Apple Cider Muffins
Let the cozy aroma of reduced apple cider and warm spices infiltrate your home as you bake a batch of these soft and tender Apple Cider Muffins for breakfast, brunch, or as a tasty, sweet treat. Topped with a simple cinnamon-sugar mixture, these muffins serve up an irresistible taste of fall in every single bite!
The secret to these scrumptious apple cider muffins lies in the process of reducing apple cider into a flavorful syrup, which gives the muffins a deep, moist, and distinctly fall twist. This liquid is then folded into a standard muffin batter warmly spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg for that classic cozy flavor.
For a delightful extra crunch, you can easily stir a handful of chopped walnuts or pecans into the batter just before baking. Once baked, the muffins are brushed with butter and rolled in a simple cinnamon-sugar topping with lemon zest that cuts through the richness.
What are apple cider muffins?
Apple cider muffins are a warm, spiced fall treat. They are made with reduced apple cider for a concentrated flavor and packed with cozy spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Once baked and cooled, these fall-inspired muffins are then finished with a zesty, buttery cinnamon-sugar topping, making them incredibly flavorful with the perfect contrast of textures.
Ingredients needed to make apple cider muffins
For the Muffins:
- Apple cider: Reducing the apple cider is what gives these muffins their powerful apple essence, remarkably moist texture, and a depth of flavor that makes them truly stand out. You can also use unfiltered apple juice.
- All-purpose flour: I’ve used unbleached all-purpose flour in these muffins which has a slightly off-white or yellowish tint. It’s perfect to use for these muffins considering its cinnamon coloring. For a lighter texture, substitute with cake flour.
- Corn starch: Corn starch is added to create a more tender and delicate crumb.
- Baking soda and powder: These leavening agents are essential to ensure the perfect rise in these muffins.
- Spices: These apple cider muffins get a lovely boost of warmth from ground cinnamon, cardamom, and ground nutmeg.
- Kosher salt: Balances the flavors in these muffins. Reduce to 1/4 tsp if using salted butter in the muffin batter.
- Granulated sugar: Granulated sugar provides clean sweetness, preventing the muffins from tasting overly heavy or molasses-forward. For a deeper caramel-like depth, swap with 1/2 cup of light brown sugar.
- Light brown sugar: Light brown sugar adds moisture to muffin batter more than white sugar because it contains molasses, which attracts and retains water. It’s great for spiced baked treats like these apple cider muffins.
- Vanilla extract: For added depth of flavor. Add 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract for nutty notes, if you like.
- Egg: Allow your egg to reach room temperature for easy mixing. For an egg-free muffin base, use 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce per egg.
For the Topping:
- Granulated sugar: Ideal for spiced sugar toppings.
- Spices: A warm combination of ground cinnamon and cardamom.
- Lemon zest: Adds a pop of zesty brightness to these spiced muffins. Feel free to use orange zest instead.
- Unsalted butter: Melted for brushing the tops of the muffins so that the cinnamon-sugar mixture sticks to the muffins.
How do you make apple cider muffins?
Prepare the apple cider:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease a 12-cup muffin pan.
- Pour the apple cider into a saucepan and bring to a boil on high heat, continuing to boil until the liquid has reduced in half, about 8 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Make the muffin batter:
- In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt until well blended.
- In another large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until well blended. Stir in the vanilla extract and egg, then pour in the reduced cider mixture and blend until everything is well combined.
- Pour the flour mixture into the liquid mixture, and stir until everything is just blended, but do not over-mix the batter to ensure that muffins will be soft and tender.
Bake the muffins:
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup until ¾ full.
- Bake uncovered for 15-17 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Assemble with cinnamon-sugar topping:
- In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and lemon zest.
- Once the muffins have cooled, brush each all over with the melted butter, then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until well coated. Enjoy!
Serving
These apple cider muffins are the perfect addition to your fall brunch spread with egg casserole, crispy bacon, and fresh fruit salad. Add a cozy Pumpkin Spice Latte or freshly brewed coffee to complete the meal.
These apple cider muffins are so moist and richly spiced that they are perfect all on their own. For an extra-indulgent treat, try them warm with a smear of softened butter or a dollop of your favorite jam.
Continue the apple cider theme by serving these muffins as a sweet treat alongside a hot mug of mulled apple cider.
Sandy’s tips and substitutions:
- Storage: Store leftover apple cider muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Freezing and making ahead: You can bake the muffins ahead of time, wrap them individually in plastic wrap, and freeze them for up to a month without the cinnamon-sugar topping. Thaw the muffins overnight on the countertop. Brush the tops of the thawed muffins with melted butter and top them with the cinnamon-sugar mixture just before serving.
- Make extra: Double, triple, or quadruple your batch of muffins for your enjoyment whenever you have a craving for these insanely delicious spiced muffins!
- Don’t overfill the muffin pan: Only add the batter to the muffin cups until ¾ full as the muffins will rise while baking and you don’t want them overflowing, making a mess, and not looking as good.
- Make smaller muffins: You can make 24 smaller muffins if you use smaller muffin tin.
- Mix-ins: Feel free to add chopped pecans for walnuts to the muffin batter for extra flavor and texture.
- Gluten-free: Make these muffins gluten-free by using a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend and add 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum if needed.
- Don’t overmix: Be careful that you don’t overmix the muffin batter or they’ll become overly dense.
- Alternative toppings: Add candied pecans on top of the muffin batter just before baking or add a crumbled spiced streusel for incredible texture. A simple cinnamon icing drizzled over the baked and cooled muffins would also be delicious!
Have leftover apple cider? Use it to make delicious glaze for these Apple Fritter Bites or as a brine when cooking this Apple Cider Brined Turkey for Thanksgiving!
More fall-inspired muffins you may want to try:
- Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins
- Cinnamon Cruffins
- Gluten-Free Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Snickerdoodle Donut Muffins
Get the Recipe:
Apple Cider Muffins
Ingredients
For the Muffins:
- 2 cups apple cider or unfiltered apple juice
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
For the Topping:
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp cardamom
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted for dipping
Equipment
- Muffin tin 12 cup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan.
- Pour the apple cider into a saucepan and bring to a boil on high heat, continuing to boil until the liquid has reduced in half, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- In a mixing bowl, stir together until well blended the flour, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt.
- In another large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until well blended. Stir in the vanilla extract and egg, then pour in the reduced cider mixture and blend until everything is well combined.
- Pour the flour mixture into the liquid mixture, and stir until everything is just blended, but do not over-mix the batter to ensure that muffins will be soft and tender.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup until ¾ full. Bake uncovered for 15-17 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- For the topping, in a small bowl, stir together the sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and lemon zest. Once the muffins have cooled, brush each all over with the melted butter, then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture until well coated.
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
