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
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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.
Devine. I was looking to use up apples from our tree and made these exactly as per recipe. They were perfect. So perfect I’ve just finished baking a third batch for family! Nagi you’ve excelled again!
Good recipe, although I halved the sugar and the baking soda didn’t taste good. I’d prefer to use self rising flour or baking powder in future
Jubilee I will never understand why people would stray from the recipe, and then give it a mediocre star rating when their substitutions don’t work. Not fair on the baker who put the recipe together.
I left out the Demerara as it wasn’t needed. The apple muffins were a huge success with the family.
I’ll definitely be making this again, probably try pears…
Is there a substitute for the vinegar? I only have a small convection oven that can fit one 6-cup muffin tin at a time. Doing two batches at once did not work out too well because the racks don’t have enough space in between (but the muffins were still moist and yum! it’s just the bottom ones were flatt-ish and the ones on the middle rack had a nice dome). From what I understand the vinegar gives the baking soda a headstart, and perhaps it won’t work so well for a 2nd batch as it will been sitting out too long before it’s turn inside the oven.
Thanks! Love your recipes, Nagi. Quick and easy to prepare. And Dozer is so adorable!
Forgot the stars! Definitely 5 🙂
Hi MT, you can use lemon as a substitute for the vinegar, you need to bake them once the mixture is combined as you’ve activated the raising agent. If you need to make two batches, I would make it in two half batches so it goes straight in the oven once mixed. N x
Thanks, Nagi! Will try doing two half batches next time.
As expected, Nagi, these muffins are delicious. Didn’t change a thing- the tops were crunchy without the extra sugar and inside fluffy and delicious. Thank you once again!
These were mostly great but I should have sieved th bicarb because I ended up with a big lump of bicarb when chomping into my muffin. Not my favourite flavour but the rest of the muffin got rid of that awful taste.
Hi Polly, yes always sieve your bi carb and mix into the batter properly to avoid this! N x
I played w/your recipe as I wanted to use oats & saskatoons as well as the apple. Shredded my apple in processor & cut the flour by half cup so I could add about 3/4 C quick oats. Next time I won’t cut the flour & we’ll see how that goes, Nagi, as they were too heavy to rise above the cup. But, they definitely passed the taste test!! Thanks for sharing!!
My husband and I loved these muffins and we are very picky with our dessert. True to the word in that it stays moist even after a few days with a great apple and cinnamon flavour. Note: we did use half the sugar and tinned apple and cooked them for 30minutes. Thank you for this recipe!
If you use white flour do you just put 1 cup instead of 2? Just wondering what the note 1 is for in that line of the recipe?
Hi nagi.
I love ur receipes.. as perfect as u describe.. wanted to know if i want to use oats for muffins. Will it b a good option. & if yes to remain moist. What would b the propotion
Wow. These were amazing! Very moist as the title says.
And of course 5 stars.
When you say “stay-moist”, you meant it! Other muffin recipes are dry by the next day – these are amazingly moist and delicious 3 days later. Thanks for another wonderful recipe Nagi 🙂
Great muffins! I put half the amount of sugar and they still taste very sweet and delicious! No need to go so crazy on the sugar.
You did not put the amount of flour needed for the recipe
Do we out the batter straight in the muffin tin? can I use muffin paper cup?
Hi Janet, I put it straight into the tin (you can see this on the video) and I mention this in step 2 of the recipe instructions 🙂 N x
Hi, I made this yesterday, and it tasted delicious,
However the muffin top spilled all over the sides and the sides of the muffins touched each other. I divided the batter all in the 12 muffin tray and the batter reached exactly the tip of the tray. Would the odd shape be because I put too much batter? should I put less next time?
Also just wondering where in the oven I should put the muffins? top, bottom or middle?
p.s I am very new to baking
Hi Zaineb, sounds like you have a small muffin tin – I talk about the different sizes in the notes. If you use this tin again you’ll just need to fill them a little less and you’ll end up making more than 12. Just place the tray in the middle of the oven when cooking 🙂 N x
Ooops! Forgot the stars!
Made these today in 6 giant muffin tins. Turned out really well and taste delicious.
( Psst! Have you tried them split and loaded with Philadelphia cream cheese?)
I think I’m going to have to make them just to try this Elly!! N x
If I left the sugar out would it still be ok? I’d like to make them for my 10 month old but don’t really want to expose her to sugar yet. Would I need to substitute the sugar for something else?
Hi Paula, it won’t work unfortunately, the sugar keeps them moist and the texture wouldn’t be great. N x