These spiced apple muffins are the perfect autumn baking treat. Full of fresh apples and yummy spices, these muffins are perfect for lunchboxes, morning tea or for stocking up the freezer!
Ok ok I'm finally ready to admit it's autumn. I go through this battle every single year. I hold onto summer for as long as humanely possible i.e. until my toes start falling off because I am still wearing jandals even though it's under 10°C.
But I can't help it! As much as I think I like the idea of dressing warm and snuggling up inside with a hot drink I just don't like winter. I hate being cold, being stuck inside does not agree with me (or Sadie!) and I would just much rather be at the beach.
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Autumn however, I will make an exception for! The crisp mornings I can deal with, especially when I know they are going to turn into a beautiful sunny day. And when we have delicious treats like these spiced apple muffins, even better!
This is my standard, simple muffin recipe that I use as a base for everything - blueberry muffins, banana chocolate chip muffins and raspberry white chocolate muffins.
The only thing I have started doing differently is baking the muffins for the first 5 minutes at a hotter temperature (220°C) before turning down the oven to 180°C for the remaining time. This gives the muffins a bit of a boost to help them get that beautiful domed top that we are all looking for in a muffin!
Other than that, same easy recipe. Dry ingredients mixed into a bowl along with apple pieces and spices - I like chopping the apple into chunks so that you get a nice piece of apple in each bite.
Then add the wet ingredients, mix until just combined and bake!
They are the perfect autumn treat - especially while apples are in season - which we are heading off to pick today!
Made this recipe? Tag me on Instagram @thekiwicountrygirl and hashtag it #thekiwicountrygirl.
Spiced Apple Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups (280 grams) plain flour
- ¾ cup (165 grams) sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon mixed spice
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (about 2 medium) apples (peeled, cored and cut into 1cm cubes)
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup plain yoghurt
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/430°F and grease a muffin tin or line with paper cases.
- Add dry ingredients to a medium sized mixing bowl and whisk together until combined. Add apples and combine.
- In a small bowl whisk together milk, yoghurt, egg, oil & vanilla.
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in. Mix together gently until barely combined. Take care not to overmix the batter – a few small lumps are fine.
- Evenly distribute the batter between the 12 prepared muffin tins.
- Bake at 220°C for 5 minutes and then reduce the temperature of the oven to 180°C/350°F and bake for a remaining 20 minutes until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Allow to sit in the muffin tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
- Store in an airtight container for 5 days or freeze.
If you tried and loved this recipe, please leave a comment and a rating below!
Nicholle Bailey says
Wow Laura!
Now, this recipe made me feel like a proper baker. These muffins are the best I've ever made. I followed your recipe and instructions and used 1 can of diced apples and have made them again and they are just incredible. I've also just used it (cinnamon only) as a base for banana muffins with some cheeky Donovans choc drops and bro. Thank you. Writing this one down.
Laura says
That's amazing! I'm so happy to hear that!
Donna McConnell says
Thanks for sharing this scrumptious recipe.
I found these muffins easy to make and followed the recipe exactly.
The only change I made was adding ground ginger with cinnamon and nutmeg as that is what I had available.
My husband loved these and I will definitely make them again. The classic apple and spice flavour was delicious and not too sweet.
Amy says
Hi! Will substituting the oil for butter or coconut oil work?
Laura says
It sure will!
Maureen says
I used same quantities as directed in recipe, except 1 cup normal flour and 1 cup wholemeal flour. Followed the temperature settings and the muffins came out perfectly cooked, moist, light and fluffy. Would definitely recommend and use this recipe again.
Amanda says
This recipe is now my go to muffin mix. I didn’t have any yoghurt so subbed sour cream and it worked fine. I was also low on sugar so ended up putting in 1/3 C and it was still sweet enough. As others have commented though I do find the batter a lot thicker than other recipes and I always add more milk. I confess to never trying it as written for fear of them being dry ( I make them each week for my netball girls for after practice - I omit the spices if I’m not using apple - and I worry that they will tell me they are dry! They seem to love them and player of the day requests their favourite flavour for practice. 🙂
Shan says
Great recipe! I swapped the yoghurt and milk amounts and swapped 1/4 apple for courgette- and it was super tasty
Amy says
Hi Laura, I love your recipes and will be giving these a go! Do you think it would also work as mini muffins and what cooking time do you think?
Laura says
Hi Amy, yes definitely try them as mini muffins! I would check them after 15 minutes and they may need a few more minutes after that. Laura
Kathryn says
I love this recipe! It is easy and the muffins turn out moist, light and delicious. I have even made half quantity, using a small egg, to use up one apple. When I added the liquids to the dry ingredients I thought 'Oh no - there isn't enough moisture, I must have overdone the flour' as the mixture was very stiff, but I went ahead and baked them and they turned out great again.
Emma says
Hi Laura! I'm just trying out this recipe for the first time and I'm finding the batter very dry.. I'm sure I added all the correct quantities. Can I just add some more milk (for future reference) if this happens again?
Laura says
Hi Emma, yes you definitely can. Did they bake up ok, or were the muffins themselves dry too? Laura
Sarah Johnson says
This recipe is just devine! I made a batch just the other day and they were gone the same day. My husband absolutely loves them as well our 1 year old. It takes a bit more convincing for my 2 boys but at least they tried it ( they not fans when it comes to fruit. ) made a batch for my husband to take to work too and they couldn't get enough of them.
Recipe is super easy to follow and make. I highly recommend this to anyone wanting a good apple muffin. We have apples coming out of our ears at the moment and so this has been the perfect way to use them up in a different way besides doing crumbles and pies with them!
Thank you so much for the recipe! It has become a family favourite here 😊
Laura says
Hi Sarah! Wow thank you so much for the lovely comment!! I am so happy your family love them as much as we do - my almost 2 year old loves them so much as well!! 🙂