If you’ve ever been disappointed by dry day-after muffins, these Brown Sugar Apple Muffins are going to blow your mind – they stay moist for 4 to 5 days!
Made with fresh apples, in one bowl, this magic muffin recipe is super quick to prepare and I’m guessing you have everything you need to make this!!
Stay-moist 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.
And that’s the only difference between the batter for these muffins and the usual muffin mixes!
Miracle stay-moist muffin recipe
This magic stay-moist 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
- 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
Muffin Mania
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Stay-Moist Apple Muffins!
Ingredients
- 2 level cups apple pieces , 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:
LIFE OF DOZER
Couldn’t decide which one to share. Both are classic Life-Of-Dozer moments.
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Love this recipe! I used one cup of apple & one cup of saltanas. Turned out a treat – my 4 year old is obsessed! Thank you
Wahoo, that sounds great Shae!
This is the first time I’ve converted a muffin recipe to gluten free, dairy free that not only worked but came out delicious!! It’s taking all of my willpower not to eat all of them in one hit haha!
For anyone else that also has allergies I used soy milk, nuttelex butter and the generic gluten free flour you find in any supermarkets. They turned out perfect!
That’s so great to know Karyn!!!
Wow Nagi!!! These are unbelievable! They came out great!!! I made 10 and now only 5 left! Our daughter said ‘I have the other 3 and you have 2’. Quite innocently really. Then I asked her, ‘What about daddy?’. She just stared at me blankly 🤣
When we were devouring it, all 3 of us unanimously agree that this is the best muffin ever!!! Both my husband and our daughter said they don’t quite fancy muffins but these are a completely different level! Store bought muffins are dry and disappointing, not this – according to our 9 year old.
Well done Nagi! Thank you for keeping our bellies happy and hearts fulfilled 🥰
With gratitude from Singapore 🇸🇬
I can highly recommend these muffins. I made them at the weekend and they were fantastic.
I’m so glad you loved them Marina!
Hi Nagi, I think I have made these more than three times already. I love them, my partner loves them, my mother approves and a friend asked for the recipe. The whole family loves them. Thank you
Wahoo, I’m so glad they are a hit Moliehi!
Hi Nagi 🙂 I made these today and they are fantastic. Now I know why you call it the miracle muffin batter, I could have eaten the whole bowl before they even got in the oven. Kids loved them too, so a great recipe for us to add to our lunchbox stables. Big thanks!
That’s awesome Phoebe, I’m so glad you loved them!
These look great! I would be aiming to add either blueberries or raspberries to these so if I added a standard punnet (like we get here in Australia) of berries should I reduce the amount of apple accordingly or will recipe take the extra fruit with no change? And would you recommend using fresh or frozen berries?
Hi Mike, I’d reduce the amount of apple otherwise they may not hold up. Fresh or frozen berries would both work – N x
So I made these this morning and they are certainly moist but unfortunately they taste quite strongly of the wholemeal flour I used – maybe I should have used half white… or maybe my wholemeal rice was a bit stale as I’ve not used it for a fair while. I reduced the apple to 1.5 cups and used about 2/3 cup frozen mixed berries (thawed).
Anyway, they are still really tasty and will get eaten 🙂
I’ll definitely try them again but will use white flour and see how they go.
Made these tonight to eat hot out of the oven with ice cream. They turned out great. Just the right amount of sweetness, not sure how someone could say they’re too sweet haha. Quite enjoyable overall.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Martin! Thanks so much – N x
Thanks Nagi – so I’m. thinking if I use half a cup less of the apple and half a cup of berries that should work – does that sound about right?
Sorry, posted under the wrong person!
I baked these last night for school lunch boxes. I used 2 large granny smith (it might have been too much apple); reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup, and apple cider vinegar. I used my mini muffin pan and made 23 mini muffins, which were baked for 10 minutes; and 12 cupcakes. I loved that I had everything that I needed on hand and that there was no beating or creaming (that always makes everything feel like less work). I will definitely be making these again. Thank you Nagi!
That’s great Christy!
Hello,
Could the apple be grated rather than finely diced?
Thank you… 🙂
Hi Nagi,
I noticed the recipe says 2 cups of whole-wheat flour or 300 grams. I’m in the US King Arthur Flour says a cup is 113 grams. So two cups would be 226 grams. Your recipe says 300 grams. Are you using a US measuring cup size? I did make these this morning and they were delightful pleasantly sweet. . I’d appreciate if you could please clarify the gram quantity and if your cup size is different.
Hi CLO! Good question 🙂 The ingredient weights reflect Australian cups. BUT the recipe will work using US cups, Australian cups, or any other cup measures in the world OR using the weights. This is because a) the difference is constant across the recipe for the main ingredients, and b) it’s a forgiving recipe. I made these muffins a ridiculous amount leading up to sharing it, just to “be sure”. Probably 8 times in that week, it was crazy muffin mania! I used a variety of cup measures and weights, and also I was varying ingredients to check how forgiving the recipe is 🙂 I’m very particular about baking recipes because of the “risk factor” which is why I don’t share them every week – too much work! LOL N x
Hi Nagi,
I noticed the recipe says 2 cups of whole-wheat flour or 300 grams. I’m in the US King Arthur Flour says a cup is 113 grams. So two cups would be 226 grams. Your recipe says 300 grams. Are you using a US measuring cup size? I did make these this morning and they were delightful. I’d appreciate if you could please clarify the gram quantity and if your cup size is different.
Way too sweet! I halved the sugar and they were still a bit too sweet for us. Next time I’ll try 50gm of sugar and hopefully will be better!
Hi Rachel – this recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar which works out at about 1.5 tbsp per muffin. That’s not crazy sweet! 🙂 Any chance you mis measured the sugar?
Hi
Can I use apple cider to replace the vinegar? If can, replace with same quantity? Thanks
You sure can Jenny – replace with the same amount. I hope you love them!
WOW. I have made this recipe with slight changes 5 times. We have oodles of Apples growing and this has proved to be the most popular way to use them.
I have added choc chips, walnuts and just plain with Quatre espices.
They have gone in lunchboxes, as gift for good deeds done and to the Cancer ward at local hospital.
Nagi, I can’t thank you enough for your wonderful recipes.
That’s so beautiful Bess!!!
How simple and easy to make! And it’s not too sweet like store bought. All my family loved it especially for breakfast!
I’m so glad you love them Akiko!
Delicious afternoon snack – turned out perfect. Thank you Nagi
Awesome Mish!
By far the best apple muffin recipe I’ve come across in years. Definitely super dupa moist and delicious. Thanks Nagi….. I had to eat 2 🤭
Thanks so much Kerry!
Out of necessity I made these muffins gluten free and they were fantastic! Moist and you wouldn’t even know they were gluten free. Plus, they are keeping moist for a few days, which is unusual for gluten free products. I did reduce the brown sugar to 3/4 cup, but that is so I can eat more than one muffin at a time and not feel so guilty. Thanks.
That’s handy to know Lee, thanks so much for the feedback!