Apple Muffins
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These wholesome apple muffins are packed with spice and everything nice—think warm cinnamon, tart apples, and crunchy brown sugar tops.
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. A full tablespoon of cinnamon, plus a hint of nutmeg and cloves, fills your kitchen with the most amazing smell as they bake. But the best part might just be the muffin tops: the brown sugar topping bakes up into a crunchy, irresistible lid.
If you’d prefer something that you can slice and share, my apple bread has similar flavors and is equally crave-worthy.
“A perfect muffin recipe! The house smelled marvelous, too!”
What You’ll Need To Make Apple Muffins
- Butter: Adds richness and flavor, giving the muffins a tender, delicious crumb.
- Granulated Sugar & Brown Sugar: Sweeten the muffins and keep them moist. A little extra brown sugar gets sprinkled on top before baking for that irresistible crunchy lid.
- Egg: Helps bind the batter together and gives the muffins structure.
- Plain Low-Fat Yogurt or Greek Yogurt: Adds moisture and richness while reacting with the baking soda to give the muffins a nice lift.
- Whole Wheat & All-Purpose Flour: Using a mix of whole wheat and all-purpose flour gives you the best of both worlds—nutty flavor and a pretty, toasty color from the whole wheat, plus a light, tender texture from the all-purpose. (Pro tip: all whole wheat will make the muffins a bit dry. However, if you have white whole wheat flour, you can use that in place of both flours.)
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: These work together to help the muffins rise and stay fluffy.
- Cinnamon, Nutmeg & Cloves: Warm spices that pair perfectly with apples and make your kitchen smell amazing.
- Apples: Add moisture, natural sweetness, and little pockets of apple flavor throughout. Use firm baking apples that hold their shape—Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Gala, Jonagold, Jonathan, and Golden Delicious varieties are all great options.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cream the butter and sugars. Combine the butter, sugar, and brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
Step 2: Add the egg and yogurt. Beat in the egg followed by the yogurt, scraping down the bowl as necessary. The batter may look a little curdled at this point—that’s normal.
Step 3: Mix in the dry ingredients. Add the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Beat on low speed until everything is just combined. The batter will be quite thick at this point—that’s exactly how it should be.
Step 4: Mix in the apples. Add the diced apples to the batter and fold them in.
Step 4: Prepare to bake. Grease a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Then scoop the batter evenly into the muffin cups (it’s easiest to use an ice cream scoop with a wire scraper). Sprinkle the tops generously with brown sugar.
Step 5: Bake. Bake the muffins for about 25 minutes, until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Because the apples help to keep them moist, the muffins will keep nicely for several days, or you can freeze them for longer storage.
More Muffin Recipes You May Like
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 a little curdled—that's okay.
- 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.
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I grated the apples instead. Worked well. Excellent recipe.
Hi Jen,
I know you specifically said plain yoghurt, not Greek style but what happens if I use Greek yoghurt? Love your recipes..I tried your Best Blueberry Muffin recipe, they turned out so good I bought your cookbook immediately after.
So glad you like the recipes and thanks for your support with the cookbook! You can use Greek yogurt here but you’ll need to thin it out with a little bit of milk. Hope you like the muffins! 🙂
Hi Jen,
I love nearly all your recipes that i have tried and if it fails it most likely because of a substitution i made. These muffins are great. my sons, 5 and 3 yo, that don’t like spiced baked goods have two each already! Thank you for your easy to follow recipes.
Hi Jen,
I am a big fan of yours. I loved the banana nut muffin recipe so I thought I would try this recipe too. I have a few questions. When you say brown sugar, do you mean light brown sugar or dark brown sugar? Or does it make any difference?
Also, do you think I can add walnuts with honey and cinnamon as the topping? I love nuts. Will it work with this recipe?
Lucy
Hi lucy, so glad you like the recipes! This recipe calls for dark brown sugar, but if you only have light brown on hand, that will work as well. And yes, you can add the topping that you mentioned (just use that in place of the brown sugar that tops the muffins). Enjoy!
What kind of apples do you personally use? It looks like you have 2 different kinds in the picture.
Hi Angie, I think I used a Granny Smith and a Golden Delicious Any of the following would be great choices: Fuji, Granny Smith, Jonagolds, Jonathans, Golden Delicious, Gala, or Honey Crisp. Hope you enjoy the muffins!
Hi Jenn, it’s me again – the broken record who keeps singing your praises. These apple muffins were FANTASTIC. I hadn’t made muffins in eons because I went through a phase of baking joyless low-fat, low-sugar, rubbery muffins. Well, my muffin-baking days are back, baby!!! Apple-y, tender, not too sweet, good texture. The only change I made was that I sprinkled maple sugar instead of brown sugar on top.
ALL your recipes are keepers, Jenn. Thank you for everything you do! xo
LOL💗
I made a double batch this morning. (I’m drowning in fresh organic Ambrosia apples from a local orchard). These were wonderful. I sent half a dozen muffins over to elderly neighbors who called raving about the muffins. My family loved them too. So yet another winner Jenn.
Hi! I have an overflow of pears from the pear tree in my front yard. Could I use these instead of apples?
Thank you!
Hi Maria, I suspect pears should work, but because all fruits bake up a bit differently, I can’t guarantee it. I’d love to hear how they turn out if you try them!
This recipe was just perfect! Not too sweet and very moist.
Hi Jenn, I just discovered your site and really like what I see! Found your recipe for apple spice muffins. They turned out awesome. Like a previous review, I didn’t have yogurt either and used 1 cup of sour cream. I also added 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts. I will definitely be making these again, Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Best Regards Trish
If we didn’t have yogurt in the fridge, can we replace the yogurt with buttermilk? Thank you!
Yes, Trish, the finished muffins may not be quite as dense, but I think buttermilk should work. Hope you enjoy!