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.
Hello,
Could I use coconut sugar? Would that work? Thanks!
Hi JB, yes that should work fine here. N x
These were great. I used a combination of apples and pears and they came out so fluffy on the inside.
Sounds delicious George! N x
hey nagi, can i use oil or marg to make this dairy free?
cheers sarah
Hi Sarah, I haven’t tried to be honest – I imagine margarine would be the best sub. N x
well i made it with canola oil in the end and it worked really well… didn’t have enough marg…
ps dozer is lovely. give him a hug for me…
I’ve just made them using a dairy free baking spread and they came out really well
The best wholewheat flour muffin recipe!! Delish, and so moist!! Thnx Nagi 🙂
Hi Nagi,
I don’t have fresh apples do you think tinned apples would be ok?
Hi Julia, they will be ok – slightly more soft though. N x
Thanks Nagi.
Do you think I should add less liquid to compensate?
Hi Nagi,
Do you peel the apples?
Thanks
Hi Janna, yes I do! I’ll add this to the recipe now. N x
Hi Nagi, this has become my go to muffin recipe, we love it! So far I’ve used fresh apples, pears, strawberries and blueberries and they’ve all been good. My daughter requested mango and now I have a pack of frozen mango slices in the freezer (can’t wait for mango season in Australia!) but I’m wondering if I can use it that way or it would be too much moisture in the muffins. Do you think frozen mango will work here or I’ll need to tweak the recipe any way? Thank you!
So I tried the recipe with one cup each of frozen chopped mangoes and fresh blueberries, threw in a half cup of white choc chips and subbed vanilla for cinnamon. They were one of the most delicious muffins ever!
Hi Nagi,
I’m just wondering if I can use SR flour (the only flour I have in my pantry) to make these muffins if I leave out the bi-carb?
PS LOVE your recipes!!!
Hi Tamara, I would still add 1/4 tsp of bi carb for extra lift 🙂 N x
Thanks for your reply Nagi, I will attempt them this weekend 😀
I’ve made these apple muffins many time + absolutely love them.Ive also made them with pear + choc chunks mmm so nice 😋.can I make them with rhubarb too? would I need 2 add extra sugar or cook rhubarb before adding?
I haven’t tried to be honest Sarah! N x
Thanx for your reply.I tried these with apple + rhubarb last night + they`re delicious!
No extra sugar needed.i just made your recipe but added 1 cup each of rhubarb + apple.x
These muffins are good ( I made some modifications like less sugar and butter, grated the apple, added vanilla) but I found that when eating the muffin I lost a lot of the muffin to the cupcake liner when it got pulled off -which was disappointing! Did anyone else have this problem?
I made these muffins today here in Sydney. My toddler doesn’t like chunks or pieces in her muffin. So I made 6 muffins with apple pieces and rest with grated. And oh my God, they are super delicious and amazingly moist. Finished baking just before having coffee, so the timing was perfect. My husband and I tasted the muffins with grated apples as well and I think next time I will use grated ones for all the muffins. Thanks a lot for this recipe- it’s a keeper.
I have made these and loved them! would like to try with pear & raspberry – what kind of pear would you recommend baking with?
Hi Nagi, is it ok if i skipped the vinegar?
Hi Lynn, you need some acid in here to help them rice – you can also use lemon juice. N x
Sure, i will do that. Thank you !
I made these today and they turned out so delicious !! Thank you Nagi, I am loving your recipes.
Can you make this with bananas instead? Oh i would to make some moist banana choc chip muffins!
Hi Hanu, I haven’t tried to be honest – would love to know if it works though! N x
Another great recipe – thanks Nagi!
Hi Nagi, thank you for sharing your recipes. Can I use raspberries instead of apples for this recipe or should I use your blueberry muffin recipe?
Hi Angel, I haven’t tried this one with raspberries yet – they may be too watery here. But I know the blueberry muffin recipe definitely works with raspberries 🙂 N x
Thanks Nagi for the reply😊
Delicious! Made these 3 times lately – twice with apple, once with pear and almond. I’ve used a variety of flours and milks and all worked really well. My new easy go-to muffin recipe. Thanks!
Delicious! So easy and tasty. Foolproof recipe
Thanks so much Kath!! N x
Hi Nagi, could you grate the apple? Or would it become too soggy?
Hi Kath, you definitely can – you’ll find that it will just disintegrate into the muffin and there won’t be any visible pieces. N x
Loved the flavour but mine didn’t rise at all – is it just plain flour or should I have used SR? Otherwise maybe my bicarbonate soda may be too old (although it is in date). But lovely flavour!
Hi Sylvia – it’s the bicarb that causes it to rise here – did you make any other adjustments to the recipe? N x
Thanks for the reply – no other changes so I might buy some new bicarb and try again (everyone loved them regardless of looking a bit flat)
You may have over mixed the batter.