Description
Tender and flavorful bakery style cinnamon streusel apple muffins loaded with tart bites of fresh apple and spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla. They aren’t complete without the delicious brown sugar cinnamon streusel crumb topping and an easy vanilla glaze.
Ingredients
for the cinnamon streusel topping:
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (packed) light or dark brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp organic cane sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
for the apple muffins:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- 2 large eggs ¹
- 1–1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1–1/2 cups (about 2 small) tart apples, peeled and diced
for the vanilla glaze:
- 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
- 1–1/2 Tbsp whole milk
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the cinnamon streusel topping:
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cane sugar, and cinnamon until combined.
- Stir in the melted butter until incorporated, then use your fingers to form thick crumbs. Set aside.
Make the apple muffins:
- Preheat the oven to 425℉. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease with butter or nonstick baking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
- Using a stand up mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Turn the mixer down to low, and add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed.
- Add the flour mixture to the mixer along with the chopped apples, and switch to a spatula to mix until just combined. Be careful not to over mix. The batter will be very thick.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Top with the streusel, pressing the crumbs gently into the tops of the muffin batter.
- Bake at 425℉ for 5 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 350℉, and continue baking for another 12-15 minutes, until the muffin tops are golden and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven, and allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes in the muffin tin, before transferring to a baking rack to cool completely.
Make the vanilla glaze:
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the confectioners sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Drizzle over the warm muffins. Enjoy!!
Notes
¹ I have made these apple muffins with flax eggs, and the recipe works, they still taste great, but they may not rise quite as high as the original version. To replace 2 eggs simply stir together 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed with 5 Tbsp water in a small bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes while you’re getting the rest of the ingredients together (it will thicken up), and add to the batter in place of the eggs.
Adapted from Taste of Home.
Keywords: streusel muffins, apple muffins, apple crumb, crumb muffins, cinnamon streusel, easy, brown sugar, apple pie spice, bakery style muffins, fresh apple muffins, breakfast muffins