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Apple Cinnamon Crumble Top Muffins

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Apple Cinnamon Crumble Top Muffins

It’s no secret I love fall food – especially recipes with Apples. And we looove muffins for breakfast. Problem is, it’s really hard to find Apple Muffins that have a good texture. Most apple pieces in baked goods are big chunks that haven’t been cooked down – or they only include applesauce or apples so mashed it’s hard to really taste the apple flavor.

To get the apples soft but still flavorful, you chop them and cook them down with cinnamon and sugar before putting them in the batter. It takes about 25-30 minutes to reduce the apples but I promise it’s worth it! You can even make the apple mixture a day or two ahead of time and mix into the muffin batter when you’re ready to bake.

Apple Cinnamon Crumble Top Muffins

These Apple Cinnamon Crumble Top Muffins are the only Apple Muffins we like! The apples are cooked down with cinnamon to give so much flavor

Ingredients

Apple Mixture

  • 6 cups chopped apples (4-6 apples, depending on size)
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • cups water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup water (to mix with cornstarch)

Cinnamon Crumb Topping

  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons butter, unsalted (melted)

Muffins

  • 2 cups flour
  • teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter, unsalted (melted) (1 stick)
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup milk

Instructions

Apple Mixture

  • Start by making the apple cinnamon mixture. This can take about 25 minutes, depending on how long it takes to cook them down, so plan ahead. All stoves are a little different with their heat level. This apple mixture can even be made a day or two ahead and stored in the fridge.
  • In a medium bowl, place chopped apples. I leave the skins on the apples – once you cook them down you won't be able to taste them.
  • Toss the apples with the lemon juice and set aside.
  • In a medium saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir well. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring every minute or so.
  • Once boiling, gently place the chopped apples in the saucepan. Stir well. Reduce heat to medium-high.
  • You'll continue cooking the apples until they are soft, slightly mashed, and reduced down by about half. This could take 20-25 minutes depending on the size of your pan, and level of heat on your stove. Continue stirring as it reduces.
    You want the apples to be soft but not completely mashed. The main thing is you don't want them hard, so there aren't hard pieces of apple in the muffins.
  • Once they're soft and the water mixture is starting to thicken, you'll get the cornstarch mixture ready. In a tiny bowl, mix the 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 1/4 cup of water with a fork until smooth.
    Pour this cornstarch mixture into the apple mixture (keep the heat at medium-high while you pour it in), and continue mixing until the mixture thickens. Stir for 1-2 more minutes until thickened then remove from heat and set aside.
  • Cooking down and thickening up the apples really gives a good texture to the muffins and fruit. It ensures a lot of apple flavor without hard pieces of fruit in the muffins. Don't skip this step 😉

Cinnamon Crumb Topping

  • Make this before you make the muffin mixture, so it's ready to go when you need to get them in the oven.
  • With a fork, mix together sugars, flour, cinnamon, and salt.
  • Pour melted butter into dry mixture and use fork to mix together, allowing clumps to form. The larger the clumps, the larger the crumbs on top of the muffins will be. Set aside once mixed.

Muffins

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tins with paper liners or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
  • Mix dry ingredients together and set aside.
  • In a large bowl combine sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well.
  • Once incorporated, mix in sour cream/or yogurt and milk.
  • Then slowly add dry mixture to wet, mixing well. Use a whisk if needed to get out any clumps.
  • Remove 2½ cups of the cooked down apple mixture and gently fold into the muffin batter.
  • Once mixed, use a large kitchen scoop or spoon to spoon batter into prepared muffin tins. Fill about ¾ full.
  • Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of crumb topping over each muffin. Bake in preheated oven for 23-25 minutes until tops spring back and/or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
    If your muffins are bigger or have a lot of batter in each cup, they make take up to 28 minutes. Just keep an eye on them and wait until they spring back to the touch.
  • Let muffins rest in tin for 10-15 minutes after you remove them from the oven. The apples will be very hot and this will give the muffins time to rest.
  • Once slightly cooled, remove from tin and enjoy!

We LOVE these Apple Cinnamon Crumble Top Muffins! They are the perfect weekend treat. They’re also great to make ahead for the week for easy breakfasts.

Be sure to tag me @plumstreetcollective if you make these muffins. Happy baking!

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