Cinnamon Apple Cider Muffins

These cinnamon apple cider muffins are a great start to some fall baking but also make a great breakfast all year round. These muffins use both apple cider and cooked apples with plenty of cinnamon for a strong apple flavor.

If you're like me, I love good apple baking recipes in the Fall. Whether it's these muffins, a good, homemade apple butter, cakes or pies, or my cinnamon apple scones. Apples can be used in so many ways and always make me think of crisp Autumn mornings.

One of the problems with a lot of baked apple treats is that apples can have a subtle flavor, so these cinnamon apple cider muffins try to ramp up that flavor with both fresh apple cider and cooked apple chunks. Cooking fresh apples beforehand also helps to keep the muffins moist and flavorful without getting soggy. Uncooked apples tend to weep when they cook, releasing extra water and shrinking.

Flour – You’ll need some flour for both the muffins and the crumb topping. Normal all-purpose flour works fine.

Leaveners – Use both baking powder and baking soda here.

Sugar – Use both white sugar and brown sugar. You’ll need some for the crumb topping, the muffins, and for cooking the apples with.

Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter here. It doesn't need to be at room temperature though, since we'll be using melted butter for each part of the recipe.

Eggs – Two large eggs at room temperature.

Spices – I use ground cinnamon for the topping, the muffins, and cooking the apples. For a bigger punch of warming spice notes, feel free to add a pinch of nutmeg, cloves, or even apple pie spice. I also add a touch of vanilla extract to balance the flavors.

Oil – Just a bit of vegetable oil or canola oil will help keep the muffins soft and moist.

Apple Cider – Use fresh cider here for extra apple flavor. I wouldn’t replace it with apple juice as it is sweetened and has less apple flavor.

Fat – Normally buttermilk or whole milk works well, but since this batter would be too thin with it, you’ll want to use a full fat sour cream, yogurt, or Greek yogurt here.

Apples – I use two medium apples here, but you could use just one if you prefer less chunks. I also dice them about ¼” and cook them. If you prefer bigger pieces of apple, dice them about a ½” instead. As for the type of apple to use, go with any usual baking apple like Granny Smith, Braeburn, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, etc. I used one Granny Smith and one Pink Lady here, but you can stick with 2 of the same apples as well.

Cinnamon Apples

Start with the apples. Peel them and slice them off the core. Thinly cut the pieces and dice evenly into ¼” pieces. Heat a 10” skillet over medium heat and add some butter. Once the pan is warmed and the butter melted, add the diced apples along with some brown sugar and a pinch of cinnamon. Cook, stirring often until slightly browned, for about 10 minutes.

Crumb Topping

While the apples are cooking, make the crumb topping. In a medium bowl whisk together some all-purpose flour, white sugar, brown sugar, and a pinch of ground cinnamon. Melt some butter and mix into the dry ingredients with a fork. As it starts to come together, use the fork to break up larger clumps and use gentle pressure to keep it chunky. You want a mixture of different sized pieces of crumb, so don’t overmix until it looks like a paste.

Once the apples are cooked, set the crumb topping and the apples aside so they can cool.

Cider Muffins

Preheat your oven to 425°F/220°C.

In a large mixing bowl, add all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Whisk to combine and set aside.

In another mixing bowl, add brown sugar, white sugar, melted butter, 2 large eggs, and vegetable oil. Whisk together until well combined. Add sour cream and whisk in. Finally, add the apple cider and vanilla extract and combine.

Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined with very few pockets of dry flour left. Now fold the diced apples into the batter.

Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with baking spray or use butter and flour. You can also use muffin liners if you prefer. Fill each of the cups with batter, there should be enough to fill it almost all the way up. Now add the crumb topping to the top of each muffin, covering them completely with the crumbs.

Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet and place into the preheated oven. Bake for 5 minutes and then lower the temperature to 350°F/175°C and bake an additional 15-18 minutes. Check after 15 minutes with a cake tester or toothpick until it comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs. Set the muffin pan on a cooling rack and allow them to cool before removing the muffins.

Apple Muffin Variations

Toppings – If you’re not a fan of streusel like crumb toppings, you can also top with a simple cinnamon sugar mixture. Mix 2 tablespoons each of white and brown sugar with a ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon. Add to the tops of the muffins right before baking as usual.

Alternatively, replace the cinnamon with apple pie spice. You could also just sprinkle on some demerara or turbinado sugar, or even the tops plain. 

Apples – The amount and size of the apples is down to personal preference. I used two apples and diced small at about ¼” thick, this gives a good amount of small apple chunks in each bite. If you prefer bigger chunks, dice the apples at a ½” size instead, or even a little larger. If you want less apple chunks, reduce it to one apple instead. I wouldn’t recommend more than two apples, however, or it could start messing with the baking process and not rise properly.

Size – This recipe is for 12 standard muffins, but you could also make jumbo or mini muffins instead. To make jumbo muffins, change the baking times to 5 minutes at 450°F/220°C and another 20-25 minutes at 350°F/175°C. For mini muffins, skip the initial high heat and bake at 350°F/175°C for 12-15 minutes.

Storing Muffins

Muffins stored in an airtight container tend to turn soggy as the moisture moves from the inside to the outside of the muffin, turning the nice crumb topping very soft. If you wish to store muffins at room temperature, allow them to cool completely, then line a container or zipper lock bag with a paper towel and place the muffins on top, with another paper towel covering the tops. This will soak up the moisture, and the muffins should keep for 3-4 days like this.

Alternatively, you can store in a container or bag in the refrigerator for up to a week, but it will reduce the quality and change the texture of the muffins. You can also freeze the muffins in an airtight container for up to 3 months.