Easy homemade apple muffins! These moist apple spice muffins are topped with brown sugar for a sweet on-the-go breakfast.
Muffins are one of my favorite foods! I love how quick and easy they are, and they make a great on-the-go breakfast or snack.
These apple muffins are perfect for fall. They’re moist spice muffins filled with chunks of fresh apple, and they’re topped with brown sugar for just the right amount of sweetness.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe. If you’re using unsalted butter, increase the salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
- Brown sugar: Light brown sugar or dark brown sugar will work in this recipe.
- Buttermilk: Regular or low-fat buttermilk is ok. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a homemade buttermilk substitute.
- Flour: To properly measure the flour, weigh it. To get the weights, click on “metric” immediately above the ingredients. You can also sift or stir the flour to break it up. Then lightly spoon into the measuring cup and level. Avoid packing the flour as that will give you dry, dense, or heavy muffins.
- Spices: You can substitute 2 teaspoons of apple pie spice for the spices.
- Apples: Any baking apple will work in this recipe. Some of the apples that work well are Granny Smith, Jonagold, or Honeycrisp.
How to make apple muffins
Here you’ll find step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including ingredients, is given below.
Step 1: Beat the butter and sugars together in a large bowl until well-combined. I mix it for 2-3 minutes on medium.
Step 2: Mix in the egg until combined, and then mix in the buttermilk. Scrape down the sides as needed.
Step 3: Add the dry ingredients, and stir in just until incorporated. Don’t overmix. Overmixing will give you tough muffins.
Step 4: Fold in the chopped apple. Just barely mix them in but don’t overwork the batter.
Step 5: Divide the batter among the prepared baking tins. You can either grease and flour the tins or line them with muffin tin liners.
Step 6: Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar over the tops of the muffin batter.
Step 7: Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-30 minutes.
Recipe Tips!
- Mixing: I recommend mixing the batter by hand to avoid overmixing. Overmixing will give you tough or dense muffins.
- Freezing: The muffins freeze well. To freeze, let the baked muffin cool completely on a wire cooling rack. Place the cooled muffins in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 1 month.
Storage
The muffins will keep for up to 3 days when stored in a resealable container at room temperature. However, the muffins are best eaten the day they’re made.
More muffin recipes!
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Apple Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin tin
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar divided
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk at room temperature
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 ½ cups peeled and cored baking apples chopped in 1/2-inch pieces about 2 medium baking apples
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease and flour or line 16 standard-sized muffin tin cups. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar together until fluffy and well-combined, about 2-3 minutes on medium.
- Add the egg and mix until combined.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Mix in the buttermilk until combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Stir in just until incorporated. Don’t overmix.
- Stir in the chopped apples.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups.
- Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar over the batter.
- Bake the muffins for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
- Remove muffins to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- Butter: I use salted butter in this recipe. If you’re using unsalted butter, increase the salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
- Brown sugar: Light brown sugar or dark brown sugar will work in this recipe.
- Buttermilk: Regular or low-fat buttermilk is ok. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a homemade buttermilk substitute.
- Flour: To properly measure the flour, weigh it. To get the weights, click on “metric” immediately above the ingredients. You can also sift or stir the flour to break it up. Then lightly spoon into the measuring cup and level. Avoid packing the flour as that will give you dry, dense, or heavy muffins.
- Spices: You can substitute 2 teaspoons of apple pie spice for the spices.
- Apples: Any baking apple will work in this recipe. Some of the apples that work well are Granny Smith, Jonagold, or Honeycrisp.
- Nutrition values are estimates.Â
Nutrition
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Originally published 8/10/2019. This post is regularly updated with new photos and tips.
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Comments & Reviews
Dolores Samora says
I myself love muffins thank you for sharing, gotta try these
Linda says
I used green apples for the muffins and they were really good. The muffins were nice and soft.
Kate says
Thanks! I’m so glad that you liked them. Thanks for commenting!
Ivonne says
RiquÃsima
Kate says
Thanks! =)