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.
Thank you for this recipe! By far the most delicious muffins I have made…all the credit to a great recipe!
I used this recipe as a base for another muffin idea (as absolutely trust Nagi), turned out as perfect fluffy yet moist muffins. I swapped out the apple for pear and walnuts, and the cinnamon for ginger.
I made this and totally screwed up and added 1 tbsp of melted butter instead of 1/2 cup of melted butter. After freaking out while it was baking, they still turned out perfect and taste AMAZING!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe. It is a keeper!
I am not a baker but these were super simple so decided I couldn’t mess them up. Oh my they are delicious!
I didn’t have brown sugar so subbed white plus some pancake syrup. They came out tender. Also used Chinese 5 spice powder instead of plain cinnamon. Wow! This is full of flavor.
I’ve already sent the recipe to my DIL who’s a baker and she laughs at me in a good way when I have a success.
Brava, Nagi.
I made these today after a Costco trip where my partner and owners drawn to the spiced apple muffins but had already spent a lot of time- thanks to the impulse vacuum in our cart….. and I remembered apples in the fridge at home so decided the perfect Sunday bake would be something apple – and as always Nagi, you pulled through for me! I upped the spice – 1tsp cinnamon, 1tsp all spice and 1/2tsp ginger….. and I’ll double it next time! We love a good spice, but this was delicious. Soft, moist (sorry. There’s no other word for it!) and so, SO easy!! No mixer, no yogurt, nothing I wouldn’t always have on hand (except maybe apples themselves). Loved these, thank you!
I have made this with apples, and it’s AMAZING!! I also tested it with banana and choc chips, also good but a little more dense than with just apples.
On that note, I live alone so I utilise my freezer A LOT, these muffins are amazing out of the freezer, they go back to being super fluffy and taste like you’ve just made them. This recipe is definitely going into the repertoire!
Great recipe. I reduced butter to 5 Tbs snd sugar to 3/4 cup. Used Granny Smith apples. 250 grams by weight. Great rise. Great flavor.
These were outstanding! You never disappoint Nagi!
So sorry to read about Dozer 😞❤️
This was a really well-written recipe. Super easy to follow, and the muffins are excellent.
I didn’t peel my apples because I prefer a more rustic vibe, and I think the result is perfect. My husband and son have been enthusiastically eating them, but did ask me to peel the apples next time.
This recipe is a fav in our house, great put in the freezer and then pulled out for school/work snacks. Wondering if anyone has substituted the apple for other fruit, ie apricots. I have an abundance and am interested to know if they’d work in this?
Yum Yum Yum
Sooo delish. Made egg free due to allergy, (used egg replacement). You wouldn’t even know. 🙂
The best muffin recipe I have ever tried. I used light muscovado sugar and had to replace a third of the butter with ghee as I didn’t have enough. But they turned out wonderfully. Not too sweet and so moist. Will be making again.
With apples, brown sugar and Cinnamon ( match made in heaven) in the recipe you know it’s going to taste great. Made the recipe as written. I used dark brown sugar and the muffins turned out well. They taste wonderful and are great with a cuppa or for a snack. The first tray of muffins were eaten by the family within 6 hours. I will definitely make again and put some in the freezer for later.
I just love all of your recipes! I’ve made this one and it is flavourful and moist and lasted for days. Easy to make and easier to eat! Would definitely make this again.
Delicious muffins, I used Cobram estate light taste olive oil instead of butter and 150g brown sugar. Didn’t sprinkle sugar on top.
Yum! I heated the milk over the stove and steeped four chai bags in it, allowing it to cool before adding to the mixture. It gave the muffins a subtle but lovely flavour. Perfect with a cuppa!
I only had self raising flour so used that and removed the bicarb. I think this made my batter puff up more and caused quite a bit of overflow so if you are using SR flour you might want to consider making 14-16 muffins rather than 12
Nice muffins. Made for toddlers so I also halved the sugar and it is indeed sweet enough. The crumb is pleasant. Thanks for an easy and tasty recipe.
Great muffins, and they freeze wonderfully! Make these for my toddler for an emergency afternoon snack. I throw them in the freezer after making the batch. Pop in the microwave for about 25-30 seconds directly from freezer (toddler hanger doesn’t allow for a lengthy defrost), and they’re GREAT. He calls them “mama muffins” as they’re a special treat, and I love them, too. Thanks, RTE.
Best muffins ever, so moist. I added a small amount of crumbled walnuts. So good. Thank you
Fab recipe. Really moist, not oversweet. Taste very wholesome! For a friends birthday I added a vanilla cinnamon buttercream which made them more indulgent but I actually prefer them plain.