Sourdough apple cinnamon muffins with a crunchy almond sugar topping are simple to mix and bake - you can have them done in around 30 minutes.
They are a lovely morning tea treat or any time of the day! You could even add them to kids lunches. They freeze really well too!
This sourdough muffin recipe uses 200g of sourdough starter and is a great way to use up discard or unfed starter. You can also use active starter if you have excess on hand.
I often feed my sourdough starter large amounts before I go to bed so that I've got plenty to use the next day. I then make a batch of these sourdough apple muffins, a loaf of sourdough honey oat bread and often I'll make a batch of these delicious sourdough crackers too or these sourdough orange and cranberry muffins too!
You really can never have too much sourdough starter, fed or discard! There's just so many options for baking sourdough goodies! And if you love cinnamon, why not try these sourdough snickerdoodle cookies, sourdough cinnamon sugar crackers, sourdough apple pie or fluffy sourdough cinnamon rolls?
How To Make Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Muffins
These muffins are very easy to make. You don't even need a stand mixer or electric beaters.
You just need two bowls to mix the ingredients separately before you combine them.
The biggest thing to remember when making these muffins is that over mixing the batter will result in tough muffins. What you are aiming for is a tender, soft crumb surrounded by a crunchy exterior.
Here's the process for making these delicious sourdough apple cinnamon muffins:
- Preheat your oven.
- If you are going to add the topping, combine the topping ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Mix the sourdough starter, eggs, oil and vanilla together in a bowl. Make sure you mix them together really well and that the eggs are well beaten.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a separate bowl ensuring they are well mixed through.
- Add the diced apple to the dry ingredients and ensure that the apple is completely coated in the mixture.
- Now pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Use a spatula and mix them until they are just combined - do not over mix!!
- Spoon the muffin batter into a greased 12 hole muffin tin.
- If you are adding it, spoon small amounts of the almond sugar crunch mixture onto each muffin.
- Bake until golden.
Baking Notes for Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Muffins
These apple cinnamon sourdough muffins use minimal ingredients to create a delicious flavor.
There are a few things to note, however, so you make these muffins successfully:
- It's important to mix the dry and liquid ingredients separately first. This is because it's really easy to over mix muffin batter. Mix them each thoroughly first and then only mix together until they are just combined.
- Making sure that all the apple pieces are coated with the flour mixture first ensures that they are evenly distributed through the batter and they won't sink to the bottom during the cooking process.
- The oil you use needs to be a light vegetable oil that has very little taste. The oil is what gives the muffins a tender crumb and a crunchy exterior.
- You only need a small amount of the almond sugar crunch topping. It will spread out over the top of the muffin during baking.
- Be careful not to have the oven too hot when baking these if you have added the topping as it will burn very easily.
- You could add some rolled oats and raisins to these muffins if you want to make them more robust.
- Use any type of apple for these muffins. You could even use diced pear if that's what you have on hand. I choose not to peel the apples because any bit of fruit my kids eat is a bonus - but if apple peel isn't your thing, you can most definitely peel the apples.
- You could also use canned apple for this recipe but you'd need to make sure you drain it and chop it up before adding.
- For something different, why not try making these muffins with this apple sourdough starter.
Freezing and Storing Muffins
These muffins should be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The topping will soften after 24 hours, but they are still delicious.
I like to place some paper towel on the bottom of an air tight plastic container and then place the muffins on top of this.
They freeze really well. I place them into a ziploc bag and then into the freezer. I just take out what I need for lunch boxes etc and they defrost easily. You can also warm them slightly in the microwave too.
Further Reading
If you love these sourdough apple cinnamon muffins, you might like to try these ideas:
- Raspberry Sourdough Muffins with orange and coconut
- Best Banana Sourdough Muffins [with 20 flavor variations]
- Sourdough Discard Cake with Dates and Lemon Drizzle
- Try these no wait sourdough recipes - there's one that you're sure to love!
Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Digital Scales
- 12 Hole Muffin Tin
Ingredients
- 200 g Sourdough Starter Discard or Active Starter
- 150 g All Purpose Flour
- 50 g Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 6 g Baking Powder 1 tsp
- 100 g Vegetable Oil Light flavor
- 150 g Apple unpeeled, diced - 1 large apple
- 4 g Cinnamon Ground (1 tsp)
- 5 g Salt (1 tsp)
- 5 g Vanilla Extract
Optional - Crunchy Almond Sugar Topping
- 50 g Sugar raw
- 80 g Almond Meal
- 30 g Butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F and grease a 12 hole muffin tin with butter.
- If you are going to be using the topping, prepare this first. Add sugar, almond meal and melted butter to a bowl and mix until well combined. Set aside.
- Mix the sourdough starter, 2 eggs, vanilla extract and oil in a bowl. Whisk together until well combined. It's ok if the oil sits on the top, it will combine once it is poured into the dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl mix together all purpose flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar. Once combined, add the diced apple and mix until all of the apple is coated in the flour mixture.
- Now pour the liquid ingredient mixture into the dry ingredients. Gently fold together until just mixed - don't over mix or the muffins will be tough.
- Spoon mixture into greased muffin tin. This recipe will fill a 12 hole muffin (each hole around ¾ full).
- If you are adding the almond crunch topping, spoon a small amount into the centre of each muffin (it will spread out as the muffins cook).
- Bake at 180C/350F for approximately 20 minutes or until muffins are golden brown. If using the almond sugar topping, just watch them as they can burn easily.
I made these muffins this afternoon, after my neighbor gifted me a bag of apples from her tree. Delicious, light muffins, and easy to throw together. I do have a question about the topping ... it made at least twice as much as I needed. I double checked the recipe for amounts. Only difference was the recipe calls for almond meal, and I used almond flour. It made a crumbly streusel topping, as opposed to the flat shell shown with the recipe. Did the meal/flour change really make such a difference?