Apple Cinnamon Crumble Muffins

Sometimes something classic and comforting is the perfect vibe for the start of fall- these apple cinnamon crumble muffins are it! These come together quickly, taste amazing, and they give you all the warm, cozy, spicy flavors we’re all looking for right now.

You can mix this entire recipe by hand- all you need is a few bowls and a spatula for everything to come together. Let’s get to it!

How to Make Apple Cinnamon Crumble Muffins

These muffins use pretty simple ingredients- things that I usually have on hand. One exception is buttermilk, but you can make a substitute by mixing together 1 tsp. of white vinegar with regular milk and letting that mixture sit for about five minutes before using it.

We’re starting out by stirring together all the dry ingredients. In this case that includes the sugars as well as the apples. Letting the apples get coated in your flour mixture will help ensure that they don’t sink to the bottom of the muffins as they bake. I’m using a combination of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in this recipe because I think it really brings home the spiced flavor, but you can use any combination you prefer here!

In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until everything is well combined and smooth. Then pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and stir everything together gently with a rubber spatula.

You want to mix until everything is just combined and no dry pockets of flour remain, but you don’t want to over mix this batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set this aside while you make the crumble topping and preheat your oven.

The crumble topping can be mixed together with a fork in a small bowl. You basically just want to work all the dry ingredients into the melted butter and oil, and mix until you have a soft crumbly mixture.

Scoop your muffin batter into your muffin tin- the batter should fill up the cups almost completely- and then top each muffin generously with the crumble topping. Then it’s off to the oven to bake!

Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks for Apple Cinnamon Crumble Muffins

Here are all my tips to help along the way for these apple cinnamon crumble muffins:

• Why do I mix the apples with the dry ingredients? Coating the apples in the flour mixture helps prevent the apples from sinking to the bottom of the muffins as they bake.
• What kind of apples should I use? You can use any apple you’d enjoying eating- I’m using Granny Smith apples today, but Honeycrisp apples are another great choice.
• How do I know when the batter is fully mixed? You want to gently mix the batter together until there are no dry pockets of flour remaining, but it’s ok if there are a few lumps in the batter.
• Do I have to make the crumble topping? These muffins can be made without the crumble topping, but I think they are much better with it!
• Why does it say to fill the muffins to the top of each cup? Using a lot of muffin batter means tall, fluffy muffins. It’s ok to fill it to the top of the tins!
• How do I know when the muffins have finished baking? A toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin should come out with just a few crumbs sticking to it and should not look wet.
• I’m at about 5,000 ft. above sea level and I find that most people who live between about 3,000-7,000- feet above sea level do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes.

Enjoy!

Print

Apple Cinnamon Crumble Muffins

Servings 12 muffins

Ingredients

For the muffins:

• 2 large apples
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ginger
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs

For the crumble topping:

• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 tbs. vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions

For the muffins:

1. Peel your apples and then chop into 1/2 inch chunks- you should have about 2 loose cups of chopped apples.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Toss the chopped apples into the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and eggs. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the batter together until everything is just combined and no dry pockets of flour remain.
3. Cover, and let the batter rest on your counter for 30 minutes. This will help everything come together before baking, and it also helps to ensure you get high-domed muffins.
4. While the muffin batter rests, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Spray your baking pan with baking spray- you want the spray to coat the top of the pan mostly to prevent overhang from sticking, unless you are using high-petaled parchment liners like I do in the pictures above. Line with paper cups.

For the crumble topping:

1. In a medium bowl, use a fork to work together the melted butter, oil, brown sugar, sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt until you have a soft crumb topping. It should be dry enough to form crumbs, but wet enough that it holds together when you press it.
2. Once your batter has rested for a full 30 minutes, scoop evenly into your prepared pan. The muffin cups should be very full here, with the batter coming up almost the top of the cups. Generously sprinkle the tops with your crumble topping.
3. Bake for 16-20 minutes, or until the muffins are puffed, lightly golden brown, and a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs on it. Once removed from the oven, use a butter knife to ensure that any overhanging parts don’t stick to the pan. Cool the muffins completely in the pan, and enjoy!

Dough-Eyed

Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!