Soft and sweet Apple Muffins made from scratch. These easy muffins have a delicious cinnamon topping and are perfect for morning or afternoon tea or as a lunchbox treat.
Say hello to my bakery-style Apple Muffins 💕
Soft and fluffy high-top muffins filled with freshly chopped apples and dusted with a sweet cinnamon sugar topping. These gorgeous Apple Muffins are so easy to make and a great treat for the lunchbox.
If you love all things cinnamon, you’ll fall head over heels for these easy Apple Muffins.
Last year, I developed a recipe for Apple Cake and it’s quickly become one of my most popular recipes of all time. So I knew an Easy Apple Muffin recipe was next on the list!
Just like my apple cake, these Cinnamon Apple Muffins are super light and fluffy on the inside. Made with oil and buttermilk, they’re soft and sweet with tender bites of apple in each one.
And just like my favourite Cinnamon Tea Cake, these muffins are finished with a brushing of butter and cinnamon sugar while they are still warm – it’s a magical trick! It turns a regular muffins into a delightful treat that’s reminiscent of a hot cinnamon donut. You are going to LOVE them!
HOW DO YOU MAKE HIGH TOP MUFFINS AT HOME?
There is a trick to making high top muffins just like those at a bakery. First, you need to make sure you fill the holes of your muffin pan right to the top with batter – see photo above. Then you want to bake the muffins in a very hot oven during the first 5 minutes of baking. This will ensure the muffins rise quickly and form those lovely domed tops. The oven temperature can then be reduced for the remainder of the cooking time.
HOW CAN I MAKE MUFFINS THAT ARE SOFT AND MOIST?
One trick for soft and moist muffins is using oil instead of butter. It gives the muffins a more cake-like texture, with a crisp top and a soft and tender centre. Another reasons for tough or dry muffins is over mixing. Make sure you don’t over mix your muffin batter. Stir the mix lightly by hand. Using buttermilk also helps to make muffins soft and moist.
CAN I MAKE MY OWN BUTTERMILK?
Yes. If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, try making your own buttermilk from scratch. Add one tablespoon of white vinegar to 1 cup of milk. Leave for 5 minutes to curdle, then use as normal. This solution works well for these muffins.
WHAT APPLES SHOULD I USE?
Most apples will work well in this recipe, so use your favourite kind! I like to use red apples like Royal Gala or Pink Lady. Also, you don’t need to worry about peeling the apples, you can leave the skin on.
CAN YOU FREEZE APPLE MUFFINS?
Yes you can. While I will always think muffins are best fresh, especially warm from the oven, you can freeze these Apple Muffins. Simply wrap them well individually using plastic wrap and place in your freezer. You can heat them up in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to enjoy warm.
MORE MUFFINS RECIPES TO TRY
- Double Chocolate Muffins
- White Chocolate Raspberry Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Banana Nut Muffins
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.
Let’s Bake
Easy Apple Muffins
Soft and tender Apple Muffins covered in cinnamon sugar.
Ingredients
- 350 grams (2 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 3 level teaspoons baking powder
- 200 grams (1 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 small red apples (approximately 2 cups), roughly chopped
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 240 ml (1 cup) buttermilk*
Cinnamon topping
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons caster sugar or granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 C (390 F) standard / 180 C (350 F) fan-forced. Grease a 12-hole muffin pan well with butter or olive oil spray or line with cupcake liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, sugar and cinnamon and whisk briefly. Add chopped apples. Stir just to cover the apple pieces in the flour mixture.
- To a small bowl, add oil, vanilla and eggs whisk briefly just to break up the egg yolks. Make a well in the middle of your dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients, along with the buttermilk.
- Very gently fold until the mixture is just combined – be careful not to over mix or your muffins will be tough.
- Spoon out the mixture into your prepared tin. Depending on how much apple you added, you might be able to squeeze 14 muffins out of this batch.
- Bake for 5 minutes before turning down the heat to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced and bake for a further 13-15 minutes or golden brown on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- While the muffins are still warm, brush the tops with melted butter. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon, then generously sprinkle over each muffin.
Notes
Buttermilk: You can make your own buttermilk but adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice to 1 cup of regular milk. Leave to sit for a few minutes and then use as per normal. It works great in this muffin recipe.
Martha says
The best muffins I ever made so moist and soft !!!I make them now almost every week
Whole family and friends really enjoys them and ask me to pass on the recipe
Thank you Jessica
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad to hear that Martha!
Julie Cole says
Can I use semi skimmed milk to make buttermilk
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Julie, I usually use full fat milk to try and replicate real buttermilk, but it should work in this case.
Lodene says
Hi! Wanting to try this recipe and was wondering, if it was possible to use yogurt instead of the buttermilk and what effect it would have on the texture and moistness of the muffins? 😊
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lorene, I haven’t tried this recipe with yogurt but it would likely work. Natural or Greek yogurt would work best for the acidity. They should turn out quite similar but you might find that the batter is quite thick.
Tracy says
Possible to use canned apple? Slices ( & chop them up) or pie apples? Ta,
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
I think so Tracy, they might just be a little soggy. Make sure you drain any liquid before adding them to the batter.
Lari says
I just made your apple muffins. They are delicious and very easy to make.
Thank you
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Aimee A. says
Made this recipe just now, the recipe came out great! I had a little extra batter leftover so I made a really small cake. My cake came out a little dry though, not sure why.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them Aimee. It may just be the larger quantity – it can be easy to over bake or over mix muffin batter.
Brielle says
Delicious, soft muffins!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them!
Ania says
Hi, these look so yum! Wondering if it was possible to double the recipe by just multiplying everything by 2 – or is there something I need to be careful with eg baking powder amount ?
Thanks for sharing all your hard work and wonderful recipes!
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Anita, I usually try to avoid doubling recipes for exactly the reason you specified. Also with muffins, I fear it’d be too easy to overmix the batter – making the muffins tough. I’d recommend making the recipe twice instead if you can.
Cath says
I tried this recipe coz my 3 year old wanted an apple cake but I made it into a cake not muffins. I was going to make the apple cake but I didn’t have yogurt. It turned out great. My kids love it.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that Cath!
kathy says
Hi, made these muffins yesterday and the taste was great but they looked anemic and I even baked them longer trying to get a better color, not very attractive. I thought about adding a tablespoon of cocoa next time, will this affect the recipe
Jessica Holmes says
Glad you enjoyed them Kathy. I haven’t tried adding cocoa but it will affect the taste.
Martina says
Hi, I made these muffins 3 days ago and shared them with my colleagues and niece and nethews. They all loved them. I just used less sugar (150gr) and more cinammon because Im using Ceilon cinammon. I kept them closed for 3 days and they were still moist and soft. Great recipe ☺☺☺
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Aw love hearing that Martina! Thank you for your kind review!
Winifred DSouza says
Very good tasty
Jessica Holmes says
Glad you enjoyed them!
Mariana says
They are amazing! Thank you for the recipe Jess!!!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Aw so glad you enjoyed them Mariana!
Greta says
I absolutely LOOOVED your cinnamon apple cake recipe, it was so easy to make and probably the tastiest cake I’ve ever made! So can’t wait to try these muffins too, I’m expecting them to be just as good!
Jessica Holmes says
Oh love that Greta! Hope you enjoy them!
Laurina says
Another perfect recipe, thank you Jessica! These apple muffins were a cinch to make and the texture and taste were the best. I cannot get enough cinnamon, so doubled the amount of ground cinnamon in the mix to 2 teaspoons.
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Aw so glad you enjoyed them Laurina! And I’m all for more cinnamon! 🙂
Josh says
They are so easy to make – loved the cinnamon topping!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
That’s my favourite part too! Glad you enjoyed them Josh!