Apple Muffins
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These wholesome apple muffins are packed with spice and everything nice—just what you need for a cozy start to the day.
Adapted from King Arthur Flour, these delicious apple muffins are made partially with whole wheat flour, which gives them a wholesome, nutty flavor and toasty-brown color. They’re also chockfull of tart apples and enriched with yogurt, so no one could ever accuse them of being cupcakes pretending to be muffins. The recipe calls for a full tablespoon of cinnamon along with a hint of nutmeg and cloves, so your house will smell amazing while the muffins bake. But the best part of this apple muffin recipe might just be the muffin top; the brown sugar gives the lids an irresistible crunch. If you’d prefer something that you can slice and share, my apple bread has similar flavors and is equally crave-worthy.
Table of Contents
“I made these gorgeous muffins, they are easy to make, so very light and tasty. Perfect for the autumnal or winter season.”
What You’ll Need To Make Apple Muffins
- Butter: Provides richness and flavor to the muffins.
- Granulated Sugar and Brown Sugar: Sweeten the muffins while adding moisture and subtle caramel-like flavor.
- Egg: Binds the ingredients together and provides structure to the muffins.
- Plain Low-Fat Yogurt or Greek Yogurt: Adds moisture and richness to the muffins and interacts with the baking soda to help them rise.
- Whole Wheat Flour and All-purpose Flour: The foundation of the muffins. The use of whole wheat flour provides a wholesome, nutty flavor and lovely color.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Leavening agents that help the muffins rise and give them a fluffy texture.
- Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Cloves: Infuse the muffins with warm, aromatic spices that complement the apples.
- Apples: Provide moisture, sweetness, and texture to the muffins. Make sure to use baking apples that are firm enough to hold their shape when baked. See the FAQ’s for what brands of apples are considered best for baking.
- Brown Sugar: Adds a crunchy, sweet topping to the muffins enhancing the flavor and texture.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
To begin, combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar.
Beat until light and fluffy.
Add the egg.
Then beat again.
Add the yogurt.
Beat again.
Add all the dry ingredients right to the bowl.
Mix until just combined. Note that the batter will be very thick.
Add the diced apples.
Then fold them in.
Use an ice cream scoop to transfer the batter to a muffin tin.
Sprinkle the tops generously with brown sugar.
Bake for about 25 minutes.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Baking apples, such as Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Gala, Jonagold, Jonathan, and Golden Delicious varieties, are firm and tart, making them ideal for baking because they hold their shape and retain their texture during the baking process. Their tartness balances the sweetness of baked goods, and their firmness prevents them from turning mushy, ensuring a pleasing texture in baked treats. They’re also ideal in apple pie and apple crisp.
Using all whole wheat flour may make the muffins dry. If you have white whole wheat flour, that would work nicely. If not, I’d suggest using 1½ cups of whole wheat and ½ cup all-purpose flour.
Because the apples help to keep them moist, the muffins will keep nicely for several days. Store them at room temperature in an airtight container lined with a sheet of paper towels. Arrange the muffins in a single layer and cover them with another sheet of paper towels to absorb any excess moisture.
Absolutely! The muffins can be frozen in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. Thaw for 3 to 4 hours on the countertop before serving. To reheat, wrap individual muffins in aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350° oven until warm.
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Spiced Apple Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt or Greek yogurt
- 1 cup whole wheat flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 cups peeled cored, and finely chopped baking apples (you'll need 2 large apples)
For Topping
- 6 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease a 12-cup muffin pan with butter or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Add the egg and mix well, stopping to scrape the bowl if necessary.
- Beat in the yogurt. The batter will look grainy.
- Add the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Beat on low speed until just combined. The batter will be very thick.
- Add the chopped apples and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix.
- Use an ice-cream scooper or large spoon to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. The cups should be full. Sprinkle the 6 tablespoons of brown sugar evenly over top.
- Bake the muffins for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Remove the muffins from the oven, cool them for 5 minutes in the pan, then turn them out onto a rack to finish cooling completely.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions:The muffins can be frozen in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. Thaw for 3 to 4 hours on the countertop before serving. To reheat, wrap individual muffins in aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350°F (175°C) oven until warm.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Comments
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Made these the other night. The finely chopped apples were so tasty in the muffin and added another layer of sweetness. I substituted spelt flour and they turned with a nice and light texture. I was generous with the cinnamon and other spices as well. Well-liked by the family!
Can these muffins be frozen?
Sure, Bonnie – they freeze well.
Good morning! Have you ever made these as mini muffins? I always prefer mini muffins to regular (calorie count always spoils the fun!!). Would you provide the adjusted baking time and temp, if so? Thank you!!
Hi Lorrie, I haven’t but no reason it won’t work. I’d keep the temp the same but start checking for doneness at 12 to 15 min. Please LMK how they turn out!
Hello! Quick question- can I use a stand mixer instead of a hand mixer?
Yep – hope you enjoy!
With a stand mixer, the wire beater or the paddle?
(Love your recipes, so clear and easy to follow and very tasty results!)
Hi Leigh, I’d use the paddle (and so glad you like the recipes)! 🙂
This recipe was so easy to execute! I had to substitute light sour cream for the plain non-Greek yogurt (didn’t have plain yogurt). They baked up just great and we thoroughly enjoyed “taste-testing” them. Thank you!
Can I use all white flour as I don’t have whole wheat flour in my house right now. Do I need to change any liquid amounts if using all white? Thx
Sure, Susan, it’s fine to use all white flour here with no other adjustments. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn- I love the Fall and I especially love recipes that use apples (reminds me of being at my grandparent’s home in Michigan where they had apples galore!). These Apple Spice muffins are super good! The only modifications I made was that I used 1/4 c. granulated sugar instead of 1/2 cup, and I used 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon in the batter instead of 1 tablespoon (decided to use some cinnamon for topping)…and, I topped them with 3 T. brown sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 c. walnuts (I’m a nut lover! 😀)
I made these muffins today and they came out perfect! So moist and delicious. Love your blog and every recipe I’ve made from your collection comes out great!
Hi Jenn, the muffins are awesome. I used all AP flour and reversed the sugar (1/2c brown & 1/4 cup regular) as we love the taste of brown sugar in baked goods. Muffins were moist & delicious!!! I’ve made a handful of your recipes and we have enjoyed them all. To this day, my wife tells anyone who will listen about how good my (your) bolognese sauce is. You make me look good and I am not a cook/chef by any stretch of the imagination!!! One last comment: I commend your measured & considerate responses to some of the questionable reviews….the one on the French apple cake comes to mind where your metric measurements are called into question. I believe the concept of weight vs volume was lost on the reviewer, however your response was one of CLASS and consideration. Bravo! It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, however some need a thousand words to generate the “mental” picture. Logic and critical thinking are great life tools, and what a world this could be if all possessed them! Thanks for all of your efforts to make us look good! Scott (Notachef)
😊
Absolutely wonderful muffins! I had to make some changes, because I didn’t have a couple of ingredients on hand. I doubled the recipe to make 24 muffins without any problems. Since I had only Greek yogurt, I measured about 3-4 tablespoons of water in my measuring cup and added the yogurt up to a cup and mixed in order to get the consistency of regular yogurt. Additionally, I only had 1 cup of yogurt, so I swapped in the same amount needed of unsweetened applesauce. At the same time, I reduced the sugar too, since that added some sweetness. Finally, since I woke up early to make these for a meeting, I quickly peeled my apples and grated them on the large side of a box grater in order to save time that I would have spent coring the apples and chopping finely. They turned out beautifully.
These were absolutely delicious! My only modification was that I diluted greek yogurt with milk to get the consistency of a low fat non-greek yogurt. They were perfect, and didn’t last long!
I can’t believe the original recipe called for more brown sugar for the topping; it was plenty sweet as is. One could probably get away with using even less, if desired.
Hi Jenn! Could you possibly add the metric measurements to this recipe?
I feel like I must have measured something wrong. The taste was wonderful, but the consistency wasn’t great, and they fell apart when I picked them up. I did add maybe 1/4 cup too many apples, and the pieces where probably not quite as finely chopped as yours. The problem was likely that I used a coarse whole wheat flour, as that was what I had available. I would love to try the recipe again with these changes, and hopefully they will turn out better!
Hi Elise, I just added the metric measurements for these. Perhaps you measured something incorrectly, but the coarse flour may have had a bit of an impact. Hope the metric measurements help the next time you bake these!
Thank you, Jenn!