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My husband, Mark, looks forward to these apple cinnamon muffins all year. I usually start making them when the apples on our trees are ready. This works out for Mark because he gets as many batches of muffins as he wants, due to us trying to use the apples before they start to go bad or the birds get them. These apple cinnamon muffins are easy to make, keep well in the freezer, and make an excellent breakfast treat.
A Brief History of The Muffin
English muffins, small, yeasted flat breads cooked on a griddle, have been around for a long time. They are well documented in the 19th century, but historians believe the English muffin is much older than that. In the 19th century, muffin men in Britain would sell English muffins on the streets at tea time. They would ring bells to alert customers to their presence, and apparently it got to be so loud, that parliament passed a law banning muffin men from ringing bells. Apparently the muffin men did not listen, and the bell ringing persisted. (source: Wikipedia)
The quickbread, American muffin appeared in cookbooks in the United States in the 19th century. Quickbread muffins are leavened with chemical leaveners (baking soda and baking powder), and are spongy and cake-like. Many American muffins have mix-ins like berries, chocolate chips, or apples in our case.
Trips and Tricks for Apple Cinnamon Muffins
These apple cinnamon muffins are very easy to make, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
- Keep the apple pieces small. Large chunks of apple will not cook evenly, and may cause the muffin batter itself to not cook evenly. Dice your apples 1 centimeter cubed or smaller.
- Bake the muffins at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for the first 5 minutes, then lower the heat and bake at 375 for an additional 10 minutes. This jump-starts the rise on the muffins so you get a nice muffin top.
- Use turbinado sugar for a bakery-style crunchy muffin top. Just trust me. Buy the turbinado sugar. It’s so yummy on top of these muffins. Turbinado sugar is a coarse sugar that will not dissolve on top of the muffin when baked. The more you use, the crunchier the muffin top will be.
- Use a variety of apples. If you only have one type, that’s fine, but a mix of apples will result in a fun variety of flavor in your muffins.
- I’ve been making this recipe for a long time, but I originally adapted it from this recipe for chocolate chip muffins from Little Sweet Baker, in case you want to check that out, too.
Equipment
There are two pieces of equipment that are nice to have for this recipe.
- A muffin tin that can bake 24 muffins at one time. I have this pan, and it’s so nice not have to bake the muffins in two batches. This recipe makes about 16-18 muffins.
- A #20 scoop to portion your muffins. It’s so much easier and cleaner with a scoop.
Freeze Muffins Now And Smooch Yourself Later
Muffins freeze so well. Bake them, and let them cool completely. After the muffins are cool, put them in a resealable freezer bag, push out excess air, seal them up and slap those bad boys in the freezer. You now have delicious apple cinnamon muffins whenever you want them. Warm them up in the microwave for 15 seconds, slather with butter, and enjoy.
Sharing Is Caring
Everyone needs apple cinnamon muffins in their lives, so would you please share this post? Your friends will thank you, and so will I. Also, tag me @at_home_test_cook or #athometestcook. I looove seeing your creations. Until next time!
Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg I use freshly grated, but ground is fine.
- 3 medium apples, peeled and diced into small pieces A mix of apple varieties is ideal. I always like to throw in a granny smith, but whatever you have is fine.
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk I use 2%, whole milk would also be good.
- 2 Tablespoons sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top of the muffins This is technically optional, but really delicious. I recommend it.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
- Spray a standard muffin tin lightly with baking spray and line with paper muffin cups.
- In a medium to large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Add the peeled, diced apples to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine. This helps the apples to disperse evenly through the muffins and not sink to the bottom. Make sure the apples are diced small, about one centimeter squared or smaller. Big chunks of apple won't cook evenly.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the butter and the sugar.
- Add the eggs, milk, sour cream and vanilla to the butter and sugar mixture. Whisk to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture. With a rubber spatula, fold the wet and dry ingredients together until you have a uniform batter. Do not overmix.
- Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full. You can use a #20 scoop if you wish for more uniform muffins.
- Sprinkle a layer of turbinado sugar, if using, on top of each muffin. This will form a delightful crunchy top on the muffins as they bake.
- Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes, then lower the temperature of the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
- Muffins are done when they spring back lightly when pressed.
- Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy!
Notes
- These muffins keep great in the freezer. Just place cooled muffins in a freezer bag and squeeze any extra air out before sealing it. Reheat in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
Hey! Love this recipe, but it included sour cream in the ingredients and not in the directions?
Ooo! Thank you. I will fix that. Also, sorry for the late reply! I’m just coming off of maternity leave.