Apple Cinnamon Crumble Muffins | Gluten Free Option

These Apple Cinnamon Crumble Muffins are healthy, lightly sweet and completely satisfying. You'll find they are moist and flavorful and taste amazing with a pad of butter while still warm. If you love our popular Pear Muffins, you're sure to love this apple version just as much!

The best apples for baking in apple muffins

The apples that keep the best "apple-y" flavor are hands down Granny Smith green apples. However, feel free to use up whatever apples you've got on hand. Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Jazz, Pink Ladies, etc. (So many fun flavors!) My family LOVES Granny Smith to eat whole, so we buy them by the bushel. Just kidding. I'm from Los Angeles, I don't know what a bushel is. But we buy them in a big bag at the store.

Let's talk apple cinnamon crumble muffin ingredients

If you're a fan of our Pear Muffins (you should be, they're super amazing), then we're talking about almost identical ingredients. In fact, you could make a double batch and add apples to one and pears to the other! Now you've got 2 dozen muffins for the price of one. That's kitchen math for ya.

• All-purpose flour (or gluten free flour blend - more on this below)
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground nutmeg
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Apples (dice into ½" pieces so there's apple in every bite)
• Eggs - always at room temperature
• Granulated white sugar (or coconut sugar-for a low glycemic option)
• Coconut oil (regular canola or vegetable oil can be used as well)
• Plain yogurt (or sour cream)
• Vanilla extract

Optional (but highly encouraged) Crumble Topping

• All-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour blend)
• Light brown sugar
• Ground cinnamon
• Cold butter (chopped into small pieces)
• Quick oats (or chopped pecans)

Can I make Apple Muffins Gluten Free?

Why yes, yes you can. Simply substitute all-purpose flour for your favorite flour blend. Ours is always King Arthur Flour Measure for Measure. You can read why this is our top pick here. Be sure to substitute the flour in the muffin AND the crumble. It's always best to double-check the label of your baking powder to ensure it is 100% gluten free as well.

Hot Tips for ultimate muffin success

• Optimal Baking Starting your muffins at 425°F and then reducing to 375°F will give you an optimal rise along the sides of your muffins and gets you that elusive and delicious muffin top (I mean, who doesn't love a good muffin top?). 
  
• Mixing Do not over mix! Mixing quick breads and muffins as little as possible ensures a tender crumb. If you over mix, it develops the gluten in the flour, making your muffin "breadier" and tough. Basically, you want to mix until there are no more streaks of flour to be seen, using as little stirring motion as possible. I like to use the old "around the outside and through the middle" technique of going around the outside of the bowl and then one pass through the middle. 
  
• Adding Fruit Wondering the best way to add fruit so they don't sink to the bottom? Mix them up with a tablespoon of flour and add them in last. This helps suspend the heavier add-ins in the batter and keeps them from starting a party on the floor of your muffin. This is especially true when adding in chunks of fruit, like apples, pears, or cranberries. But I still do it for chocolate chips too.
  
• Toppings There are so many amazing muffin toppings to choose from; There are streusels, sugar, nuts, chips, fruit and more. When deciding which topping goes best with your muffin, think about how much sugar is already in the muffin. If there is a lot of sweet fruit, like pear go plain or with a simple sprinkling of sugar. For less sweet muffins, like pumpkin, I like to add a streusel.

How to make Apple Muffins the easy way (in less than 30 minutes)

• Preheat your oven to 425°F. Grease or line a muffin tin and set aside.
  
• Peel apples using a vegetable peeler or small knife and dice into ½" pieces or smaller.
  
• In a medium bowl combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add diced apples to dry ingredients and toss to coat. Tossing fruit in the flour mixture ensures your apples don't settle at the bottom of the muffins, but suspend in the batter for even apple distribution. Set aside.
  
• In a large bowl combine eggs, sugar, coconut oil (or vegetable oil), yogurt (or sour cream), and vanilla.
  
• Add dry ingredients in with wet and gently stir until just combined. Do NOT over mix. (Over mixing causes dry, tough muffins.)
  
• Evenly divide into muffin tin. Fill each cavity to the top. This recipe makes exactly 12 muffins. Isn't that neat?
  
• For the crumb topping: combine flour, sugar, oats and cinnamon. Add cold butter and combine with your hands, forks or in a food processor until small crumbs.
  
• Evenly divide crumb topping and press into muffins.
  
• Bake on center rack at 425°F for 5 minutes.
  
• Turn oven down to 350°F and continue baking for 10-12 minutes.
  
• Muffins should be slightly browned and toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Or I like to press the center and feel it spring back.
  
• Let cool in pan 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

I love to eat these muffins warm with some butter and a cup of coffee at breakfast, snack, elevensies, afternoon snack, high tea, first dessert, second dessert and midnight snack. What's your favorite time of day to eat muffins?

Love this Apple Cinnamon Crumble Muffin recipe? Try these delicious muffin recipes!

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