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With sweet chunks of apple, a cinnamon swirl, and crunchy cinnamon streusel topping, these muffins will make your house smell like a bakery in autumn. The only thing better than the aroma, is how delicious the muffins taste–they’re the perfect treat.
Apples & Cinnamon = Classic Combination
Apples and cinnamon are a match made in heaven. The sweetness of apple and the warm spiciness of cinnamon work perfectly together.
These apple cinnamon streusel muffins are beautifully moist and tender. The apples that are mixed into the batter create little pockets of sweet goodness scattered throughout. In addition to a crunchy cinnamon streusel topping, these muffins also have streusel layered into the batter. The extra layer of streusel adds more cinnamon flavor throughout and takes these muffins to new level of yum!
Apple Varieties
There are tons of apple varieties out there, so how do you know which to choose? Any apple variety that you choose should make a delicious muffin, so don’t stress! If you want the details, below are some ways that each variety can impact the final result:
Sweet vs. Tart
Tart apples, such as Granny Smith, will add a bit of tanginess to the muffin, while sweeter apples, such as Fugi or Gala, will add a more mellow sweetness to the muffins.
Texture
Firmer varieties, such as Honeycrisp or Granny Smith, will hold their shape a bit better during the baking process resulting in more noticable apple chunks. Softer varieties, such as McIntosh, will soften more during baking, resulting in less distinct apple pieces in the final muffin.
Apples that are:
Tart & Firm – Granny Smith, Pink Lady
Tart & Soft – McIntosh, Cortland
Sweet & Firm – Honeycrisp, Fuji
Sweet & Soft – Golden Delicious, Gala
Ingredients and Substitutions
This recipe uses basic ingredients to create delicious, moist & tender muffins. If you don’t have a certain ingredient on hand, however, here are some common swaps:
Sour Cream – You can swap sour cream for an equal amount of plain yogurt.
Buttermilk – This recipe calls for 1/3 cup of buttermilk. To create a substitute: pour 1 tsp of vinegar or lemon juice into your measuring cup, then fill the cup to the 1/3 mark with milk. Allow to sit for 5 minutes to curdle before using.
Dark Brown Sugar – Dark brown sugar adds a deeper flavor than light brown sugar or white sugar. The streusel in this recipe uses 1/4 cup of dark brown sugar; to substitute:
- If you have light brown sugar, use 1/4 cup of light brown sugar in place of the dark brown sugar. This will work just fine, but the streusel will have a lighter, less rich flavor.
- If you have light brown sugar, use 1/4 cup of light brown sugar plus 1/2 teaspoon of molasses. This will restore some of that rich taste that dark brown sugar provides.
- If you have white sugar, use 1/4 cup of sugar plus 2 teaspoons of molasses.
Equipment
You’ll need a muffin pan for this recipe. You can choose a traditional muffin pan or a cast iron muffin pan. Note – if using cast iron, baking time may need to be decreased. You may also want an apple peeler and cupcake liners.
Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin Pan
- Cupcake Liners (optional)
Ingredients
Muffins
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup sour cream
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 cups flour, plus 1 tbsp, divided
- 1 cup chopped apple (approx. 1 medium/large apple)
Streusel
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
- 2 tbsp sugar
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¾ cup flour
Instructions
Prepare the Streusel
- Add butter, sugar, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon to a bowl and mix until combined.
- Add flour and mix until combined. Set aside.
Prepare the Muffins
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- In a bowl, cream butter and sugar together.
- Add eggs and whisk until combined. Add sour cream, buttermilk, vanilla extract, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and whisk until fully combined.
- Fold in 2 cups of flour until just combined.
- In a separate bowl toss chopped apples with 1 tbsp flour to coat.
- Add apples to the muffin batter and gently fold the batter until apples are evenly dispersed.
- Grease or line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Add a spoonful of batter to each muffin well. Take about ⅓ of the streusel and divide it evenly over the muffin batter in each well.
- Divide the remaining batter evenly among the muffin wells.
- Crumble the remaining streusel evenly over each muffin.
- Bake muffins for 18 – 22 minutes or until edges have browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 3-5 minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
If you try out this recipe, I’d love to know what you think! Please leave a comment with a rating here and share a photo of your creation on Instagram using the hashtag #BrooksideKitchen and tag @BrooksideKitchen
