Apple Muffins Recipe
Tall apple muffins with brown sugar, cinnamon and a buttery crumb topping. This is the bakery style version, made with real sugar and butter.
Bakery Style Apple Muffins Worth Baking Again and Again
Our first batch of these apple muffins sank in the middle, and the crumb topping was the reason. Too much butter was weighing it down.
Lauran F. baked them next, and hers came out flat topped too. So we cut the butter in the crumble in half and took out the granulated sugar, and the muffins finally held their shape.
Our opinion: a crumb topping should look like loose, sandy crumbs, never a paste. If yours clumps into a solid layer, it will press the muffins flat every time.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Buttery crumb topping: Brown sugar and cinnamon crumbs bake into a crunchy top.
- Bakery style tops: A hot oven start and a short batter rest give tall, domed tops.
- Community tested: Our bakers built it, then home bakers tested it in their own kitchens before it went live.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Full amounts are in the recipe card below. Here’s what each ingredient does and what you can swap.
- Flour: all-purpose for a sturdier muffin or pastry flour for a softer one. The recipe card lists cups and grams for both.
- Brown sugar: caramel flavor that pairs with apple and cinnamon.
- Baking powder and baking soda: baking powder does most of the lifting, and the soda helps the tops brown.
- Eggs: two, at room temperature, for rise and structure.
- Sour cream, milk, butter and oil: butter for flavor, oil so they stay moist. Greek yogurt works in place of sour cream.
- Apples: Honeycrisp, Gala or Fuji, diced small.
- Crumb topping: brown sugar, flour, cold butter and cinnamon.
How to Make Apple Muffins Recipe
Step 1: Make the batter
Toss the diced apple with a spoonful of the flour mixture. Whisk the wet ingredients, fold into the dry ingredients and fold in the apples. Pinch the crumb topping ingredients together until clumpy.
Baker’s Tip: Dice the apple about 1/4 inch so it softens as it bakes and does not sink.
Step 2: Rest and fill
Let the batter rest for 15 minutes while the oven heats. Then use a large cookie scoop or 1/3 cup measure to fill all 12 liners to the top.
Tester Tip: Divide the crumb topping evenly, about 1 heaping tablespoon per muffin, and sprinkle it on loosely without pressing it in. One of our testers piled it on thick, and the extra weight kept the muffins from rising.
Step 3: Bake
Bake at 400°F for 5 minutes, then lower the oven to 350°F without opening the door and bake 15 to 18 minutes more.
They’re done when the tops spring back, a toothpick comes out clean and the centers read 200 to 205°F.
What Our Test Bakers Learned
The crumb topping is the star here, and it took some adjusting to get right.
- Test #1: Kami K.’s first batch sank a little in the middle. She suspected the butter in the crumble was weighing things down.
- Test #2: Lauran F. said they tasted great, but hers collapsed and came out flat topped too. She also pointed to the butter and suggested a lighter crumble.
- Test #3: Jameson K. really liked them but thought they could use more cinnamon, so he suggested tossing the chopped apple with extra cinnamon before folding it in. The batter rested before baking even though this recipe uses all purpose flour, and the muffins came out really light, so we think the rest helped.
- What we changed: We cut the butter in the crumble in half and took the granulated sugar out of it. The topping should feel loose and flaky when you sprinkle it on, never pasty.
Tips for Perfect Muffins Every Time
- Weigh your flour, or spoon it into the cup and level it. Extra flour makes thick batter and dense muffins.
- Use room temperature eggs and dairy. Set eggs in warm water for 5 minutes if you forget.
- Do not open the oven when you lower the temperature. That first blast of heat is what gives you tall tops.
- Check your oven with an oven thermometer. Many ovens run hot or cold.
- Dark pans bake faster, so start checking 2 to 3 minutes early.
Storing and Freezing
Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. To freeze, wrap them individually and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight or warm in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, but peeled apples give a softer bite.
Honeycrisp, Gala and Fuji stay sweet and hold their shape.
Yes. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar instead.
Yes. Try our healthy apple muffins, made with honey or maple syrup instead of granulated sugar.
Easy Apple Muffins
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with parchment liners, or lightly spray paper liners with oil so the muffins release cleanly.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, packed brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, sour cream, milk, melted butter, oil and vanilla until smooth.
- In a small bowl, pinch together the crumb topping ingredients with your fingers until pea sized clumps form. Keep it in the fridge until you are ready to top the muffins so the crumbs stay loose and flaky.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold just until no dry flour remains. Fold in the apples. Do not overmix. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes before scooping for taller tops.
- Use a large cookie scoop or 1/3 cup measure to divide the batter evenly among the 12 liners, filling them to the top. Sprinkle about 1 heaping tablespoon of crumb topping loosely over each muffin. Do not press it in or pile it on, or the extra weight will flatten the tops.
- Bake at 400°F for 5 minutes. Without opening the door, lower the oven to 350°F and bake 15 to 18 minutes more, until the tops spring back, a toothpick in the center comes out clean and the center reads 200 to 205°F.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then move the muffins to a wire rack. Let them cool completely before peeling off the liners.
Notes
| Calories | 301 |
|---|---|
| Total fat | 14 g |
| Saturated fat | 6 g |
| Cholesterol | 52 mg |
| Sodium | 257 mg |
| Total carbohydrate | 41 g |
| Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugars | 21 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
