If you’ve ever been disappointed by dry day-after muffins, these Apple Muffins are going to blow your mind. They stay 100% fresh for 4 to 5 days! Made with fresh apples, this muffin recipe is quick and you’ve probably already got everything you need to make them (you’ve got apples, right?!)
Stay-fresh Apple Muffins!
If you’ve ever been disappointed / annoyed at stale, dry muffins the day after making them, these Apple Muffins are going to blow your mind!! They’re super moist on the day and they stay moist for 4 to 5 days!!
Here’s the secret to keep muffins moist…
The secret to these stay-moist Apple Muffins are:
Brown sugar instead of white – brown sugar retains moisture far better in baked goods; and
Only 1 egg – Eggs dry out baked goods. Well, the egg white part does. That’s why you’ll find some baking recipes only call for egg yolks – because it binds without drying out the batter.
Moisture in the apples which keeps the muffin crumb fresh for days and days!
And that’s the only difference between the batter for these muffins and the usual muffin mixes. Yet the shelf life difference is amazing!
Miracle stay-fresh muffin recipe
This magic stay-fresh muffin recipe is a great master muffin mix because it’s made with pantry staples:
flour – wholewheat OR white
butter
egg
milk
brown sugar
baking soda
vinegar*
cinnamon (or other spice mix)
No buttermilk, no yoghurt, no sour cream.
I know there are muffin recipes out there that swear by them for moist muffins. But they aren’t required for this recipe. I promise you, these Apple Muffins are going to be super moist straight out of the oven – and they will stay moist for 4 to 5 days. No need to even warm them up!
Wondering what the vinegar is for?
Just a touch of vinegar gives baking soda a kick start, the same effect that buttermilk and yoghurt has when used in batters. Useful for muffins to give that dome a boost.
Customise to your hearts’ content
I’ve made Apple Muffins here, but this miracle muffin batter is just waiting for your own add ins! Just add 2 to 2.5 cups of diced fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts, chocolate or other chips – go wild!
For the fresh fruit, just be sure it’s fruit that won’t bleed too much and become mushy when baked. Some fruits I’ve used that work very well include:
Pears
Mango (though, if like me, you love coconut with mango, give these Coconut Mango Muffins a go!)
Berries – blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, mulberries
Strawberries (use small ones)
With the super long shelf life of these Apple Muffins, they are ideal for grab and go snacks, popping into lunch boxes, afternoon teas and just generally devouring on an as-needed basis.
With the sweet little dome, a sparkling sugar crust (if you so choose), tender pieces of apple and a hint of cinnamon fragrance, they look and smell as great as they taste. Enjoy! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Stay-Fresh Apple Muffins!
Ingredients
- 2 level cups apple pieces (peeled) , 0.7 cm / 1/3" cubes (2 large apples, I use red)
- 1 tbsp melted butter , for muffin tim (or use paper liners)
Wet:
- 115g / 0.5 cup unsalted butter , melted (1 stick)
- 1 cup (200g) brown sugar , packed
- 2/3 cup (165 ml) milk (low fat, full fat, non dairy also fine)
- 1 large egg (approx 60g / 2 oz)
- 1 tsp white vinegar (or any other clear vinegar)
Dry:
- 2 cups (300g) wholemeal flour (wholewheat flour)(white also ok, Note 1)
- 1 tsp baking soda (bi carb) (NOT baking powder)
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- Pinch salt
Topping (optional):
- 2 tbsp raw sugar (demerara sugar – large granules)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F.
- Brush a 12 hole, standard muffin tin with melted butter, or line with paper cases. (Note 3)
- Place butter and brown sugar in a bowl, whisk to combine.
- Add milk, then egg and vinegar. Whisk to combine.
- Scatter flour across batter surface, followed by baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Whisk 10 times until the flour is incorporated – some lumps is fine.
- Stir through apple -minimum stirs just to disperse.
- Scoop batter into muffin tin – I use an ice cream scoop – filling it all the way to the top. If using a scooper, leave it the slight ball shape (see video) – don’t smooth the top. You should get 12 (see Note 3).
- Sprinkle with sugar (if using – makes surface slightly crispy), place muffins in the oven.
- Immediately turn down to 180C/350F.
- Bake for 20 minutes (standard) or 18 minutes (fan / convection) , or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Rest in the muffin tin for 5 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool.
- Once fully cooled, store in an airtight container – it will stay moist for up to 5 days. These also freeze very well.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Muffin Mania
Cornbread Muffins (personal fave?)
Life of Dozer
Couldn’t decide which one to share. Both are classic Life-Of-Dozer moments.
I just made these using a couple of kinda wrinkly apples and they’re fantastic. I’ll be taking some one a camping trip this weekend and freezing the rest for later. A real keeper of a recipe.
Hello to you and the adorable Dozer from Oregon.
So good! Will be a favorite! Thank you.
OMG these were so surprising – my kids usually turn their noses up at anything slightly containing fruit BUT… they gobbled these up – kids & adults alike loved these. A true winner of a recipe. Thank you Nagi, once again!
Hello, would these work with coconut/light olive oil?
Absolutely terrific! Go to muffin recipe from now on.
5/5. Best Apple Muffins EVER!!!
I want sure about the whisk meal flour but man these muffins are amazing!!
Super quick and easy to make, really tasty, nice chunks of apple. Even my hubby (who isn’t into cakes) gobbled 2 up!
The new go to muffin recipe for sure!!! Nagi never fails!
So good but mine was super moist didn’t come out with a dome. Maybe humid where I live. Will do it again.on awhile. Thank you.
Delicious. I reduced the butter to 65 g and added 55g of sour cream, I used half AP and half WW flour and added a topping of 60 g of brown sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon. So moist and Delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Nagi, the Muffins look amazing, can’t wait to taste them. Thank you.
These are soooo good! What’s funny is, the recipe specifically says not to use baking powder, but I had to because halfway through prep I realized I didn’t have baking soda. 🙁 I just made the appropriate adjustment (3 tsp baking powder to replace the 1 tsp of baking soda) and they still came out amazing. I also followed the suggestions of a few other folks and only used 1/3 c brown sugar. I will definitely make these again…and will be sure to have baking soda next time! Thanks for such an easy and delicious recipe!
These muffins are so moist and delicious. My only problem was the tops did not stay together. I let them cool, I buttered the tin in and on top. But the tops stuck to it and I could not get a complete muffin. I still ate them that way. Any suggestions for next time. Thank you.
A trick I do is use room temperature butter rather than melted. This helps the butter stay rather than dripping down to the base.
Made these for my grandsons after school snacks and definitely not disappointed. So moist and delicious. Will be cooking another batch with buderim ginger and dates.
These are amazing. So yummy. Has anyone tried to make them with grated apple? I’m trying to stop my kids from pulling out the Apple chunks 🤦♀️
Probably the best apple and cinnamon muffin I have ever tried
I made 2 batches of these today, so moist, I used white flour and they came out so good. definitely will make again.
Is the oven temperatures in this recipe for convection or fan forced ovens?
I added less sugar and used 1/2 buckwheat flour and 1/2 plain flour. So moist and delish. Also topped it with a crumble mixture before I bakes it. THE BEST!!!
Ooooh I like your idea of the crumble topping, I’m going to try that! May I ask what you put in your crumble for the topping?
I made these today for the first time. I think my apple pieces were too big, as they didnt cook right through. And being lazy i popped the batter into the KitchenAid counting 10 turns of the mixer but I think I overmixed. Classic muffin mistake, they are so easy to over beat! Will try again and use a spoon and smaller pieces of apple. Oh and I love the idea of walnuts in them!
Best muffins I have ever made! You did it again Nagi ❤️ I only put in 100g brown sugar and it was more than enough. I will try 80-90 grams next time
Made my fourth batch back-to-back, and I’m expecting hubby to ask for the fifth very soon. I added some walnuts for crunch, but otherwise followed the recipe to a tee. Would love to see some savoury muffins in the near future, as I trust they will be just as good. Every time I have used one of your recipes there has never been a failure. I guess that’s because you tweak really well. Loved seeing you on Masterchef, better than just seeing a picture all the time.
She has a savoury cheese muffin recipe that’s a great base for adding your own choice of extras, it’s one of my favourite muffin recipes! I make them in mini size and freeze them.