Warm, luscious cinnamon is swirled into every bit of these tender delicious muffins. Cinnamon swirl apple muffins are a great way to enjoy classic fall flavors.
Apple and pumpkin recipes are made on repeat around here during the fall and winter months. I love cinnamon’s warm, cozy flavor and scent, which goes perfectly with apples and pumpkin. Cinnamon is a major player in this recipe, swirled and stirred into every inch of these wonderful muffins.
Ingredients
Brown Sugar: Found in the cinnamon swirl and the body of the muffin. I typically use light brown sugar.
Flour: Gives the muffin structure.
Salt: Enhances the flavors.
Cinnamon: This irresistible spice is found throughout the muffin.
White Sugar: Adds sweetness. The mixture of white and brown sugar keeps the muffins light and tender.
Baking Powder: The leavening agent.
Butter: Gives the muffins richness and flavor.
Eggs: Adds flavor and helps to give the muffins their structure.
Milk: Adds moisture. I use either almond milk or skim milk.
Vanilla Extract: Adds delicious flavor.
Apple: Any crisp apple will be a great choice. A sweet apple like Gala or Honeycrisp will work, or you could use a baking apple like Haralson.
Instructions
After preheating your oven, prepare the topping and the portion that gets swirled into the batter. Set these aside for now.
For the muffin batter, I like to start by measuring and combining the dry ingredients. Make sure to combine thoroughly, so the batter is uniform color. We want to be able to see the cinnamon that we swirl in later.
Next, mix together the sugars, eggs, milk, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Before I combine the wet and dry ingredients, I will peel and finely chop the apple. Then, stir the muffin batter together until just combined. Stir the cinnamon swirl and chopped apple into the batter. It’s desirable to have some visible swirls of cinnamon!
Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin cups and then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Bake for about 20 minutes.
Cinnamon swirl apple muffins are perfect warm right out of the oven. I also have it on good authority that they are tasty with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! 🙂
Cinnamon Swirl Apple Muffins
Ingredients
Cinnamon Swirl
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp flour
- pinch of salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Cinnamon Sugar
- 2 Tbsp white sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Muffins
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large apple peeled and diced small
Instructions
- Add the ingredients for the cinnamon swirl to a small bowl and stir to completely combined. Add the ingredients for the cinnamon sugar to another small bowl and stir to completely combined. Set both bowls aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and fill 12 muffin cups with paper liners or line a sheet pan with silicone muffins cups.
Make the Muffins
- In a medium bowl, thoroughly combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whip the butter with sugars. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla and beat until smooth.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in the apple and the brown sugar swirl.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Bake the muffins in the center of the oven for about 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool slightly before serving. Store in an airtight container.