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
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Couldn’t decide which one to share. Both are classic Life-Of-Dozer moments.
I made these today and my entire family love them! I added a pinch of powdered ginger and freshly grated nutmeg to the mix as well as the cinnamon. Do you think the recipe with will still work if I Substitute half of the butter with apple sauce?
YUM! Sounds great Nancy, I love the smell of those spices cooking. The recipe won’t be quite as moist but yes it should work fine with apple sauce. N x
Nagi!! Was planning on making this tomorrow but just realized I only have 6 tbsp of butter and I need 8 tbsp to make it a half cup!! Should I put in oil to make up for the 2 tbsp??
Mims. I have made this recipe many times with great success. Last time I got distracted and after I put them all in to bake……found the melted butter still on the bench ! Woops. They were still great, all got eaten & it wasn’t a disaster. So I think less butter won’t matter if I made them with NO butter & they were still ok. Cheers
can you sub apple cider vinegar? thanks
New family favourite! Deliciously moist. I only had wholemeal self raising flour so left out the bi carb and they worked perfectly. Have had to store them in the freezer to ration them much to hubbies disgust! Will be making again and again.
I’m so glad they were a hit Jane, that’s lovely to hear!! N x
I’m about to try this recipe out on my Weber Q BBQ (as we’ve had a power outage and am told the power won’t be on for another 5 hours). If they turn out great they might just become my camping recipe too!
Currently the butter is melting above some boiling water in the sun haha.
Love to know how it goes Rosie!!! N x
Mmmmmm! Sooo good! I was a bit nervous about not being able to see them bake as it’s my first time using the Bbq…they were incredible! Perfect way to use up some apples that were on their last days too.
Hi Nagi, these were fab! I also added drunken sultanas (drunk and plumped up in Rum), omitted the cinnamon. However, I did need to bake for approx 25-30 mins most probably because of the extra gooeyness 😉 Could you use baking powder instead of baking soda? Not sure if it’s just me, but I can always taste the baking soda in cakes/muffins. Thanks again for the great recipe! Hubby loved them too. Thumbs up!
YUM!!! You need the baking soda here, baking powder isn’t strong enough to get the lift 🙂
can you sub apple cider vinegar ???
Hi Nagi, these muffins were really moist! Can I use bananas instead of apples(and maybe add some chocolate chips)? I’ve already tried your blueberry/apple cinnamon muffins. Both were delicious but I need more idea for my muffin lunchbox 😉
I haven’t tried to be honest Yeonjoo, would love to know if it works though!! N x
Hi Nagi, thank you for sharing this recipe. I’ve been a longtime fan of your recipes, writing and food photography. I followed the recipe as written, but shredded the apples as they were intended for my unsuspecting kids. You are right, they disintegrated but the apple-cinnamon flavour is divine. The texture is soft and moist, and lighter than most muffins I’d made. This was supposed to be a lunchbox snack for my boy for the next few days, but they have been devoured long before they cooled. An easy favourite! Great job! I wonder if bananas might work here…
I’m so glad you love them Sarina, they never last long here either! I haven’t tried with bananas to be honest but would love to know if it works! N x
I love this recipe. I’ve tried many muffin recipes but this one is my favourite. The muffins were moist and delicious. Thank you so much Nagi!
You’re so welcome Kaylee, I’m so glad you love it!
Wonderful and very easy and forgiving. We had a power outage just as I was about to put them into the oven and they survived for a couple hours before I got them in to the oven
Oh that’s great to know Sally!
I don’t usually make comments, but I had to today. I made this today and they are the BEST apple muffins I have ever made!. I had to come on here and say Thank You for sharing this delicious recipe. It will be my go to Apple Muffin recipe
You are so welcome Gail, thanks so much for taking the time to let me know ❤️
Hey Nagi,
Did this recipe last night, but did a little tweek: added chocolate chips and only added 3/4 cup sugar and it came out and tastes great. Shared with my coworkers and they were begging for more.
Hey Nagi, made these today and
I tweeked it a little by just adding less than 1 cup of sugar and added chocolate chips. Turned out and tasted great!
Thanks again. 🙂
Great recipe. I was a little skeptical, but yummy!
I decreased the milk to 1/2 cup, added 1/2 teaspoon salt, and added 2/3 cup more apple, 1/2 cup walnuts and 1/3 cup cinnamon chips.
Will make again!
Sounds amazing Lisa!!
I made these today to stock the freezer for my eldest starting school next week. They are AMAZING; moist, delicious, pretty quick to come together. And I love, LOVE that you have the gram weights for everything; thank you!! This alone helped speed up the entire process.
I added a tiny pinch of nutmeg and ginger just for something different but I know they’d be great without it.
Thanks again! Definitely my new go-to apply muffin recipe.
Oops, apple muffin, not apply muffin!
Perfect for the freezer – pop it in the lunchbox frozen and it should thaw before lunch 🙂
I can’t believe how good these are Nagi !
The best muffins I’ve eaten by far .
I used 1/2 wholemeal and 1/2 plain flours .
Next time I’ll add some sultanas to the mix as well.
Just so moist and so delicious 👍
YES Sultanas would make a great addition!! I’m so glad you loved them Sue – N x
Hi Nagi, what is the recommended cooking time if I were to make these in mini muffin tins?
Hi Lila, I would just check at 12 minutes and keep an eye on them if not cooked through – N x
Could the apples be grated?
Hi Pebbz, I find that they almost disintegrate if grated, but you can do this if you prefer – N x
I have to comment!!! I don’t usually do . But this recipe is excellent I’m definitely doing this at least twice a month for my family. I love love love it. So moist, not to sweet its perfect! Thank you!!
Hi 🙂 Just wondering, could canned pie apples be used at a push?
Hi Rhondalee, not for this recipe sorry – I think they will be too soft and make the muffins soggy – N x