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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Life of Dozer
Couldn’t decide which one to share. Both are classic Life-Of-Dozer moments.
Love these muffins, so easy to make and easier to eat – yum!!
Oh my, the most delicious apple
muffins I have ever made (or eaten). Easy and so tasty!
Made this today. I used Packham pears diced up very small. Muffins were absolutely delicious but I must say I will reduce the sugar next time. Nice only having one bowl to wash up too.
Could you use tinned apples?
Absolutely delicious recipe! I used oat milk and mine were too moist on the bottom – any advice?
Hi Tiffany,
You would think that any milk would be fine the only thing I can think of if they were too moist is making sure you use whole meal flour, I changed mine up a bit and used half white and half whole meal flour they were still delicious but very, very moist.
I really hate to be one of those people : but have you tried replacing the milk with yoghurt? Does that cancel the need for vinegar ?
The vinegar is really just to make the milk into a quick buttermilk. You can absolutely sub out for yoghurt and omit the acid.
I am in Australia – do I use plain flour or self raising flour Thankyou
Hi Nagi,
I wanted to know why do the apples need peeling? Does the taste differ if I add with skin?
Thank you
Hello Nagi, just wondering if this is plain or self raising flour? Thank you
Nagi, you are a star! It is easy and quick to make, and the muffin is very tasty. I sprinkled walnut pieces instead of sugar on top. Lovely!
Super easy and delicious. The best looking muffins I’ve made in a long time. Ran out of butter so topped up the last 30g with olive oil which didn’t seem to be a problem.
Holy dooly, these are good! They haven’t yet cooled and we’ve eaten most of them. Yum!
I halved this recipe and made 6, turned out crunchy and just the right amount of sweetness.
Thanks Nagi for another great recipe!
Between last night’s chicken pasta bake and today’s muffins I’m giving everything 10 out of 10 for making me look like I can cook, when I’m actually NOT a great cook! Also wasn’t sure whether to peel the apple, so I left the skin on (because I’m lazy) and it still seemed fine!
The result was so delicious! I used pears that I salvaged, and so lazy, just grated them…I know. I doubled the spices by accident. LOL. But the result was still absolutely so amazing. What a beautiful flavour. This one for the book for sure! Thank you Nagi
The best muffins I have ever made!!
Baked moist apple muffins with crunchy top – lovely food heaven! One thing I did differently- used lemon juice to stop chopped apple from browning and used that same juice in recipe instead of vinegar. I figured would give same result and it did.
Hi Nagi. Can I substitute sunflower oil for the butter? Would the oil be the same amount as the butter in your recipe?
Love these apple muffins! I just happened to be out of butter. Thank you 🙂
So easy and they turned out great. super moist and delicious.
I made these several times (reduce the sugar to half, with oat streusel topping), and the muffins were always a hit!
question: can i freeze the dough /pre-baked?
I don’t normally rate recipes but this was exceptional. Easy to make, one dirty bowl, and such clear instructions! They are a very moist and delicious muffin, a real pleaser for entire family. And… how many years have I been making muffins and not used an ice cream scoop??!! I was so pleased that this little extra was added, it worked amazing!!