Apple Cinnamon Muffins Recipe
If you are looking for a super delicious muffin, look no further! Today I’ve got a simple and amazing apple cinnamon muffins recipe that you will make again and again!
Apple cinnamon is one of those combinations that just works every single time. It doesn’t matter what season it is, what mood you’re in, or who you’re baking for — apple cinnamon muffins always land right. My kids eat them as an after-school snack. I eat them with tea in the morning. My husband takes two without asking. They disappear fast in this house and I’ve been making them on repeat since 2020.
What makes this recipe a keeper is how genuinely simple it is. Pantry staples, one bowl for the batter, one bowl for the streusel topping, done in 30 minutes. The streusel is non-negotiable by the way — Alice in the comments said it perfectly: make the topping, it’s the best part.
One thing you’ll notice when you mix the batter: it looks thicker than you might expect. That’s normal and it’s intentional. The chopped apple releases moisture as it bakes, which keeps these muffins tender without making the batter wet before it goes in the tin. Don’t add extra milk — trust the process.
Apple Cinnamon Muffins Ingredients
Muffin Batter
1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
½ cup granulated white sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup vegetable or canola oil
1 large egg
⅓ cup milk
1–2 large apples, peeled, cored, and chopped into small pieces
Streusel Topping
¼ cup granulated white sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
How do you make these amazing muffins?
STEP ONE: Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper muffin liners.
STEP TWO: In a medium bowl whisk together dry ingredients.
STEP THREE: Add oil, egg and milk and stir just until combined.
STEP FOUR: Fold in apples.
STEP FIVE: Divide batter between the 12 muffin cups.
STEP SIX: In a small bowl, mix topping ingredients, blending together with a pastry cutter or fork. Sprinkle over unbaked muffins. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.
FAQs
Honeycrisp is the reader favorite — it holds its shape during baking and has a great balance of sweet and tart. Granny Smith gives you more tartness that cuts through the sweet batter. Fuji and Braeburn also work well. Avoid Red Delicious — too soft, gets mushy.
The recipe calls for peeled apple, but you don’t have to. The skin softens as it bakes and mostly disappears into the muffin. If you’re making these for kids who notice texture, peel them. If you’re going for rustic and want the extra fiber, leave it on.
This is normal. The batter is intentionally thicker than a standard muffin batter because the chopped apple releases moisture as it bakes. Don’t add extra milk — the muffins will be tender. The most common cause of genuinely dry batter (past what’s normal) is too much flour from scooping the cup directly into the bag. Use the spoon-and-level method instead.
Overmixing, underbaking, or overfilling the cups. Mix just until combined, do the toothpick test before pulling them out, and fill cups ¾ full. See the full tip above.
Yes — and many readers recommend it. Two apples gives you more apple in every bite and adds moisture. The muffins come out slightly denser but very good. Honeycrisp is especially recommended for the double-apple version.
You can, but thaw them completely first and drain off any liquid they release — frozen apples hold a lot of water and if you fold them in wet, the extra moisture will throw off the batter consistency and can make the muffins gummy in the center. Pat them dry with a paper towel before adding. Fresh apple gives you better texture overall since frozen apple softens more during baking and can disappear into the crumb rather than giving you distinct chunks — but in a pinch, thawed and well-drained frozen apple works fine.
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Tips for Perfect Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Use cold butter for the streusel. The recipe calls for butter in the topping, and this is the one place where cold matters. Cold butter cut into the sugar and flour creates distinct crumble pieces. Room temperature butter smears into a paste. If your butter softened while you were making the batter, pop it in the freezer for 5 minutes before mixing the topping.
Measure your flour correctly. The most common cause of dry or dense muffins is too much flour — which happens when you scoop the measuring cup directly into the flour bag and pack it. Instead, spoon flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife. It takes five extra seconds and makes a real difference.
Don’t overmix. Stir just until the dry ingredients disappear into the wet. Overmixing develops gluten, which makes muffins tough and causes them to sink in the center as they cool. A few streaks of flour are fine — they’ll finish combining when you fold in the apple.
One apple or two? The recipe calls for one large apple, but multiple readers have made it with two and loved the result. If you want a more apple-forward muffin with extra moisture, use two. Honeycrisp is the reader favorite — it holds its shape and has great flavor. Granny Smith gives you more tartness. Both work.
Fill the cups generously. For a nice domed top, fill each muffin cup about ¾ full. Don’t overfill — too much batter pushes over the sides and the top can’t hold its shape. The streusel helps weigh the top down slightly which actually creates a nice crust.
I personally love these with a good cup of tea for breakfast. My kids eat them all times of the day as a snack! They are a fun treat for anytime really.
Apple Cinnamon Muffins Recipe
These easy and delicious muffins use pantry staples and are a delicious breakfast or anytime treat!
Ingredients
- Muffin Batter
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1–2 large apples, peeled, cored, and chopped into small pieces
- Streusel Topping
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, both sugars, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt until combined.
- Add the oil, egg, and milk to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined — do not overmix. The batter will look thicker than a typical muffin batter. That's normal. The apple releases moisture as it bakes and keeps the muffins tender.
- Fold in the chopped apple with a spatula until evenly distributed.
- Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling each about ¾ full.
- Make the streusel: in a small bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add the cold butter cubes and use a fork or pastry cutter to work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse, uneven crumbs. Do not use softened butter — cold butter is what creates the crumble texture.
- Sprinkle the streusel generously over each unbaked muffin.
- Bake 18–20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean and the tops spring back lightly when touched. Let cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Yield
12Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 316Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 2gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 21mgSodium 220mgCarbohydrates 54gFiber 2gSugar 26gProtein 4g
Reader Highlights
Abby (October 2020): Made with Honeycrisp apples — HIT with everyone, recommends 2 apples.
Nihada (January 2021): “These are seriously the best, no need to look further. It blows my mind how easy and simple they are, but how delicious they come out! Addicting!”
Leah (February 2021): “These are epic muffins! I’m a bit of a baking novice and always seem to mess muffins up even when following a recipe BUT not with these! My partner didn’t believe I made them.”
Pat (March 2021): “Ended the day with a few left and a very happy family. Will be making these on a weekly basis.”
Alice (November 2023): “The smell when they are baking in the oven has you drooling. I have made them many times and everyone loves them. Definitely make the topping… its the best!”
Renee G (September 2022): “Love this recipe, I have made several times. My husband loves them.”
Renee Gladney (August 2022): “My husband fell in love with these at a hotel in Florida and been trying to find them. Muffins came out great!!!”
Lori J. (May 2025): “I’ve been baking for over fifty years, so finding a new recipe that is worth making more than once is a testament to your wonderful recipe.”
Darlene (May 2024): Made a vanilla powdered sugar icing drizzle on top — great variation to highlight.
If you are looking for a full list of fun and delicious sweet breakfast recipes be sure to check out this list –> The Best Sweet Breakfast Recipes
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Hi! I’m Nellie. I am an entrepreneur, a busy mama of 3 and a wife to my high school sweetheart. I have been sharing content for over 12 years about how to cook easy recipes, workout tips and free printables that make life a little bit easier. I have been featured in places like Yahoo, Buzzfeed, What To Expect, Mediavine, Niche Pursuits, HuffPost, BabyCenter, Mom 2.0, Mommy Nearest, Parade, Care.com, and more!
Get comfortable and be sure to come hang out with me on social. Don’t forget to grab your free fitness journal before you go!
I think I have everything for these at home. After Passover is over I’m going to make them.
Also, “meats responsibly being thawed” is my current life. What even is all of this?
Love this recipe, I have made several times. My husband love them .. thank you
Made these with honey crisp apples and they were a HIT! EVERYONE LOVED THEM. I used 2 apples instead of 1- I recommend it!
Easy recipe just waiting on them to come out of oven.. my husband feel in love with these at a hotel in Florida and been trying to find them. I found your recipe and here we go!! Muffins came out great!!! Thank you.. looking forward to more recipes.
Easy recipe just waiting on them to come out of oven.. my husband feel in love with these at a hotel in Florida and been trying to find them. I found your recipe and here we go!! Muffins came out great!!! Thank you.. looking forward to more recipes.
This is a new fall favorite in our house! I followed the recipe exactly and they are DELICIOUS! Thank you so much!!
I made them with 2 Kanzi apples and added 1/2 tsp apple pie spice to batter…absolutely delicious!!
I make these muffins all the time – my kids and I love them – but they always seem to cave in on top? How do I keep the perfect mound???
These are seriously the best, no need to look further. It blows my mind how easy and simple they are, but how delicious they come out! Addicting!
These are epic muffins! I’m a bit of a baking novice and always seem to mess muffins up even when following a recipe BUT not with these! My partner didn’t believe I made them >.< Thank you!
Recipe is a keeper! Thank you Nellie.
As I like to reduce the oil, I substituted 1/4c of oil and 3 tbsp of applesauce. Turned out great. I also added some pecans.
These are so so yummy. Whipped them up just as you have printed and ended the day with a few left and a very happy family. Looking forward to one for breakfast. Will be making these on a weekly basis. Thank you for sharing your delicious recipe.
they look yummy and I love not alot of sugar in them we do weight watchers and I think this will work thanks
Truly the tastiest muffins we’ve had. I also added more apple & used one and one half cups flour!
Family loved them.
So simple but so tasty!! My fave apple muffins. Thank you…
Easy to prepare the batter, but it looked very dry. I had to put more milk they taste very good.
@Yvonne, mine are in the oven right now and I also found the batter super dry … I only added a little splash of extra milk (probably should have added more) but hoping the coke out just as good 😅
Fabulous recipe. Nothing can beat good muffins in the morning with a cup of tea. I will definitely be giving these a try! Thanks!
These are epic muffins. Family is very happy. Thanks you so much for big guidline….
Very nice, I did a little tweak, I used two apples and grated them, I also used one teaspoon of baking powder and one of baking soda.
This is the best apple recipe! I only used white flour and next time I will chill the butter for the topping because room temp was too soft. My family loved it.
Great recipe, I added 2 apples instead of one & they came out wonderfully. I read your about me & loved your story. How you showed up for your beautiful family and still manage to take of you. You are truly an inspiration, thank you for the good content!
Love these muffins! The smell when they are baking in the oven has you drooling. I have made them many times and everyone loves them. Definitely make the topping….its the best! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Loved this recipe, they turned out great ! I also made a icing out of powdered sugar , vanilla and milk to drizzle on top.
You were right when you said I’d want to make these muffins time and time again. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I’ve been baking for over fifty years, so finding a new recipe that is worth making more than once is a testament to your wonderful recipe. I also read your “about me” and loved that you’re married to your high school sweetheart. I can tell you are a dedicated wife and mama!
you are welcome!