Looking for what to do with your old apples? Look no further, these easy apple crumble top muffins are the perfect thing to use up old apples to make a hearty breakfast treat!
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I love me a good breakfast muffin. I mean, I’ll actually take a muffin anytime-these in fact became Sunday afternoon snack muffins because that’s when I made them. But there is something lovely about a nice moist crumbly topped muffin with your morning cup of coffee. Especially ones packed with chunks of fresh apple.
Let’s talk ingredients:
- Brown Sugar-all brown sugar-the extra molasses flavor gives these muffins some depth.
- Vegetable Oil-or any other neutral tasting oil (see below for more details about the oil)
- Unsweetened Applesauce-for moisture and extra apple flavor
- Eggs-bind everything together and help raise the muffins up
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder-a “one two” punch of leaveners.
- Cinnamon and Allspice-warming spices to give us all the autumn feels
- Diced Apples-for pockets of tart apple delight in our muffins. Make sure you peel your apples before putting them in your muffins.
- Whole wheat flour-adds depth of flavor and heartiness to our muffins. If you don’t have whole wheat flour you can use regular all-purpose flour. Whole wheat flour absorbs liquid a little more than all purpose so your batter may be a little runnier.
Muffin Mixing Method:
Say that five times fast!
The awesome thing about muffins is that they come together quickly in one bowl using only a spoon or whisk to stir. You stir together the wet ingredients and then fold in the dry ingredients, leaving lumps in the batter (a batter that is too smooth will create a uniform crumb, more like a cake, which is also why we don’t want to use our mixers).
Note: Sugar acts like a wet ingredient when making muffins or quick breads because it melts when it’s baked. If you use an artificial sweetener like Splenda, it doesn’t melt and should be treated like a dry ingredient.
What kind of apples are best for muffins?
I used 2 small Honeycrisp apples for these muffins because that’s what I had in my fruit bowl starting to look just a little bit sad but other good baking apples are: Jonagold, Granny Smith, Braeburn, Crispin, Winesap, and Pink Lady. You want an apple that will hold up well to baking and not just turn to mush.
Why use oil instead of butter in muffins?
We’re using oil in these muffins because oil is 100% fat while butter is 80% fat and 20% water. We already have plenty of water in our recipe from the apples and we want that fat in there to create a nice tender crumb for our muffins.
What oil is best for my apple muffins?
I’m a fan of good ‘ole vegetable oil. However, any neutral tasting oil will work. What are some neutral tasting oils you ask?
- Corn
- Grapeseed
- Peanut
- Canonla
- Safflower
Any of these will work just fine. You can use a stronger flavored oil instead, like olive oil or walnut oil, but don’t be surprised if you can taste it a little bit.
Easy Apple Crumble Top Muffins
Equipment
- muffin pan
Ingredients
For the muffin batter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup peeled diced apples
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
For the crumble top
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
Instructions
To make the muffin batter
- Pre-heat oven to 350. Line muffin pan with cupcake wrappers or grease the cupcake pan.
- In a large bowl, stir together brown sugar, oil, and applesauce.
- Add in eggs and stir to combine.
- Add in baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and all spice. Stir to combine.
- Slowly stir in flour.
- Fold in diced apples.
- Scoop batter into muffin wrappers until 2/3 of the way full.
For the crumble top
- Stir together melted butter, brown sugar, flour and oats. The texture will be crumbly.
- Sprinkle crumble top evenly on top of the muffin batter.
- Bake muffins at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven, allow to cool and enjoy!
Looking for more muffin recipes? Check out these pumpkin banana muffins or these zucchini pineapple muffins.
Did you make this recipe? Tag me @bakincareofbusiness on Instagram so I can see what you made!
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Happy Baking!
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