Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Sweet and full of seasonal flavors, these Apple Cinnamon Muffins are the perfect treat. These muffins are packed with fresh apples and beautiful spices. Made with simple but wholesome ingredients, without refined sugar, these apple muffins are equally healthy and delicious. 

Table of contents

• Why should you make them?
• Ingredients used
• How to make Apple Cinnamon Muffins
• Substitutions
• Tips for storing
• Recipe tips
• Recipe variations
• 📖 Recipe
• More recipes to try
• 💬 Comments

Well, what can I say? I'm obsessed with apples. They are now in season, juicy and beautiful. With their gorgeous colors and addictive sweetness, who can resist them. I certainly can't.

I love having them in my breakfast. But I also enjoy fresh apples as a quick midday snack. With so many apples going on in my life right now, I can only promise to bring you more apple recipes in days to come. Because ... well, why NOT!?

Lately, I'm obsessed with these Apple Cinnamon Muffins. They are a huge hit with my boys too. Topped with cinnamon and fresh apples, flavored with beautiful seasonal spices, these apple muffins are just gorgeous.

Ingredients used

This apple muffins recipe is very simple. You will need only a few pantry ingredients:

• Apples. They are definitely a star in this recipe. You can use any type of apples you like or have at hand. When you bake apples they become soft and sweet, so whichever type you choose, it will be perfect. 
• Whole grain flour. I use it for all my baking. It's a healthier, more nutritious option than all-purpose flour. Whole grain flour is packed with fibers and makes everyting more nutritous. In this recipe, I used whole grain Spelt flour. but you can use any whole grain flour here. It also gave a quite rustic taste. 
• Sweetener. I used maple syrup, but you can use honey here. See "Recipe tips" for more suggestions.
• Applesauce. It gave moisture, extra flavor and sweetness. It's basically pureed cooked apples. You can make applesauce at home or grab it from the store. Just read the labels and buy one without added sugars.
• Ceylon cinnamon. Also known as “true” cinnamon. Cinnamon is packed with powerful antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory properties. (1, 2) Cinnamon gave this apple muffis a wonderful flavor.

Other pantry ingredients you’ll need:

• Egg. Free-range, pasture-raised is the best.
• Ground nutmeg and allspice. Highly flavorful seasonal spices.
• Vanilla extract.
• Baking soda.
• Baking powder.
• Pinch of salt.
• Extra virgin coconut oil. 

How to make Apple Cinnamon Muffins

This apple muffin recipe is quite easy. Preparation takes no more than 10 minutes. The rest is baking time, and for that, you will only need patience.

Equipment used

• Measuring cups.
• Mixing bowls.
• 12-cup muffin tin.
• Muffin liners.

Step by step instructions

• Step 1: Prepare the ingredients.
  • Start with preparing and measuring all the ingredients. I like to use measuring cups.
  • Wash, slice, core, and dice apples. You don't need to peel them.
  • Melt coconut oil and let it cool for a few minutes on a room temperature.
• Step 2: Mix dry ingredinets.
  • In a medium bowl, mix together flour, spices, salt, baking powder and soda.
  • Use the spoon or a whisk. Set aside.
• Step 3: Mix wet ingredients.
  • In a seperate large bowl whisk the eggs with coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
  • Mix everything using the whisk until you get nice sticky mixture.
  • Add in applesauce. Mix again until everyting is nicely combined. 
• Step 4: Assemble and bake.
  • Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Stir the batter using a spatula.
  • Add in diced apples. Fold everything together gently.
  • Spoon the batter into muffin liners, filling them ¾ full. Optional: lightly sprinkle with cinnamon and coconut sugar. 
  • Pop the muffins into the preheated oven at 180°C/350°F, and bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Substitutions

• You can substitute Spelt flour with any whole grain flour. Oat flour works well here too. Or use plain/all-purpose flour if you prefer. Substitute at a 1:1 ratio.
• You can substitute maple syrup with honey. See "Recipe tips" for more suggestions.
• You can substitute coconut oil with avocado oil or grass-fed butter.
• Omit nutmeg and allspice if you find it to be aromatic.
• Substitute cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice with pumpkin pie spice mix.

Tips for storing

• Counter: Once muffins are completely cooled, store them in an airtight container and keep them on the counter for up to 3 – 4 days.
• Refrigerator: Muffins will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator, in an airtight container.
• How to freeze? Place the muffins in a zip-lock bag. Keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw on room temperature.
• Muffins can be warmed in the microwave. Be careful not to overheat them.

Recipe tips

• When folding the batter, use the spatula and don't over-mix it. You need to have air bubbles in the batter. They make a lighter muffins.
• To check whether muffins are done, insert a skewer or toothpick into the center. If the toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs on it, they are ready to come out of the oven.
• Make sure you use eggs at room temperature. Pull them out of the fridge before baking so they can rest for a bit. Or run the eggs under warm water to speed this process or set them in a bowl of warm water.
• If substituting coconut oil with salted butter, omit adding salt.
• When cutting fruits, I like to cut them into small cubes. The smallest the fruits are cut, the softer it will become.
• Sweetener recommendation:
  • You can use honey or maple syrup here. Make sure you use honey in liquid form, not raw.
  • Date syrup or molasses are great options too. Note that they can make muffins darker in color. That's perfectly ok.
  • Use stevia or any low-carb sweetener for low-calorie.
• Make sure to use organic virgin coconut oil rather than refined versions.
• What kind of apples are the best? For muffins, I like to use sweet apples, like Gala or Fuji. The best to use are soft apples, not firm ones because they will bake faster. You can use sour apples, like Granny Smith, but you may need to add more sweetener. That's totally based on your preferences. 

Recipe variations

• Add-in dried fruits: cranberries, raisins, sultanas.
• Add in chopped nuts: walnuts, pine nuts, hazelnuts, pecans.
• Make it protein-packed: You can replace ¼ cup of flour with 1 scoop of protein powder. I reccomend vanilla flavored. In that case you can omit adding vanilla extrat and you can reduce amount of sweetener.
• Make it gluten-free: Substitute whole-grain flour with any gluten-free flour.

📖 Recipe

This post is originally published in September 2018. It's updated with new information and republished in September 2021. The recipe remained the same.

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