These Cinnamon Apple Muffins are loaded with apples and cinnamon…and topped with a delicious crunchy cinnamon streusel! They’re perfect for chilly Autumn mornings!
Autumn. My favorite time of the year. Fortunately, Autumn is amazing here in upstate New York. (For now, let’s conveniently “forget” that winter follows close on Autumn’s heels.) Sweaters, beautiful leaves, that first nip of chill in the air. Oh, and apples. Upstate New York is home to a lot of apple orchards. When I say a lot, I mean a lot! I’d estimate we have at least 8-10 orchards within 15 minutes of our house. That means we eat a lot of apples in the Fall. And apples lend themselves well to baking, too!
Before we get into today’s delicious Cinnamon Apple Muffins recipe, can we take a moment to talk about names of apples? Sure, there’s Red Delicious and Granny Smith. And there’s Gala, Fuji and Honeycrisp. Most folks have heard of those. But what about the Cosmic Crisp? Or the Snapdragon? Or (my favorite – at least in name) the Esopus Spitzenburg. Yes, Esopus Spitzenburg. I kid you not. This variety was popular in the 1800’s, and it’s rumored to have been Thomas Jefferson’s favorite kind of apple.
![These Cinnamon Apple Muffins are loaded with apples and cinnamon...and topped with a delicious crunchy cinnamon streusel! They're perfect for chilly Autumn mornings!]()
Cinnamon Apple Muffins
Cinnamon Apple MuffinsFor this Cinnamon Apple Muffins, I used the classic Granny Smith variety. The tartness of the Granny Smith makes it a great choice when baking desserts – and let’s be honest, a proper muffin is really just a dessert that woke up early. It only took about 2 large apples to give these muffins a noticeable apple flavor. And cinnamon. Don’t forget the cinnamon in there, too! Heck, I could’ve called these Apple Pie Muffins, but I thought Cinnamon Apple Muffins sounded better.
Aside from the diced apples, the real shining star in this muffin is the thick layer of streusel that gets sprinkled on top before baking. I’ve always had a thing for streusel on top of muffins, and I spent a long time perfecting what I consider to be the best darn streusel ever! Some streusels were too dry and crumbly. Other versions sank into the muffins while baking. But this one? Holy cow, I could eat it with a spoon. (If you’ve been a long-time reader of this blog, then this streusel topping will probably look familiar. I use it all the time when baking muffins!)
I also topped these muffins with a glaze. The glaze is tasty, but honestly it’s not necessary. I’ll probably leave it off next time I bake a batch. The streusel, though? Not optional in my book!
So as the days start getting shorter and the nights start getting colder, I say pick up some apples and get to baking! These Cinnamon Apple Muffins were a huge hit in our house, and I highly suspect they will be making more appearances before apple season wraps up this year. Happy baking!
Did you make a batch of these Cinnamon Apple Muffins at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). Enjoy!
Cinnamon Apple Muffins
Ingredients
For the Streusel
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
For the Muffins
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1½ cups diced green apples ~ ½” pieces
For the Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Streusel
- Using a medium bowl, add sugars and cinnamon; stir until well combined.
- Add the melted butter; stir until well combined.
- Add the flour; stir until well combined. Set streusel aside.
For the Muffins
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Lightly spray a muffin tin with baking spray, or line muffin tin with paper liners.
- Using a medium mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder and cinnamon; stir until well combined. Set mixture aside.
- Using an electric mixer, cream together sugar, butter and salt until light and fluffy (~3-4 minutes on medium speed).
- Using a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and oil. Pour liquid mixture into bowl of mixer in 2 additions, mixing well after each addition.
- Add flour mixture and mix on low until well combined.
- Fold in chopped apples.
- Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin tin. (See note.)
- Crumble the streusel mixture evenly on top of the muffins.
- Bake for 36-38 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
For the Glaze
- Using a small bowl, whisk all glaze ingredients (powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract) together; drizzle over warm muffins.
Notes
Nutrition
Looking for more tasty muffin recipes? I’ve got ya covered! Check out some of these other favorites, too:
The post Cinnamon Apple Muffins appeared first on Spiced.
