Elevate classic apple muffins with a cinnamon swirl and a cinnamon sugar topping. Voila – now you’ve got apple snickerdoodle muffins!
Believe it or not, but we are still working through our stash of apples from our apple picking trip in early October. On top of that, my dad gifted us with another bag of apples from his trip. I’ve gotten feedback from the peanut gallery (my husband and daughter) that they aren’t huge fans of pie crust, so I should not make an apple pie with our remaining loot.
I found this apple snickerdoodle muffin recipe and thought that it would be worth a try. The one substitution I made was unsweetened applesauce for the butter. If you use my tweaks below, keep in mind that the muffins will start to get a bit soggy overnight, so store these in the refrigerator. The muffins won’t get as soggy if you use butter, but the diced apple will create some moisture in the muffin base if you keep these out on the counter too long.
Obviously, with any muffin recipe, these are best the day they are eaten. The cinnamon sugar topping will also start to melt after a day or two – it will be dependent upon how humid your house is. While I love apple muffins, I don’t enjoy how soft they tend to get after 24 hours. Keep these in the refrigerator for maximum freshness.
Now to find a recipe for the remaining apples!
Husband’s rating: 4 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 4 out of 5
My rating: 4 out of 5
Apple snickerdoodle muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
- 2 large eggs
- 6 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup milk of choice
- 1 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large apple peeled, cored and diced
Cinnamon swirl
- ¼ cup brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch salt
Cinnamon sugar topping
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Make the muffin batter
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Generously grease or line a standard muffin pan and set aside. (I used a silicone muffin pan and did not line or grease it)
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together the eggs, applesauce, milk and vanilla until uniform. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
- Gently pour in the wet ingredients and fold until a few dry streaks remain.
Make the cinnamon swirl
- In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and the pinch of salt.
Make the cinnamon sugar topping
- In another small bowl, whisk together the sugar and the cinnamon. Set aside.
Mix the batter
- After you have mixed the wet and dry ingredients together from the muffin batter step, gently fold in the cinnamon swirl and the diced apples. Mix until everything just comes together - do not over mix.
- Divide the batter into your prepared pan, filling each well at least ¾ full. Sprinkle the top with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool before serving.