These easy homemade cinnamon apple muffins are delicious, soft and flavorful. They are lightly spiced and made with fresh grated apple, making them incredibly moist. See below for variations with zucchini, carrot and oatmeal!
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Our favorite way to eat them is with some cut up fruit and scrambled eggs, but sometimes we just have muffins for breakfast. We also love to wash it down with an energizing caffeine free Beetroot Latte. If I feel like making them healthier, I'll add grated carrot and oats, which also tastes amazing (see below for directions on Variations) Check out our fabulous blueberry muffins here and our lemon summer squash muffins here!
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- baking powder
- cinnamon
- salt- table or pink himalayan
- milk
- eggs
- butter
- grated granny smith apple
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- spatula
- whisk
- muffin tin
Instructions
These are pretty straightforward and simple to make. Preheat the oven to 375*F. Start by peeling and grating granny smith apples. 1 large apple or 2 small should be enough. Next, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking powder together in a medium sized bowl. Whisk and set to the side. In a different bowl add the milk, eggs and melted butter and whisk until eggs are well mixed. Stir in the grated apple to the liquid mixture.
Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and mix by folding. Fold using a fork. Start from the bottom and fold up and over the top. Be very careful not to over mix. Over mixing will cause tough, pointy muffins. Folding slowly and carefully will prevent over mixing.
Pour into a lined muffin tin. Bake at 375* F for 18-25 minutes. The muffins will be just starting to turn golden. A toothpick inserted into the middle should come out clean. Enjoy!
How To Video
Substitutions
- Gluten Free- Make these gluten free by using almond flour instead of all-purpose flour. Decrease down to 1 ½ cups. Still delicious and moist!
- Oil- switch vegetable oil for butter. Muffins will be a little lighter.
- Apples- We like granny smith because we love that strong tart flavor, but any apple will do. Honeycrisps also provide a great flavor, but you can really use any.
- almond milk- this recipe can be made with almond milk instead of cow's milk. Use the same amount.
Variations
- Carrot Apple Muffins- Make as directed, adding 1 cup grated carrot. It's delicious!
- Spiced- Add ½ teaspoon nutmeg and ¼ teaspoon cloves
- Zucchini Apple Muffns- Make as directed, adding 1 cup of grated zucchini- wring out the extra liquid in the zucchini before adding in!
- Oatmeal Apple Muffins- Decrease the flour to 1 ⅓ cups, then add 1 cup rolled oats.
- Streusel/ Crumb Topping- Mix 3 Tablespoons brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons flour and ¾ teaspoon cinnamon together in a bowl then cut in 1 Tablespoon cold butter. Sprinkle over muffin tops, pressing in very gently.
Top Tip
It's so important not to over mix these muffins when adding the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients! Use a folding motion. It takes a little longer, but is well worth the moist, fluffy little pieces of heaven it creates. It's okay if there are tiny bits of flour left that didn't get perfectly mixed. It's much better than over mixing.
Storage
Store these in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave for about 8 seconds.
Freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Allow to thaw completely then pop in the microwave for a few seconds to renew the texture.
Recipe
Recipe
Easy Cinnamon Apple Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 cup grated granny smith apple
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375* F.
- Peel and grate granny smith apples. 2 small or 1 large should be enough. Err on the side of more 😉
- Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking powder together in a medium sized bowl. Whisk and set to the side.
- In a different bowl add the milk, eggs and melted butter and whisk. Stir in the grated apple to the liquid mixture.
- Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and mix by folding. Fold using a fork. Start from the bottom and fold up and over the top. Be very careful not to over mix. Over mixing will cause tough, pointy muffins. Folding slowly and carefully will prevent over mixing.
- Pour batter into a lined muffin tin. Bake at 375* F for 18-25 minutes. The muffins will be just starting to turn golden. A toothpick inserted into the middle should come out clean.
- Enjoy!
Cami
The texture of these muffins is absolutely perfect
JC
We love muffins, and wow, these are great! Perfect texture, great flavor. Will be making more soon!
Nathan
I love anything with apple, so these muffins really hit the right spot. Great when I want something sweet but not too unhealthy for breakfast!
Lisa Jo
Can you use applesauce instead of apples and how much? Thank you
Nicole
Hi Lisa,
Yes, you can use applesauce instead of grated apples! It will change the texture a bit (more moist but also more dense), but should still be delicious. Add I cup of unsweetened applesauce to the wet ingredients, and use 1/2 cup milk instead of 3/4 cup and reduce the butter to 2 Tablespoons. You may need to add a little bit more flour (but hopefully not)- try to match the texture in the instruction video, but be very careful not to over mix!
Beth
My family gobbled up these muffins before they were totally cool! Just yummy! Perfect amount of cinnamon!
andrea
Wow, these really are super easy to make. Great fall flavors for muffins and they are perfect for an on-the-go breakfast or snack. Love that they're made with grated apple instead of applesauce so they aren't too dense. Will make again.
Holley
These apple muffins are so moist and delicious! Great texture and taste! Tried the carrot version and we LOVED them. Started making them for snacks for the kids to take to school.
Kerri
These were apple muffins were a quick, delicious, and easy recipe. My family loved them!
Z
Soft, delicious, SO easy, and not overly sweet. I love having an easy breakfast that I can grab and go, but muffins always feel like I'm just eating dessert. Not these, though! They're just right for when you're in a hurry in the morning (I made them at night so that they'd be ready in the morning).
Mo
I tried but omitted the sugar and added a ripened banana. It was ok, but not sweet enough. I’ll try again with more apple and more banana. Overall, good recipe. 👍🏾
Nicole
Hi Mo, we are so glad you tried our recipe. Sorry it didn't turn out the way your were hoping with the banana.