Best Ever Apple Streusel Muffins

Huge bakery-style muffins loaded with fresh apples and topped with a crunchy brown sugar and cinnamon streusel. These are the best apple streusel muffins you will ever make. This recipe makes a batch of six perfect muffins. They are made with simple ingredients and come together quickly and easily.

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I love muffins. They are the perfect grab-and-go breakfast, and the varieties are endless.

These apple crumb muffins are the perfect treat to make during apple season. The warm spices and sweet apples are a comforting, delicious combination of fall flavor, especially with a nice cup of coffee or tea.

The perfect muffin, though, needs the perfect muffin top.

The one that is tall and slightly crunchy on the edges. Let’s be honest: when you are standing at the counter in a bakery, that huge, beautiful muffin top sells the muffin.

These delicious apple muffins, with their crunch crumb topping, have that giant muffin top you are looking for.

They are delicious!

This recipe uses simple pantry ingredients and comes together quickly, and it uses only two bowls, making clean-up a breeze.

It makes six muffins, which is perfect. It is enough to get you through the week, but not so many that they will dry out before you get a chance to enjoy them.

You can serve them as is or slather them in butter. If you want to add to the cinnamon flavour, then this sweet cinnamon butter is perfect with these muffins.

Looking for other easy recipes for a grab and go breakfast or snack? Try this banana bread recipe or these pumpkin muffins.

Ingredients & Substitutions

For a full list of ingredients and measurements, see the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Ingredient notes & Substitutions

This recipe uses simple ingredients common to most muffin recipes.

Apples – I like to use Granny Smith apples, but any variety will work. You can peel them or leave the peel on.

Oil – This recipe uses vegetable oil, but if you don’t like using that, you can use coconut oil or melted butter instead.

Flour – This recipe is made with a combination of whole-wheat and all-purpose flour. Feel free to switch that if you like.

Milk – I always use 2% milk when making muffins, as it is generally what I have on-hand, but this can easily be swapped with whole milk if you prefer.

Baking powder – Baking powder is the leavener used to make these muffins rise. Make sure your baking powder is fresh for the best results.

Apple pie spice – I love using apple pie spice in this recipe as it adds slightly more flavour than just using cinnamon. However, if you don’t have apple pie spice, cinnamon will work just fine. Mixes such as pumpkin pie spice work well too.

You will also need:

• Vanilla extract
• Salt
• Granulated sugar
• Brown sugar
• Butter

Step by Step Instructions

One – Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Two – Whisk the milk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract, in a small bowl or measuring cup, then add to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Don’t over mix, stir just until the batter comes together.

Three – Fold in the diced apple.

Four – Scoop the muffin batter into 6 lined muffin cups.

Pro Tip – Be sure to fill those muffin cups full. That is how we are going to get the giant muffin top. Don’t worry, the batter will not spill over the edges when it bakes.

Next we will make the streusel topping.

One – Using your fingers, mix the streusel ingredients in a small bowl until well mixed and crumbly.

Two – Pile that topping onto the muffins. (Don’t worry if you make a mess, I always do!)

You can make this recipe using the standard paper liners, but my favorite are the taller, parchment liners. These allow the muffins to rise up a little more instead of spreading outward, giving a nicer top.

You can also bake these muffins without liners. Just be sure to grease the muffin tins before filling them with batter.

Place the muffins in the oven for 28 to 30 minutes. You are looking for golden tops, and a toothpick should come out clean when inserted into the centre of the muffins.

Remove from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes, then remove the muffins from the pan and place on a wire rack.

You can serve these apple streusel muffins immediately, I highly recommend it, or you can keep them in an airtight container for a few days.

Equipment

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You don’t need any fancy equipment to make this apple streusel muffin recipe. But we have included a list for reference.

Mixing bowls – A medium size mixing bowl should suffice unless you want to double the recipe.

Muffin tin – This recipe makes six muffins, and we prefer to use a six-cup muffin pan for this purpose. You can use a 12-cup pan if that is all you have.

Paper liners – You can use the standard, large-sized muffin or cupcake liners, but we love using the taller, bakery-style parchment liners. They allow for a taller rise, and they peel from the muffins easily.

Storage

You can store these muffins in an airtight container or ziplock bag, at room temperature, for about three days.

If you need to store them longer, you can store them in the refrigerator for about one week, or place them in a sealed container and freeze them for several months.

Tips & FAQs

• For the best results, we highly recommend weighing your ingredients. However, if you prefer not to weigh then be sure to measure dry ingredients by spooning and levelling.
• Don’t over-mix the batter. Muffin batter must only be mixed enough to incorporate the dry and wet ingredients.

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This recipe was originally published in 2020. It has been updated with new photos and to include weight measurements.

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