The epitome of cozy, these apple crumble muffins are loaded with warm spices and tender apple pieces, then finished with a buttery cinnamon-brown-sugar oat streusel. Best enjoyed warm, they bake up light and fluffy—perfect for a quick breakfast or an anytime snack.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Flavor: bright, slightly tart apple, a buttery streusel, and plenty of cinnamon—every bite has a little apple and warm spice.
Texture: tender, bakery-style muffins with small apple chunks for pleasant chew, topped with a crisp brown-sugar oat crumble.
Simple to make: this batter comes together in one bowl by hand—no stand mixer required. Make the batter ahead and bake fresh muffins just before serving.
Ingredients
These muffins use common pantry items plus a standard muffin tin and liners (optional).
- Rolled oats—for the streusel and extra texture.
- Sugars—granulated sugar in the batter and brown sugar in the crumble for depth.
- Baking powder—gives the muffins a tall, tender rise.
- Spices—cinnamon, a touch of ginger and nutmeg for cozy warmth.
- Dairy & fat—an egg, full-fat Greek yogurt, whole milk, melted unsalted butter (used in batter and streusel). Room-temperature dairy yields best results.
- Neutral oil—vegetable or canola oil keeps the crumb tender.
- Apples—choose firm varieties such as Honeycrisp or Granny Smith so the pieces hold their shape while baking.
See the recipe card below for exact quantities and measurements.
Substitutions
- Dairy: Full-fat sour cream or buttermilk can replace Greek yogurt.
- Oil: Any neutral-flavored oil works.
- Sugar: Light or dark brown sugar may be used interchangeably in the streusel.
- Fruit: Pears (firm variety) can substitute for apples in equal measure.
Variations
Ways to customize these apple crumble muffins:
- Grated apples: If you prefer a finer distribution of apple, grate the apples and fold them into the batter.
- Glaze: Drizzle a maple or cinnamon glaze over the streusel. For maple: powdered sugar plus a little maple syrup to reach drizzling consistency. For cinnamon glaze: powdered sugar plus milk or cream and ½ teaspoon cinnamon.
- Jumbo muffins: Use a jumbo muffin pan and increase baking time by 5–7 minutes.
How to Get Tall Muffin Tops
Use these tips for high, bakery-style muffin tops:
- Make a thick batter rather than a thin batter.
- Fill muffin cups to the top for a domed rise.
- Start baking at a high temperature for the first 5 minutes to quickly activate the leavening, then reduce the temperature for the remaining bake time.
How to Make This Recipe
Preheat the oven and prepare a 12-cup muffin tin with liners or a light grease. Peel, core and dice the apples, make the streusel, then mix the muffin batter.
One: Combine melted butter, flour, brown sugar, rolled oats, cinnamon and a pinch of salt; mix with a fork until pea-sized crumbs form. Set aside.
Two: Whisk dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, spices) in one bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, egg, oil, melted butter, Greek yogurt, milk and vanilla.
Three: Fold the wet mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until just combined—do not overmix.
Four: Gently fold in the diced apples until evenly distributed.
Five: Use a large cookie scoop or ice-cream scoop to fill each muffin cup to the top.
Six: Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the muffins and bake.
Hot tip! Remove any stray streusel pieces from the pan before baking so excess sugar doesn’t burn and make cleanup harder.
Expert Tips
- Cut apple pieces to about 1 cm so they heat through and stay tender in the muffin.
- Use room-temperature egg, milk and yogurt for an even batter and better rise.
- Mix until the flour is just incorporated—overmixing creates dense muffins.
- Fill the cups fully to produce generous muffin tops.
- Allow the oven to fully preheat (about 20 minutes for many ovens) before baking.
Recipe FAQs
Firm, crisp apples like Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Pink Lady or Granny Smith hold up well while baking. Honeycrisp is a favorite for flavor and texture.
Avoid over-mixing so the gluten doesn’t over-develop, and use the correct amount of leavening. Gentle mixing keeps muffins tender.
Proper ratios of sugar and fat help retain moisture; sugar attracts and holds moisture while fats (butter, oil, yogurt) keep the crumb tender.
Lower-quality liners can stick. Either spray the liners lightly or skip liners and grease the tin directly.
Storage
Store muffins at room temperature for up to three days in the muffin tin lightly tented with foil. An airtight container will keep them moist but will soften the streusel topping.
To freeze, place cooled muffins in a single layer in a zip-top bag, remove excess air, and freeze up to two months. Thaw at room temperature.
To re-crisp the tops, warm muffins in a preheated 350°F (175°C) oven for 3–5 minutes.
More Muffin Recipes You’ll Love
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Bakery Style Pistachio Muffins
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Easy Jumbo Blueberry Muffins (Bakery Style)
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Fluffy Bakery Style Banana Muffins
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📖 Recipe
Cinnamon Apple Crumble Muffins with Oats
Callan Wenner
Equipment
- Standard muffin tin
- Cupcake or muffin liners (optional)
Ingredients
Apple Muffins
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (210g)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar (133g)
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (60ml)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted (57g)
- ½ cup full-fat Greek yogurt, room temperature (65g)
- ¼ cup whole milk, room temperature (60ml)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 medium apples, peeled, cored and diced (about 1½ cups / 150g)
Streusel Topping
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted (57g)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour (60g)
- ½ cup light brown sugar (100g)
- ½ cup rolled oats (50g)
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
Streusel Topping
- In a bowl combine the melted butter, flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon and salt. Mix with a fork until pea-sized crumbs form. Set aside.
Apple Muffins
- Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and spices in a bowl and set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk sugar, egg, oil, melted butter, Greek yogurt, milk and vanilla until combined.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the dry with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. Gently fold in the diced apples—do not overmix.
- Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with liners or grease the wells.
- Fill each cup to the top with batter, then evenly distribute the streusel over each muffin.
- Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake for another 13–16 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer muffins to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
Any firm apple works, but Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Pink Lady and Granny Smith are excellent choices. Sour cream may replace Greek yogurt—use full-fat for best texture.
Store muffins at room temperature, lightly covered, for up to three days. To refresh and re-crisp the topping, warm in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 3–5 minutes.
Optional: Make a maple or cinnamon glaze: combine 1 cup powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon maple syrup (or milk/water) to drizzling consistency; add ½ teaspoon cinnamon if desired.
The nutritional information provided is an estimate per serving.
- Calories: 314 kcal
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Sodium: 158 mg
- Fiber: 2 g
- Sugar: 24 g