I’m kind of proud of myself.
I held out until mid September before sharing a fall baked good with you! It takes a lot of control, especially since I adore the flavors of fall and want to scream it from the rooftops.
A little dramatic, yes. Deserved? Also yes.
These apple crumb muffins might just be the best muffins I have EVER made.
I realize I say this a lot, but I had a lot of family try them this past weekend when they were in town for my birthday, and nearly all of them said so. My sister ate two because she couldn’t stop at just one. My brother-in-law ate three. At once.
They’re gooooood.
The batter is simple to make but loaded with warmth and sweetness. Cinnamon, nutmeg, caramely brown sugar, apple cider, and actual diced apple are the stars.
Just whipping up the batter alone fills the air with the cozy aromas of fall. Sweet and spiced!
For the apples in this recipe, i love honey crisp but any firm, tart-sweet apple will work. We dice them kind of small so they are evenly dispersed throughout the batter and get tender in the oven.
This batter recipe is something special. It is so incredibly fluffy and creamy – it almost looks like a buttercream frosting! I base it off of my favorite blueberry muffins, and doing so works like a dream every single time.
The apples get folded in and then the batter is loaded into muffin tins.
Then! I top the muffins with the easiest but best streusel ever. It is seriously so simple to make, but it takes baked goods to the next level. Buttery, sweet crumble all over the tops of these cute little muffins.
Be generous! I think streusel is most people’s favorite part, so I don’t go light.
These bake up super fluffy and moist and have incredible apple and spice flavor. They’re almost cupcake like. It took a ton of self control to not devour one piping hot from the pan. They smell intoxicating!
Once the muffins have cooled, I like to drizzle a little extra apple flair over the top. I make a simple apple cider glaze and drizzle it over the cooled muffins.
The glaze is totally optional – the muffins are amazing without it – but I love the drama it adds and that extra little bit of apple flavor is lovely. It also firms up on top of the streusel, which makes for a really fun textural experience.
These apple muffins are just what fall mornings ordered. They’re destined for mugs of hot coffee or tea, and they make you feel damn happy inside. Cozy, sweet little bites of apple heaven.
You can keep your pumpkin. Give me all the apples!
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Apple Crumb Muffins with Cider Glaze
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 18 muffins 1x
Description
These Apple Crumb Muffins with Cider Glaze are a taste of fall coziness in every bite! Spiced, sweet batter flavored with apples and apple cider is baked up into the fluffiest, softest muffins. The cinnamon streusel on top really makes them decadent. To finish things off and drive home that apple flavor, a quick apple cider glaze gets drizzled over top. They are a autumnal masterpiece!
Ingredients
For the Muffins:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil (any neutral oil will work)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or extract)
- ½ cup apple cider
- 2 cups diced Granny Smith or honeycrisp apples (no need to peel – unless you want to)
For the Streusel Topping:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of fine salt
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
For the Glaze:
- ½ cup apple cider
- Tiny pinch of cinnamon
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Muffins:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners (this recipe makes about 18 muffins for me, so I prepare another 6-cup muffin tin as well).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.
- Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars together until pale yellow and fluffy, about 2 minutes (you can also just whisk together by hand).
- Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and oil and beat until smooth.
- Alternate adding the flour and the apple cider, starting and ending with flour (so, add half the flour first, then all of the cider, and end with the remaining half of flour), gently stirring and folding the batter after each addition. Try not to overmix! This will yield dense muffins.
- To the empty flour bowl, add the diced apples and 1 tablespoon flour. Gently toss to evenly coat the apples in the flour.
- Using a spatula, gently fold the apples into the batter.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan and then top each muffin with the streusel topping (instructions below).
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are golden around the edges and set in the middles.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack before topping with the apple cider glaze.
- Keep covered at room temperature in an airtight container for up to one week.
For the Streusel Topping:
- To the same bowl used for the muffin dry ingredients, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and a tiny pinch of salt.
- Add the melted butter and stir the mixture until it clumps together and is crumbly.
- Generously top each muffin with the streusel before baking – I do roughly 2-3 tablespoons per muffin.
For the Glaze:
- Once the muffins are baked and cooled, make the glaze.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients until smooth and creamy. If needed, add a splash more cider or another couple tablespoons of sugar to get it to a drizzling consistency.
- Drizzle over the cooled muffins and allow to set.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: muffins
Hi There. I'm Molly. I'm a food-obsessed, self-taught cook and I can't wait to share my passion for all things culinary with you. My love for egg yolks is just the tip of the iceberg!
Incredible recipe. These were so delicious and had great cinnamon apple flavor.