Have you been searching for a great fall dessert? Then you should give these Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins a try. The tangy apples and lemon glaze perfectly balance the sweet cinnamon cake and Streusel. These muffins are so moist with tons of apples in them. They are a great addition to any brunch buffet or eaten as a leisurely afternoon treat.
Wash the apples and cut them into small cubes. Put them in a medium size pan, add pumpkin spice and water, and cook for about 10 minutes or until the apples get soft. Set aside and let cool.
Streusel:
Use a medium size bowl, add flour, sugars, and cinnamon, and mix well.
Melt the butter on the soften/melt setting in the microwave. Once melted, pour it into the flour sugar mixture and combine well. Set aside.
Batter:
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line the muffin tin with muffin liners (I love these tulip liners); this recipe makes 12 muffins.
Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon in a medium size mixing bowl. Set aside.
Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl together with the brown sugar. Beat with a hand mixer (or stand mixer) until lighter in color and fluffy.
Then add the yogurt, coconut oil, and vanilla extract and mix until well incorporated.
Add the cooled apples and stir them a few times (they don’t have to be evenly distributed just yet).
Next, add the flour mixture that you set aside earlier. Mix the batter until no more flour lumps are visible. Don’t mix vigorously; go slowly and carefully; you don’t want to overmix the batter. Set aside.
Cinnamon swirl:
Melt the butter in the microwave like you did before for the Streusel.
Add brown sugar, cinnamon, and water and mix well.
Assemble and Bake:
Use a cookie scoop and place one scoop of the batter into each muffin liner. Next, use a knife or a spoon and spread the batter evenly so that the batter touches the liner and creates a barrier. Spreading it out is important for the next step.
Add about 1 tbsp of Cinnamon Swirl onto the batter. Since you spread the batter nicely in the previous step, the swirl won’t run to the bottom of your muffins but will stay perfectly in the middle creating a nice cinnamon swirl.
Cover the swirl with another small scoop of batter. It might need less, depending on what size scoop you are using. Just make sure you only fill the liners to about 3/4 full.
Drizzle the streusel over the batter and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
To test if they are baked through - the muffin sponge should spring back if you touch it; if it doesn’t, bake for a few more minutes. If you don’t feel comfortable touching a hot muffin, you can use the toothpick method. If you stick a toothpick in the center of the muffin and it comes out clean without any raw batter sticking to it, your muffins are done!
Let them cool for 10 minutes before taking them out of the tin. Place the muffins on a cooling rack.
Sugar Glaze:
Add the powdered sugar and the lemon juice to a small mixing bowl and beat with a whisk until there are no more lumps. If your glaze is too runny, add some more powdered sugar, is it too thick, add some more lemon juice.
Use a spoon or small pastry piping bag and drizzle the glaze over each muffin - and enjoy!
Notes
➙ You don’t have to cook the apples if you like to add a little “crunch” to your muffins.➙ Muffins stay fresh for 1-2 days in an airtight container at room temperature.➙ They freeze very well. Place the muffins in a freezer-safe container and store them in the freezer for up to two months.