Maple Apple Muffins

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Lightly sweet and studded with chunks of fresh apple, these easy apple muffins are a wonderful breakfast treat! The addition of buttermilk makes them deliciously tender.

We make muffins constantly around here, often choosing flavors based on what fruit is in season.

Summertime means strawberry muffins and blueberry streusel muffins. In winter I turn to lemon poppy seed muffins or banana oat muffins.

And fall, of course, means it’s time for apple muffins.

Muffins are such a great option for breakfast because you can make them ahead and just grab one as you’re running out the door. That is, assuming you don’t eat the whole batch fresh from the oven.

These apple muffins are loaded with pieces of apple and feature maple syrup for extra flavor and sweetness. 

They mix up so quickly, you can have them ready to eat in under an hour!

Ingredients for apple muffins

You’ll need:

All-purpose flour – AP flour makes these muffins light and fluffy. If you like, you can swap up to half of the AP flour with whole wheat flour.

Baking powder and baking soda – For leavening

Salt – I use fine sea salt in nearly all of my recipes. The small crystals allow it to disperse evenly in the batter.

Butter – Use unsalted butter. Make sure it is softened to room temperature before you start this recipe.

Granulated sugar – You can swap in brown sugar if you want a deeper flavor.

Maple syrup – Maple syrup goes really well with apples, so I use a bit of it for flavor and sweetness. 

I highly recommend using a pure maple syrup rather than imitation maple syrup.

Eggs – You’ll need two standard large eggs.

Vanilla – Like the maple syrup, I recommend using a pure vanilla extract.

Apples – Depending on the size of your apples, you’ll need just one or two. You can use any variety of apple you like; I used pink lady apples.

There is no need to peel the apples, but you can if you like.

Buttermilk – Buttermilk is great in muffins because it adds a subtle tang while also assisting with the lift. 

You can swap in regular milk if you don’t have buttermilk on hand.

How to make this recipe

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray, or line with paper liners.

Cut the apple(s) into small pieces. You can peel the apple before cutting if you like, but it’s not necessary. You’ll need about 1 ½ cups of diced apple.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Beat in maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Mix in the milk.

Gradually mix in the flour mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Make sure to not over-mix the batter; you just need the dry ingredients incorporated.

Fold in the apple pieces, mixing to distribute in the batter evenly.

Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin, dividing the batter equally among the 12 cups.

Bake muffins for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe suggestions

Add your favorite fall spices for an apple cider inspired muffin. Try ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, or your favorite baking blend.

Top muffins with a simple streusel of flour, brown sugar, and butter, mixed together into crumbs and added before baking. Or, simply sprinkle the top of the muffin with sparkling sugar before baking.

Bake this as a quick bread! Lower the temperature to 350°F and pour the batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake for about 1 hour, until a toothpick comes out clean.

For more maple flavor, drizzle a small amount of maple syrup on top of the batter before baking.

Storage tips

Apple muffins will keep at room temperature for about 3 days.

For longer storage, I recommend keeping them in the refrigerator. Apple muffins are super moist, so they can go bad more quickly at room temperature.

You can also freeze apple muffins!

To freeze, let the muffins cool completely, then transfer to freezer bags. I like to use smaller bags and put 4 muffins in each so I can just thaw a few at a time.

Remove as much air as possible and seal. Frozen muffins will keep for about 3 months.

Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or pop in the microwave for about 30 seconds, or until warmed through.

What to serve with apple muffins

This apple muffin recipe is great as part of a fall breakfast spread or simply as a quick snack.

Add them to your brunch lineup with million dollar bacon or cheese quiche.

Serve with softened butter for spreading, or try with your favorite nut butter.

These moist and delicious muffins are on frequent rotation at our house, and you’ll love them too!