Moist Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Apple a day keeps doctors away! So, start your day with these moist apple cinnamon muffins. If you are craving something sweet and warm, try these muffins. These muffins are perfect to start your day or as an evening snack and very simple to make.

These muffins are extremely moist, tender, and packed with juicy apples, so you will taste them in every bite. if you think bakery muffins are better and you can't make them at home, then I advise you to try these muffins. You will never buy from a bakery.

These are my son's favorite and it's a fall tradition in our house during Thanksgiving. However, these can be served at any time of the year. You don't want to miss them either. So, let's not wait any further and start baking!

Why you will love these moist apple cinnamon muffins?

1. Does not require special muffin pan as these can be made in regular muffin pan.
2. Moist muffins packed with apple flavor.
3. Perfect dessert for thanksgiving.
4. Freezer friendly.
5. Customizable, either eat them plain or top with crumb and icing.
6. Kids just love these (I just get one muffin out of 12.. make sure to keep something for you before you show them ;))

How to make moist apple muffins - overview

Usually, muffins are created by mixing dry and wet ingredients but these muffins are prepared by creaming method which is creaming butter and sugar, adding eggs, and then alternating sifted dry ingredients with liquid. Please follow my step-by-step instructions for details. Let's quickly see how these are made.

Tender apple cinnamon muffins ingredients

Dry ingredients

1. All-purpose flour - Use any brand of all-purpose flour, nothing specific. Do not replace it with cake flour or self-rising flour. Cake flour will make the muffins lighter and drier. Self-rising flour has a leavening agent so do not use it.

2. Baking soda - works as leavening agent. When it is combined with sour cream and it releases gas, helps the muffin to rise. Do not replace with baking powder, they are not the same.

3. Baking powder - another leavener, helps the muffins to rise. The combination of baking soda and baking powder helps muffin to rise higher.

4. Cinnamon - As the name suggests, this is the star of the recipe. Just a dash of cinnamon will give the muffins a warm and cozy taste, a fall tradition. Like coffee and chocolate, cinnamon pairs beautifully with apples

5. Salt - Just a pinch but will make a big difference. Do not skip unless you are using salted butter.

Wet ingredients

6. Unsalted butter - Use softened unsalted butter which is at room temperature. I always recommend using unsalted butter because you can control the amount of salt that is added to the recipe and different brands of salted butter contain different amounts of salt. Do not replace it with oil as we have other ingredients to keep the muffins moist but if you still want to use it, please check substitution recommendations.

7. Brown sugar - This is required to make moist apple muffins as it contains molasses. This is our secret for moist muffins.

8. White sugar - Also referred to as caster sugar or granulated sugar. Use whichever brand of sugar is available.

9. Eggs - Use 2 large, room-temperature eggs. It is very essential to use room-temperature eggs so that they incorporate easily with other ingredients. Keep them in a bowl of tapped hot water for 5 minutes if you take them out just before starting the recipe. Eggs provide richness, moisture, and texture to our muffins.

10. Sour cream - Tanginess of sour cream blends perfectly with the sweetness of apple and sugar. This also adds moisture, resulting in moist apple muffins. Make sure it is at room temperature so that it can properly combine with other ingredients.

11. Milk - Use full-fat milk for a great dairy flavor. I would not recommend replacing it with 2% milk and just stay away from water :)

12. Vanilla extract - You can either use pure vanilla extract or vanilla imitation, depending on what you currently have n your pantry. Although vanilla bean paste has deep vanilla flavors but it is not required in my opinion. However, you can use it in vanilla cake though.

13. Apples (peeled and chopped) - This recipe requires around 1.25 apples. Use any apple of your choice. I have tried several varieties like Honey Crisp, fuji, and Pink Lady. I did not like the gala apples as they were mushy and the muffins lost it's apple bite.

Any substitute?

Sour cream - you can replace sour cream with Greek yogurt or regular yogurt in equal quantities.

Unsalted butter - You can substitute it with salted butter but skip the salt entirely. Many recipes use oil to make moist muffins but in my opinion, butter adds flavor that oil does not. So, If you want to make moister muffins, replace 1/3 of the butter with any nonfragrant oil.

What type of apples you should use?

You can use any apple of your choice but it is ok to use tart apples in this recipe as we use just around 1.25 apples. I have tried these muffins with honey crisp, fuji, and pink lady. I have also used gala apples but they were mushy and the muffins lost it's apple bite.

Tools needed

1. Muffin pan
2. Mixing bowl
3. Measuring spoons
4. Measuring cups
5. Weighing scale
6. Cupcake liners (optional)
7. Ice cream scoop (optional)

Apple cinnamon muffins (step-by-step recipe)

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F(218 C). Prepare your cupcake pan. You can use cupcake liners, non-stick spray, or butter-flour method. The butter-flour method requires coating the pan with butter first, followed by flour, and then removing any excess flour. I personally prefer to use cupcake liners because they are easy to remove from the pan, and secondly, that is how we get the muffins in the bakery :).

Mix dry ingredients

2. Sift all dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

Mix wet ingredients

3. In another mixing bowl, add softened butter and both sugars (regular and brown). Beat them using a hand beater until light and fluffy. This will take approximately 3 to 4 minutes.

4. Now, add sour cream, vanilla extract, eggs and beat it together until completely combined and smooth. Do not worry if it looks grainy. It will come together after adding dry ingredients.

Make muffin batter

5. Now alternate sifted dry ingredients with milk and beat on speed 1 of the hand beater until it is just mixed. DO NOT OVERMIX at this stage. It is ok to use hand beater or stand mixer but keep the speed low

6. Finally, add chopped apples and fold gently with a rubber spatula. Using a spatula rather than a hand beater makes folding easier. After everything has been mixed, the muffin batter should look thick.

Fill cupcake pan

7. Divide the muffin batter equally between 12 cupcake liners, with about 1/3 cup in each. Ice cream will help you with this. If you are using crumb topping then put it on top and gently press with the back of a spoon so that it sticks to the batter. Do not overfill the batter otherwise, it will overflow and spill.

Bake and serve

8. Keep them immediately (I would not recommend resting on the kitchen counter as leavening agents have already started to react) in the oven in middle rack and bake for 5 minutes at 425F (218 C). Keeping the temperature high in the beginning will give muffins a lift and help them to rise higher. After 5 minutes, without removing the muffins from the pan, reduce the temperature to 350F (180 C) and bake for another 15 to 18 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean. This requires 23 minutes in total.

9. Once baked, remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Let the muffins to cool to room temperature or until you can touch the muffin pan with your hands.

10. Once it is cooled down, remove from the pan. If you are using icing, use it now, otherwise, they are ready to be served. Enjoy!

Variations

These moist apple cinnamon muffins tastes best by themselves but if you want to add any additional garnishing, feel free to do so. I have tried with following options. Let me know if you try with anything different.

1. Crumb Topping - This recipe is plain and is not topped with any topping or icing. If you love your muffins to be topped with topping like my lemon blueberry muffins, make the crumb topping using regular, brown sugar, melted butter, flour, and cinnamon and place over muffin batter before baking. Please refer recipe card for detailed measurements of crumb topping.

2. Icing - Unlike crumb topping, icing needs to be added over muffins just before serving. You can make simple vanilla icing by using icing sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Exact measurements in the recipe card below.

3. Apples - You can substitute apples with chopped pears in equal quantity to make moist pear muffins.

Want to see how to make it? (Video)

Storing and freezing instructions

Storing -

You can easily make the muffins ahead of time and store them in an air-tight container. You can store them at room temperature for 1 to 2 days or 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator or up to 1 month in the freezer.

Let the muffins cool down to room temperature before storing them; otherwise, mold will grow and ruin them. I recommend wrapping them with plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil to retain the moisture for a long period.

Freezing -

Before freezing the muffins, let them cool down to room temperature. I highly recommend freezing an individual muffin rather than the entire batch so that you can remove only the number of muffins you want to consume. Wrap individual muffins with plastic wrap, then with aluminum foil, and then mention the date so you know when this was made :)

Thawing -

Remove one individual muffin from the freezer and keep it in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat in the microwave for 5 to 8 seconds depending on the power of your microwave. If you are in a hurry then reheat for a few more minutes and you are all set.

Valuable tips for best apple cinnamon muffins

Below are the most valuable tips to make the best apple cinnamon muffins. So, please go over them so that you can learn from my mistakes :).

• Measure ingredients correctly - Incorrect measurement is the main cause of dense or overly moist muffins. For the best results, I highly recommend using a weighing scale. It will never provide you wrong results.

• Do not overmix - Overmixing dry ingredients with wet ones is a primary cause of dense muffins. To avoid this, always mix dry ingredients at a lower speed until you see a few streaks of flour.

• Room temperature ingredients - Make sure your eggs, butter, and sour cream are at room temperature. Room-temperature ingredients are properly combined.

• Oven temperature - For the perfect dome-shaped muffins, bake them at 425 F (218 C) for the first 5 mins, giving the muffins initial lift and helping them to rise higher.

• Required time - The time it takes to bake the muffins changes depending on the oven. These muffins will take roughly 23 minutes to bake, so I would recommend keeping a close watch around 20 minutes in. The inserted toothpick should come out clean with only a few moist crumbs. If the toothpick has wet batter and a moist crumb, put it back in the oven and check again after a few minutes. Once you know the timing, take them out immediately.

• Toothpick test - Always perform a toothpick test before taking the muffins out of the oven. Insert the toothpick in the middle of the muffin; it should come out clean. If it comes out with wet batter, bake for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.

• Use diced apples - Be sure to dice the apple to small pieces rather than big chunks, as this will affect the mouthfeel.

• Coat apples - You can coat apples with flour, just like you would with blueberries in a lemon blueberry muffin. Just take 2 to 3 teaspoons of flour from the measured one and coat the apples in the beginning. This prevents them from sinking to the bottom.

• Sift dry ingredients - Sifting dry ingredients ensures that leavening agents are evenly distributed in the flour otherwise it will create big pockets in the muffin. Although it will not affect the taste, the look and feel will be unpleasant.

• Do not interchange leaveners - Baking soda and baking powder is different. So, please do not replace it with another. The combination of baking soda and baking powder gives the muffin a preferred dome shape.

Apple cinnamon muffins - FAQ

How can we know whether the muffins are done? - These apple muffins require about 23 minutes to bake. However, because each oven is different, the time required to bake might be different. I would suggest keeping a watch for around 20 minutes, performing the toothpick test, and removing muffins from the oven.

Why do my muffins fall after being taken out of the oven? - They must be underbaked. Please make sure to check with a toothpick before removing it from the oven even if you are baking in your regular oven. The toothpick should come out clean, with a few moist crumbs.

Why aren't my muffins light and fluffy? - The muffins are supposed to be light and fluffy. If not, please check the expiry of baking soda and baking powder. They usually need to be replaced every 6 months.

Why are my muffins so dense? Overmixing the flour is the main cause of dense muffins. Whether you are mixing in a stand mixer or using a hand beater, always incorporate the flour on low speed.

Did you prepare it?

Did you prepare them? If not, what are you waiting for? Make them right away and let me know how they turn out. I honestly love to hear from you, and your feedback is really important to me.

If you post the moist apple cinnamon muffin recipe on Instagram, do not forget to tag me. Tag @DessertKatta or use the hashtag #DessertKatta.

Recipe card