Cozy up this fall with a batch of Apple Cider Streusel Muffins. With fresh apple pieces, lots of cinnamon, and a crisp streusel topping, these are irresistible! Not to mention, a drizzle a bit of apple cider icing on top really takes them up a notch!

pan full of muffins in white liners with blue linen towel

We’re officially deep into apple season. And what’s not to love about juicy, tart, slightly sweet apples?

They make excellent pies, crisps, cupcakes, and of course, muffins.

Apple Cider Streusel Muffins aren’t just any muffins either. The beauties are bites of perfection. Bites that you won’t be able to get enough of. Bites that bring a twinge of nostalgia and overwhelming joy.

Yes, I said overwhelming joy. It’s real, my friends. A delicious vegetarian breakfast recipe no matter how you look at it.

apple muffins in muffin tin with cinnamon stick next to them

Growing up as this 90s-child, there were a lot of boxed foods in my life. Especially muffin mixes. And I loved them. Especially the ones with the little cans of fruit.

Now, I miss those days of apple pieces in muffins and ultimately crave warm, cinnamon-filled apple muffins with little bits of apple spread throughout. Naturally, I’ve gotta make my own. With streusel. There’s simply nothing better!

If you, too, love fruit in muffins, you’re going to love these. They came to be kind of “accidentally” when I was making these Apple Cider Cupcakes (ahem, with Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting).

One bite of the frosting-less cupcake though and I was immediately 8 years old again, watching Saturday morning cartoons with a plate of warm apple muffins. And I KNEW I had to also turn the recipe into muffins. It was fate, it had to happen. I’ve only made them about 82 times since I first tested them three weeks ago.

muffins on wire rack with white icing and apples in background
overhead view of muffin with drizzle and streusel

The Ingredients You’ll Need

There’s just a handful of simple baking ingredients for this apple muffin recipe. Making it so easy to whip up on a weekend, especially because you’ll already have most (if not all) of them on hand!

There’s the basic all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon dry ingredient mixture to start with.

Then the wet ingredients: apple cider, eggs, vanilla extract, and butter.

Now, we can’t forget the apples.

bowls of flour, wet ingredients, streusel topping, and apples

What kind of apples are best for baking?

I recommend a more tart apple that holds up well to baking, so the apple pieces remain intact in the muffins. Found at most grocery stores especially here in the Midwest, I go with Honeycrisp Apples most of the time. If you’re at an apple orchard, I like to ask them what variety they have that’s best for baking.

How to Make Apple Streusel Muffins

As with any simple muffin recipe, it’s a matter of mixing wet ingredients and dry just until combined. That. Easy. But let’s dive in a tiny bit more. First, prepare a regular 12-muffin tin pan with muffin liners or grease them lightly.

bowl of muffin batter with spatula
  1. Make that cinnamon sugar streusel! You want to do this first so it has a little bit of time to “dry” and form some nice sugary crumbles. Stir together the flour, brown sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon – then set aside. Mix it up with a fork, opposed to spoon, to encourage more clumping.
  2. Mix up those dry ingredients in a large bowl, then set aside. You want to make sure it’s a large enough bowl, because this is where the batter will end up being fully mixed.
  3. Whisk together the wet ingredients.
  4. Then, stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, only until mostly mixed.
  5. Gently fold in the apple pieces into the batter.
  6. Fill up your muffin tins, and top the batter with the streusel.
  7. Time to bake! Bake until they bounce back when lightly touched, or a toothpick comes out clean. You can also use a thermometer to check the internal temperature, which should be around 195F.
  8. Once they’re out of the oven and slightly cooled, it’s time to gobble up! Trust me, you won’t be able to stop.

Oh, and as an extra bonus, top the cinnamon apple muffins with not only the streusel but an apple cider icing. The icing is a quick mix of powdered sugar and cider results in a luxurious icing that is perfect for drizzling on top of the muffins!

drizzle onto apple cinnamon muffin on tray

What makes this recipe work?

Let me count the ways!

  • For starters, the ultra-moist muffins themselves.
  • They are SUPER easy to make!
  • Loaded with cinnamon – oh, hello warm cinnamon.
  • An intense apple flavor coming from the apple cider.
  • Apple pieces! Hello, texture and flavor!
  • STREUSEL! DRIZZLE! All the toppings you could ever want!
torn apart apple cider muffin on tray

Common Questions

Do I need to add the streusel or icing?

Not at all. The muffins are delicious without, too!

Can I use apple juice instead of apple cider?

They are basically interchangeable, so yes. Apple juice is a little sweeter, so if using I’d recommend replacing 1-2 teaspoons of the juice with lemon juice to add some tartness back in.

Can I make these gluten-free?

I would imagine a 1:1 flour replacement will work in this recipe, but I haven’t tested it myself. Please let us know if you try it!

More Muffin Recipes to Love

apple muffins in muffin tin with cinnamon stick next to them
5 (4 ratings)

Get the Recipe Apple Cider Streusel Muffins

Cozy up this fall with a batch of Apple Cider Streusel Muffins. With fresh apple pieces, lots of cinnamon, and a crisp streusel topping, these are irresistible! Not to mention, a drizzle a bit of apple cider icing on top really takes them up a notch!

Ingredients

CRUMBLE:

DRIZZLE:

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F and line 12 muffin tins. If making the crumble, stir together the crumble ingredients: butter, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and set aside. Stir together dry ingredients in a mixing bowl: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugars. Set aside.
  • Whisk together melted butter (slightly cooled so it doesn’t cook the eggs), eggs, apple cider, and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into dry until mostly combined. Stir in diced apples until just combined. Don’t overmix!
  • Fill muffin tins about 3/4 full. Top with streusel, approximately 1 1/2-2  teaspoons on each muffin. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 195-200°F.
  • If adding the apple cider drizzle, stir together powdered sugar and apple cider, you may want to add more or less apple cider depending on desired consistency. Drizzle on slightly warm muffins.

Notes

You can use whatever apple type you want, you just want to lean towards using good baking apples so it doesn’t get mushy during baking.
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