Easy Apple Butter Muffins Recipe

These apple butter muffins are one of the easiest muffin recipes you’ll make. The apple butter brings its own sweetness and spice, maple syrup adds a touch of fall flavor, and the whole thing comes together in 35 minutes with basic pantry ingredients. No added sugar, no added spice. The apple butter does the work.

Got a jar of apple butter sitting in the fridge and not sure what to do with it? This is the answer.

You could add extra spices if your apple butter isn’t spicy enough for your taste.

Low in Additional Sugar

I used maple syrup in these muffins to increase that fall apple, maple combination that is always so tasty. It’s a small amount as much for flavor as it is for sweetening. Honey could also be used for sweetening here.

Generally speaking, apple butter is quite sweet on its own meaning that more sugar feels unnecessary in the recipe, however feel free to adjust as necessary for the right amount of sweetness for your taste.

Fat Choices

I went with basic vegetable oil but you could use any liquid fat here – melted butter or coconut oil would also work.

Up the apple flavor and lower the fat content in these muffins by substituting unsweetened, pureed applesauce for the vegetable oil.

Flour Substitutions

To keep this easy, the recipe is made with all purpose flour but you could substitute based on your own preferences.

A gluten-free blend would likely work (but has not been tested).

Substitute half of the all purpose flour with whole-wheat flour for some whole grain crunch.

Optional Additions

Want to bulk up the muffins or change the texture slightly? Try adding some of the following:

• Mix in up to 1 cup of chopped nuts or seeds
• Stir in up to 1 cup of dried fruit, like raisins
• Make apple muffins by adding a cup of chopped fresh apples

Add a Topping

I think the muffins are perfect just as is, but there options to make it a bit different.

• Add a streusel to the muffin tops before baking for crunch and sweetness.
• Sprinkle a little cinnamon sugar on top of the muffins prior to putting in the oven.
• Drizzle a little caramel or apple cider glaze on top of cooled muffins
• Add a dollop of cream cheese frosting for something truly over-the-top

How to Serve

The great thing about fluffy muffins is that they don’t need much else to be a light meal or basic snack. Serve muffins with a hot or cold beverage of choice and no one is likely to complain.

They are quite delicious slathered with a bit of peanut butter for a more filling snack.

Make it a more substantial breakfast by serving the muffins alongside some scrambled eggs and bacon.

Tuck them into lunch boxes or serve as a snack alongside some fresh fruit.

Troubleshooting

The muffins are too dense. This most often comes from overmixing. Stir the batter only until the dry ingredients are just incorporated. A few lumps are fine and expected.

The muffins are gummy in the center. Apple butter adds significant moisture to the batter. Make sure you’re measuring 1 cup accurately. Also check that your baking powder and baking soda are fresh, and start checking for doneness right at 15 minutes since this recipe bakes quickly at 400 degrees.

The muffins didn’t rise well. Check the freshness of your leavening. Baking powder and baking soda both lose potency over time. Also make sure the oven was fully preheated before the muffins went in. At 400 degrees the initial heat burst is what drives the rise.

The muffins aren’t sweet enough. Apple butters vary in sweetness depending on the brand or homemade recipe. If yours is on the less sweet side, increase the maple syrup by a tablespoon or two, or add a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on top before baking.

The muffins stuck to the pan. Grease the muffin tin well or use paper liners. Run a knife around each cup after the 5 minute cool and they should release cleanly.