Soft and tasty Easy Apple Cinnamon Muffins, topped with a simple glaze, are the perfect way to start your day or enjoy as a delicious apple-and-cinnamon snack. Make them your way, standard size, jumbo, or mini-muffins.
Simple and fast to make in about 35 minutes. Hand mixing only—no need for a stand mixer.
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🤔 TL;DR — Recipe Summary
What it is? A simple apple muffin recipe with chunks of real apple and extra flavor from apple juice.
Why you will love them: Quick enough to make fresh for any meal. Easy to make a half batch. Adjustable for regular, jumbo, and mini-muffins.
How to make it: Dice the apple and pat dry. Mix wet and dry ingredients together and bake in the muffin tin. Add the optional glaze for a special treat.
🍎 Ingredients
Apples—Gala or Honeycrisp suggested
Apple juice—or cider
Eggs
Butter
Milk
Pantry ingredients—flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, powdered sugar
👨🍳 Quick Overview: How to Make Apple Cinnamon Muffins
1. Prepare fresh apples
Peel 2 medium apples and chop them into ¼ inch pieces (about the size of a peanut). Spread over paper towels and firmly pat with more paper towels to dry some.
2. Combine dry ingredients and add apples
Mix dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well, add the apple, and mix to coat the apple.
3. Combine wet ingredients and mix into dry
Combine wet ingredients: apple juice or cider, eggs, and melted butter—whisk to combine.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix by hand to combine—do not over-mix.
4. Fill the muffin tin and bake
Fill the paper liners to about ¾ full.
Bake at 350°F until the top is golden brown, and a toothpick comes out clean—about 20-25 minutes.
5. Option: add glaze
Mix a glaze of powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk.
After the muffins cool on a rack for 10 minutes, coat them with glaze.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
⏰ Cooking Time
Cooking time will vary by the oven and even the pan used. Generally, the muffins will take 20 to 25 minutes, but always bake to the endpoint.
The good old toothpick test is always good to determine when the muffins are done. Also, you can check the temperature, they are done at about 200°F on an instant-read thermometer.”
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🧁 Jumbo and Mini Muffin Options
This recipe is for 12 standard-size muffins, but you can make different sizes. Make them like you want: mini, regular, or jumbo—cook to the endpoint and not by time alone.
Fill the paper liners to about ¾ full. Generally, bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes.
Other Muffin and Apple Recipes
Check out some other easy, tasty muffin recipes, like Strawberry Cinnamon Muffins, Cinnamon Nut Muffins, Banana Nut Muffins, and Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins.
And if you have extra apples, try Small Batch Apple Crisp, Apple Berry Crumble, or Apple Crumb Pie.
Storing leftover muffins
Muffins are good at room temperature for about 24 hours but need to be protected from drying out. They are good refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen for 3-4 months.
❓ FAQs
There are a lot of good cooking apples, but the total cooking time of the muffins is relatively low. So cut the apples small and use a softer apple like Gala or Honeycrisp.
When the apples or other fruit bakes, they can release fluid that can cause the baked goods to develop holes around the fruit. By cutting the pieces small, pressing them some with paper towels, and coating them with flour, the issues will decrease or disappear.
Like biscuits and quick bread, muffins can be easily over-mixed. That leads to gluten development, and any micro air pockets disappear. Chewy is good in bread but not muffins.
Also, overcooking muffins can make muffins less tender.
📖The Recipe Card
Easy Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 apples - peeled and cut into ¼ inch pieces
- 2 cups flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¾ cup apple cider - or juice
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons butter - melted
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons milk - adjust as needed
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Prep a 12 muffin tin with paper liners.
- Peel 2 medium apples and chop them into ¼ inch pieces (about the size of a peanut). Spread over paper towels and firmly pat with more paper towels to dry some.
- Mix dry ingredients together: 2 cups of flour, ⅓ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg. Mix well, add the apple, and mix to coat the apple.
- Combine wet ingredients. ¾ cup apple juice or cider, 2 eggs, and 2 tablespoons melted butter—whisk to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix by hand to combine—do not over mix
- Fill the paper liners to about ¾ full.
- Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean—about 20-25 minutes.
- Mix a glaze of ⅔ cup powdered sugar, a few drops of vanilla, and about 2 teaspoons of milk.
- After the muffins cool on a rack for about 10 minutes, coat them with the glaze.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- A very easy recipe to cut in half.
- Most apples, other than delicious, are good for this recipe. Gala and Honeycrisp are recommended
- Be sure to cut the apples small and dry well, or you will have small steam pocket holes in your muffins, and the apple pieces may not cook completely.
- Cooking time will vary by the oven and even the pan used. Generally, the muffins will take 20 to 25 minutes, but always bake to the endpoint.
- When are they done? The good old toothpick test is generally always good. Also, done is about 200° so an instant-read thermometer can be helpful.
- This recipe is for 12 standard-size muffins, but you can make different sizes. Make them like you want: mini, regular, or jumbo just cook to the endpoint and not by time alone. Generally, bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes.
- Good refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen for 3-4 months.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Editor's Note: Originally Published November 1, 2016. Updated with expanded options and improved formatting to help navigation.
This recipe is a muffin adaptation of Cook's Country Apple Fritter Recipe.
Gail says
Can I make this with white whole wheat flour ?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Gail,
The whole wheat will need a bit more fluid and will be more dense. I would add a touch more baking powder also. Those things are generalities... Report back if you do it.
Dan
Linda says
I'm embarrassed to need to ask this, but... do you need to heat the glaze when mixing or just mix the powdered sugar with the milk and drizzle without the heat?
Thanks so much - love your recipes!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Linda,
Just cold. It comes together easily. If I make frosting, I like to beat room temperature butter to start then beat in the other ingredients.
Dan
Jan says
I would like to make them jumbo muffins. How long would I have to bake them?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Jan,
Welcome to the blog.
I have never done jumbo with these. I will give a few generalities. It is usually only a few minutes different not anything like double. The good old toothpick test is generally always good. Also, done is about 200 degrees so an instant-read thermometer can be helpful.
My only jumbo muffin recipe is https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/cinnamon-nut-muffins/ but no raw apple to cook.
Let me know how it comes out.
Dan