These apple crumble muffins, made with fresh chopped apples, are topped with a crunchy butter and brown sugar streusel. The streusel gives them texture and flavor. I included walnuts, but feel free to omit them or replace them with pecans. They’re delicious with or without the nuts!
Recipe Variations
- Spices: Instead of cinnamon, use apple pie spice for even more warm spice flavor.
- Dried Fruit: Mix in some dried cranberries or raisins for more fantastic texture and flavor.
- Bacon: Add a few tablespoons of bacon to the batter for a pleasant smoky contrast to the sweetness of the apples.
How to Store
- Transfer the cooled muffins to an airtight container lined with a sheet of paper towel and store them at room temperature for 4 or 5 days. The paper towel will help absorb excess moisture.
- Freeze muffins in a sealed freezer bag in a single layer for up to 3 months. Label the bag with the name and date. Defrost them on the countertop.
- To reheat muffins, wrap them in foil and heat at 350 F for about 10 minutes until warm.
Apple Crumble Muffins
These moist muffins are packed with apple goodness and topped with a crunchy streusel.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Bake
Ingredients
Scale
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) butter, softened
- 3/4 cup (148 grams) packed brown sugar, light or dark
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups (284 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 cup finely chopped apple
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional
Crumble Topping
- 1/3 cup (43 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup (65 grams) packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch salt
- 3 tablespoons (42 grams) softened butter
Instructions
Prepare the Batter
- Heat the oven to 375 F and line a 12-well muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs until well blended. Beat in the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour with the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; stir or whisk to blend the dry ingredients.
- Add one-third of the dry ingredients to the butter and brown sugar mixture and beat until blended. Add half of the milk and beat until blended. Repeat with another one-third of the dry ingredients and the remaining milk, then beat in the remaining flour until blended. Avoid overbeating.
- Fold in the chopped apple and walnuts (if using).
- Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling about 3/4 full.
Make the Crumble Topping
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Work the butter into the mixture with a fork or your fingers until the crumbs are formed.
- Sprinkle crumbs over each filled muffin cup.
- Bake the apple muffins for 18 to 22 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.