Welcome autumn with spiced apple cider muffins. These homemade muffins are loaded with diced apples and apple cider concentrate and coated in cinnamon sugar, just like an apple cider donut!
Going apple picking is one of my favorite fall activities-- my family goes every year. With the ushering in of fall comes seasonal produce like apple and pumpkin. These apple spice muffins are the perfect way to enjoy all those fresh and in season apples! These work great as a snack or for breakfast.
Looking for recipes that use lots of apples at once? If you want to learn how to make your own applesauce, here's a super simple homemade applesauce recipe with no sugar added. For a tasty apple dessert that's on the fancier side, try this apricot apple rose tart.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Full of apples: There are two full apples to this recipe, along with apple cider concentrate for even more appley goodness.
- Moist: Butter, oil, and milk all work together to keep these muffins unbelievably moist and tender.
- Baked in the oven: These apple cider donut muffins have all the same components, but unlike donuts, they aren't fried.
Ingredient Notes
- Apples Fresh apples are peeled and diced small and added to the muffin batter as a last step. Use your favorite variety of apple here, they work best will a sweet, but crispy apple such as honeycrisp, fuji, pink lady, or granny smith.
- Apple Cider Fresh apple cider is the secret to having these muffins be absolutely bursting with flavor. By cooking cider down and reducing by half, you concentrate the flavor even more.
- Butter/oil Using a combination of butter and oil in baking is a great way to get the best of both worlds. Butter adds rich flavor and oil helps the moisture even more.
- Cinnamon Used in both the muffins themselves and the cinnamon sugar coating, this spice gives warmth to these muffins and complements the apple flavor beautifully. Cinnamon works great with pumpkin too, try these pumpkin cheesecake cookies!
- Vanilla Bean Paste If you have never baked with vanilla bean paste before, I suggest you try it! It elevates the flavor of baked goods by adding a really concentrated vanilla flavor. Standard liquid vanilla extract can totally be used at the same measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
- These easy apple cider muffins can be made without the addition of fresh apples and they will still be delicious. There will be a few less muffins to enjoy if you choose to forgo.
- Coconut oil can be used in place of vegetable oil. If you use ultra refined coconut oil, the taste is very mild.
- Feel free to skip the final coating of cinnamon sugar if you want a slightly less sweet version of this apple muffin recipe.
- Apple pie spice can be used in place of ground cinnamon for a more nuanced spiciness.
- Standard apple juice or non reduced apple cider can be used, however the flavor will be more mild.
Instructions
Step 1. Preheat oven to 350° F. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, simmer apple cider until it is reduced by half. Allow to cool.
Step 2. In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream together sugar, room temperature butter, and oil until a pale yellow color.
Step 3. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add remaining wet ingredients except for the apples.
Step 4. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda). Mix and set aside.
Step 5. Using a spatula, gradually add dry ingredients to wet until just combined.
Step 6. Add apples to muffin batter and gently fold in to combine.
Step 7. Grease or line a muffin pan and fill each tin ¾ of the way full.
Step 8. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
Once they are finished cooking, place muffins on a rack until cool enough to work with, around 2-3 minutes. Keeping them warm helps the cinnamon sugar to stick.
In a bowl, melt butter. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon.
Carefully dip the top of each muffin in melted butter shake off excess and then roll in cinnamon sugar to coat. Depending on whether you use liners or not, you can coat just the tops or the entire muffin.
Repeat for all muffins and enjoy warm.
For more detailed instructions, see the recipe card below.
Recipe Tips
While not completely necessary, peeling the apples gives a softer texture and the apples melt into the muffins much better if they are peeled.
Storage
These are best enjoyed fresh but they can be stored for later if needed.
Room temperature storage: Baked goods can dry out when they are stored in the refrigerator, so these are best kept at room temperature. Store in a ziploc bag or airtight container on the counter for 2-3 days. Cool completely before storing.
Freeze for later: Cool completely and then place in a single layer into a gallon ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 6 months and thaw at room temperature.
More muffin recipes
If you tried this Apple Cider Muffin Recipe or any other recipe of mine, please please give a star rating and let me know how it goes! I love to hear from you.
Apple Cider Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups flour
- ¼ cup vegetable oil or coconut oil
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 cup apple cider reduced to ½ cup
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla bean paste
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 apples peeled and chopped
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- ¼ cup butter melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, simmer apple cider until it is reduced by half. Allow to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda). Mix and set aside.
- In a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream together sugar, room temperature butter, and oil until a pale yellow color. This will take 3-4 minutes in a stand mixer but can also be done by hand.
- Add eggs one at a time until incorporated.
- To bowl of the mixer add remaining wet ingredients except for the apples.
- Using a spatula, gradually add dry ingredients to wet until just combined.
- Peel and dice apples into small pieces.
- Add apples to muffin batter and gently fold in to combine.
- Grease or line a muffin pan and fill each tin ¾ of the way full.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Once they are finished cooking, place muffins on a rack until cool enough to work with, around 2-3 minutes. Keeping them warm helps the cinnamon sugar to stick.
- In a bowl, melt butter. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon.
- Carefully dip the top of each muffin in melted butter shake off excess and then roll in cinnamon sugar to coat. Depending on whether you use liners or not, you can coat just the tops or the entire muffin.
- Repeat for all muffins and enjoy warm.
Notes
- Storage: Baked goods can dry out when they are stored in the refrigerator, so these are best kept at room temperature. Store in a ziploc bag or airtight container on the counter for 2-3 days.
- Regular apple cider or apple juice can be used in place of the reduced apple cider, the flavor will just be milder.
Linda S-K
If the recipe ingredients list was reorganized in the order of use, I would have rated this 5 stars instead of 4. But the taste and consistency of the finished product was great! (I made slight spice substitutions by using about 1&5/8 tsp cinnamon, 3/4 tsp apple pie spice, and 1/8 tsp of ground cloves.)
I also had a little extra reduced (concentrated) cider leftover after needing to make some more when I cooked the initial 1 cup down just a bit too much. Instead of brushing the tops of the muffins with melted butter before dipping in cinnamon-sugar, I dipped the tops in that cider reduction and then dipped in the cinnamon-sugar.
Sarah Baumeister
Thank you for the feedback. I am glad you enjoyed the muffins!