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Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Apple cinnamon muffins with domed, golden tops and crunchy brown sugar streusel. Moist apple muffins bake with visible apple chunks inside for a classic fall muffin texture in about 35 minutes.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 320
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Apple cinnamon muffins
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp nutmeg
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.67 cup brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
  • 0.5 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 cup diced apple about 2 small apples
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar for streusel
  • 2 tbsp flour for streusel
  • 1 tsp cinnamon for streusel
  • 1.5 tbsp cold butter for streusel, cut in pieces

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Prep and oven
  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a muffin tin with paper liners for easy release and clean edges.
Make the streusel
  1. In a bowl, mix brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon, then add cold butter pieces and cut in until crumbly; set aside the crunchy topping.
Mix dry ingredients
  1. Whisk all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together until evenly combined.
Mix wet ingredients
  1. In a separate bowl, beat brown sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream or Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract until smooth, glossy, and fully blended.
Add apples
  1. Fold the diced apple into the wet mixture until the fruit is evenly dispersed, with small chunks visible.
Combine batter
  1. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until no dry flour remains; stop mixing as soon as the batter looks thick and uniform.
Fill and top
  1. Divide the batter among muffin cups, then sprinkle each with streusel so a brown sugar crown sits on top.
Bake
  1. Bake at 375°F for 18–22 minutes until domed and golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Notes

For taller domes, stop mixing once the last streak of dry flour disappears and keep the cold butter streusel cold until it hits the batter. Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days or in the fridge up to 5 days; freeze up to 2 months. For a lighter tang, use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.