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.
Would blueberries be a good option for this recipe? Thanks
YES!!!!!
We used brown rice flour for these and they turned out beautifully! Thanks for another stellar recipe, Nagi!
These muffins looks scrumptious! Quick question – can the vinegar be replaced with lemon juice?
Just looking at these yummy apple muffin recipes. Two questions -do you need to peel the apples? I’m k8nd of against this practice. Also, would a handful of walnuts change the outcome…..
Definitely no need to peel and YES to walnuts!!
Hi Nagi, will this recipe work with stewed apples? My hubby beat me to using the old apples! 😖 will I have to cut down on the wet ingredients or just add more flour?
Hi Gerty! It depends how much wetness there is. If there’s a lot of wetness that mixes into the batter, I think it will toughen the muffins. I had that problem once when I tried that with my apple cake 🙂 N x
Yippee! This is yet another fantastic, delicious, simple non frou frou recipe. There is nothing better than cooking that turns out bang on, following a recipe from The Nagster ( trust me it’s a term of endearment – Nagmeister took too long) gives a guarantee every time!
That’s what my friends call me!!!! N xx
Lovely recipe. I forgot the vinegar but it was still nice 🙂
Love hearing that Lisa! So pleased you enjoyed this 🙂 N x
Oh this recipe sounds delish! I am going to give it a crack with gluten free flour tonight!
Hope you lover it Maria! N xx
I needed a treat for this weekend, so I decided to give these muffins a go, and they are the softest muffins I have ever made! I used plain flour, and cut up too much apple, so I stuck the excess on top, and they came out amazing. The cat actually started poking me to give him a taste! These are a keeper, I love them so much!
LOVE HEARING THAT!!!! Thanks for letting me know Einzel! N xx ❤️
These are easily the best Muffins I have ever made,your Tips about the mixing process made a huge difference.
I absolutely love hearing that!!! I’m so pleased, thanks for letting me know Kevin! N x
These were DIVINE with pineapple! I can’t wait to try with choc chips and blueberries and choc chip berry.
Hi, will whole-wheat chapati flour work with Thai recipe please
Very moist, pillowy, very yummy. Great way to use up apples sitting in the fruit bowl.
Love hearing that Ev! Thanks for sharing your feedback! N x ❤️
I just finished baking these muffins. So moist! My husband and daughter will definitely love this. Just waiting for them to get back home from work and school. Thanks for sharing another fantastic recipe!
I’m SO THRILLED to hear that Nina!!! I hope they love them! N xx
Hi Nagi, I came over this morning from Mila’s blog (Greek chicken and rice recipe). I looked around your page and these muffins immediately caught my eye. I baked them using half wholewheat and half white flour and we love them. Thank you for the wonderful recipe! It will go in my collection.
That’s great Julia! I’m so pleased to hear that, thanks for taking the time to leave a review! N x
Hi! When I baked these, I’m not sure why but I got a bitter taste in some parts of the muffin! I definitely measured out the correct amount of baking soda!
That doesn’t sound good! Any chance the apple itself was bitter?? Or is your baking soda past it’s use by date??
Super easy super delicious muffins. Thank you for sharing. I love making desserts that don’t call for getting out a mixer! If I made these with blueberries, do you think I should cut down on the cinnamon?
So glad you enjoyed these Cheryl! I would skip the cinnamon and add 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, and if you want a more classic blueberry muffins look, I’d use white flour instead 🙂 N x
Thanks. I was even wondering about replacing the vinegar with lemon juice-would that be too much?
That will be just fine Cheryl! 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi,
I made the muffins tonight.
They are fabulous
Light, airy and not too sweet.
Perfect.
Thanks for sharing.
Keep up the good work!
I am a huge fan
That’s terrific David! Thanks for letting me know! N xx ❤️
Thanks once again Nagi!! Another fantastic recipe!! So easy and so yummy.
That’s terrific Alison! Thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
Hi Nagi, Firstly thanks for such delicious recipes and for Making me smile with Dozer of course., Made these muffins today and they are fabulous, did half white half brown. An interesting thing happened when I made them. For the first batch I forgot to turn the oven down to 180 and these muffins rose noticibly higher than the ones I did turn down? I think next time I’ll cook them through at 200 xxx
Hi Carolyn! I’m so pleased you enjoyed this – and Dozer!! Did you find they were a nice even dome, or did it kind of peak?? 🙂 N x