Easy Apple Butter Streusel Muffins

These Apple Butter Muffins are big, bakery-style treasures bursting with the cozy, warm flavors of fall! They feature a wonderfully moist texture, a sweet surprise swirl of apple butter inside, a delightful crunchy streusel topping, and a simple finish of apple cider glaze. I truly think you will adore these easy-to-make muffins; they are like biting into a sweet apple cloud. Perfect for a weekend breakfast or a cozy afternoon treat, they come together relatively quickly, offering a delicious reward for minimal effort.

Why You’ll Fall for These Muffins

There is something incredibly comforting about a warm muffin, especially one packed with autumn goodness. These particular muffins have a few key features that I believe make them truly special and worth baking.

• Generous Bakery Size Forget tiny muffins. These are designed to be large, substantial muffins, just like the kind you might pick up at your favorite bakery counter. Using a jumbo muffin pan helps achieve this wonderful size.
• Simple Cinnamon Muffin Base The muffin batter itself is straightforward and easy to mix up, relying on common pantry staples like flour, sugar, baking soda, egg, milk, oil, cinnamon, and salt. It creates a perfect tender canvas for the apple butter.
• Sweet Apple Butter Swirl The hidden gem in these muffins is the swirl of apple butter tucked inside. This gives you a lovely pocket of intense apple flavor in the middle of every bite.
• Double the Streusel You get streusel not only sprinkled generously on top for that essential crunch, but also a layer tucked inside with the apple butter. It adds fantastic texture throughout the muffin.
• Easy Apple Cider Glaze A simple whisked glaze made with powdered sugar and apple cider adds a final touch of sweetness and a hint more apple tanginess.

If you do not have apple butter on hand but are craving apple muffins, you could try a standard apple cinnamon muffin recipe instead.

Choosing the Best Apples for Baking

When you are making baked goods that use apple ingredients, like apple butter or diced apples, the type of apple matters. A tart variety like Granny Smith is often a popular choice for baking because its sharp flavor pairs well with sweet ingredients, and they tend to hold their shape during baking without getting too soft.

However, for something like these muffins where the apple flavor comes mainly from the apple butter and you might prefer a softer texture if you were adding diced apples, I often reach for apples that break down a little more or have a sweeter, milder flavor. Apples like Honeycrisp, Braeburn, or Gala are wonderful options. They lend a lovely sweetness and soften beautifully in baked goods, which I personally enjoy.

Helpful Tips for Perfect Muffins

Making muffins is generally quite simple, but a couple of little tips can make a big difference in the final result. Think of these as the insights I have gathered from making batches of these comforting treats.

The absolute key to getting moist, tender muffins and avoiding a tough texture is to be very careful not to overmix the batter. Once you combine the wet and dry ingredients, stir just until everything is moistened. A few small lumps are totally fine and even preferred over a perfectly smooth batter. Overmixing develops the gluten too much, leading to a less tender muffin.

Here is a little secret I use, especially when baking with apple and cinnamon flavors. I often add just a tiny bit more cinnamon than the recipe calls for, maybe an extra shake or two. It is not a huge amount, but it just gives that cinnamon flavor a lovely little boost that I think complements the apple butter beautifully.

Making Your Delicious Apple Butter Muffins

Gathering all your ingredients and getting your workspace ready makes the baking process go smoothly. These muffins are quite straightforward, adapting a basic muffin method to include the special apple butter and streusel layers.

To begin, you will preheat your oven. Get it nice and hot to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (220 degrees Celsius).

Now, let us prepare the dry ingredients for the muffins. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, take your all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt. Whisk these dry ingredients together until they are nicely combined.

Next, prepare the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, you will whisk together your large egg, milk, and vegetable oil. Make sure these are well combined before moving on.

It is time to bring the wet and dry ingredients together. Pour the bowl of dry ingredients into the bowl containing the wet ingredients. Now, gently stir the mixture just until you no longer see pockets of dry flour. Remember that important tip: do not overmix the batter. A few small lumps are okay.

While the muffin batter is resting briefly, you can make the streusel topping. In a bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, ground cinnamon, brown sugar, and the finely chopped walnuts. Once the dry ingredients are combined, add your softened salted butter. Use a pastry blender or your fingertips to cut the butter into the dry mixture. Keep working it until the mixture looks crumbly and all the butter has been fully incorporated.

Now comes the assembly part. Prepare your jumbo muffin pan by giving the cups a good spray with cooking spray. If you prefer, you can also use large paper liners. Spoon about one heaping tablespoon of the prepared muffin batter into the bottom of each cup.

Next, add the star ingredient. Place about one tablespoon of apple butter right over the top of the batter in each cup.

Sprinkle a layer of the streusel topping over the apple butter layer in each muffin cup.

Distribute the remaining muffin batter evenly among all the muffin cups. Place this batter on top of the streusel layer you just added.

Finally, sprinkle the rest of the streusel topping evenly over the very top of each muffin. This will give you that wonderful crunchy crust.

Place the assembled muffins into your preheated oven. You will start baking them at 425 degrees Fahrenheit (220 degrees Celsius) for just 5 minutes. This initial high heat helps the muffins rise beautifully.

After the first 5 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius) without opening the oven door if possible. Continue baking for an additional 13 to 15 minutes. The muffins are ready when a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean with no wet batter clinging to it.

Allow the muffins to cool slightly in the pan before carefully transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the muffins are completely cool, you can make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and the apple cider. Start with less liquid and add more a tablespoon at a time until you reach a smooth consistency that is thick enough to drizzle but still flows nicely. Use a spoon to drizzle this glaze artistically over the top of each cooled muffin.

What do you get when you follow these steps? A truly rich Apple Butter Streusel Muffin, packed with an amazing apple flavor hidden right inside. It is a fantastic treat!

Enjoying Your Apple Butter Muffins

These muffins are absolutely delightful served warm, perhaps with a cup of coffee or tea. The blend of textures and flavors is simply wonderful.

If you are feeling adventurous and love fun food combinations, you can even turn one of these muffins into a unique ice cream sandwich. Just slice a cooled muffin in half horizontally and add a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle. It is surprisingly delicious and makes for a memorable dessert idea.

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