Naomi

          December 19, 2023 at 6:35 pm

          5 stars
          AmAzIng!!! Very delicious like all of your recipes โค๏ธโค๏ธโค๏ธ i love how strussel it makes ๐Ÿ˜‹ as a 13 year old i can be a little picky, but all of your recipes are amazing and you have never failed me ๐Ÿซก
          THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

    8. Chris

      October 13, 2022 at 4:39 pm

      Hi Sam I love your recipes! Can I ask what baking time/temp you would recommend to adapt this recipe to 6 jumbo muffins instead of 12?

      Reply
      • Sam

        October 13, 2022 at 9:57 pm

        Hi Chris! I would probably follow the baking guidelines in my bakery style chocolate chip muffins. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
    9. Denise

      September 29, 2022 at 1:32 pm

      5 stars
      Good texture and flavor. I skipped the topping and just sprinkled golden caster sugar with a bit of cinnamon on top. Delicious

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        September 29, 2022 at 3:08 pm

        We’re so happy you enjoyed the muffins, Denise โค๏ธ

        Reply
    10. Briya

      September 13, 2022 at 6:52 am

      4 stars
      Has this recipe changed? I made it for the first time last week and loved it and then made it again today today and noticed less brown sugar in streusel and more white sugar, and it was nowhere near as good ๐Ÿ˜ญ

      Reply
      • Sam

        September 13, 2022 at 4:26 pm

        Hi! The muffin recipe remains the same but yes the streusel has been reduced as a large number of commenters complained about having too much streusel.

        Reply
      • Erik

        October 29, 2022 at 2:20 am

        I used less than half of the amount of Streusel mixture I made. The rest went in the bin… Not sure if the ratio is correct in the recipe.

        Reply
    11. Natalie

      January 16, 2022 at 6:17 pm

      5 stars
      These are so good! I’ve tried them the normal way, and they are amazing. I want to try making them for my friend who can’t have dairy, so do you have any suggestions on how to tweak the recipe? Thanks.

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        January 17, 2022 at 10:55 am

        Hi Natalie! You could try using a plant-based butter and make our easy buttermilk substitute with non-dairy milk. We haven’t tried this ourselves, but we think they’d still turn out fine ๐Ÿ˜Š

        Reply
      • Renee

        April 24, 2022 at 1:07 pm

        Hi Natalie, I have family members with severe dairy allergies. I have made this recipe using ghee in place of butter (ghee is clarified butter oil with no dairy protein in it which is the allergen). Instead of milk, I used flax milk (since they also have rice & nut allergies). The muffins turned out great & even I liked them with the substituted ingredients (I’m allergic to soy which is in most dairy free margarines). Hope this helps.

        Reply
    12. Sandy

      October 23, 2021 at 3:22 pm

      I made this recipe but had some leftover streusel. How would I be able to store it, as Iโ€™m not sure when will be the next time that I use it. Or can it only be stored for a short amount of time?

      Reply
      • Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

        October 25, 2021 at 3:46 pm

        Hi Sandy! You can store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. We suggesting adding it to a batch of banana muffins or pumpkin muffins ๐Ÿ˜Š

        Reply
      • Pamela Warner

        September 16, 2022 at 2:34 pm

        The left over strudel is great lightly sprinkled on toast or cinnamon toast. Butter toast first.

        Reply
    13. Vicky Wallhausen

      September 02, 2021 at 8:09 pm

      Morning Sam I have a new devotee can I use Tinned Apples
      in the muffins and what would i have to alter or nothing. Yes I
      normally use fresh sometimes not possible.
      Thanks

      Reply
      • Sam

        September 03, 2021 at 9:44 am

        Hi Vicky! I’m not sure I understand the question here. Are you using canned apples? The ones that are typical in a syrup? I’m not sure how well they would work here.

        Reply
    14. David Alexander

      May 29, 2021 at 6:23 am

      This is such a great recipe! I did end up using only half the streusal and that was enough for me, also added some oats to the streusal for some more texture which worked well. This will definitely be a regular recipe and its very affordable to make.

      Reply
      • Sam

        May 29, 2021 at 9:20 pm

        I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, David! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
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    The author (Sam) in blue shirt holding donut Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

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