Combining the warmth of cinnamon, sweetness of apples, and tanginess of sourdough, these Apple Sourdough Muffins are a delightful treat for any occasion. Whether you're looking for a wholesome breakfast option or a satisfying snack, these muffins are sure to deliver with their irresistible aroma and taste. Enjoy these freshly baked muffins with a cup of tea or a coffee!
If you're looking for other sourdough muffin recipes, you may enjoy my pumpkin sourdough muffins!
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Why You'll Love These Muffins
These muffins are the perfect amount of sweet to enjoy any time of the day, including breakfast! They are also warm with cinnamon goodness!
The combination of tangy sourdough with the sweetness of apple is a perfect balance. I always have more sourdough discard than I know what to do with so these muffins are a perfect solution to using up some discard to get a delicious muffin!
Ingredients
For the Muffins
All-Purpose Flour: It is up to you if you would like to use bleached or unbleached flour for this recipe. Many times, people don't recommend using bleached flour for sourdough recipes. However, since this isn't something that time is spent being fermented, it doesn't matter which type of flour you use.
Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Muffins always need some type of leavening agents for the best texture. I've tested many muffins with different amounts and ratios of baking soda and baking soda and I've found this to work best.
Salt: Just standard table salt will work fine for this recipe.
Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon is used in this recipe. Feel free to add a little more or less depending on our taste preferences.
Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar: This adds a bit of extra sweetness to the muffins. I used light brown sugar.
Vanilla Extract: I always recommend pure vanilla extract but feel free to substitute with imitation vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
Eggs: Use large eggs for this recipe and let them come to room temperature.
Vegetable Oil: I used vegetable oil for these muffins but you can also use canola oil.
Milk: I recommend using whole milk for the recipe. However, you can substitute for another milk.
Sourdough Discard: The amount of tanginess you have in your muffins will depend on how old your discard is. The older the discard, the more tangy the flavor.
Apples: I chose to use granny smith apples for this recipe. However, you can substitute for your favorite apples that you use for baking.
For the Oat Crumble Topping
Oats: I used quick rolled oats for this recipe.
Butter: Use unsalted butter and allow it to come to room temperature.
All-Purpose Flour: Using bleached or unbleached flour for this recipe is fine.
Brown Sugar: I used light brown sugar for this recipe.
Cinnamon: Use ground cinnamon and feel free to adjust the amount according to your taste buds.
How to Make Cinnamon Apple Sourdough Muffins
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375℉. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and spray with nonstick spray.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, vegetable oil, milk, and sourdough discard until smooth and just combined.
Step 3: In a separate, medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and mix well so everything is evenly distributed. Add to the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Step 4: If you haven't yet, peel and core your apples before finely chopping them. Add the apples to your mixture and fold them into the batter.
Step 5: For the oat crumble topping, in a small bowl, add the oats, softened unsalted butter, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Use a fork to work the butter into the mixture and get everything well combined. Once it's completely mixed, you can sprinkle the topping on your muffins before baking them!
Step 6: Fill the cupcake liners in the muffin tin about ¾ full with the batter. Sprinkle the oat crumble topping on top of the batter. Place in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick entered in the center comes out clean.
Tips for the Best Muffins
Here are some pro-tips to help your muffins turn out the best they possibly could.
- Don't overmix your batter! This keeps your muffins tender and helps them achieve the most perfect texture!
- Measure your flour correctly. Be sure to spoon and level your flour. Scoop it into the measuring cup and then level it off. Never pack your flour into your measuring cup otherwise you will get dense and dry muffins!
- Use room temperature ingredients. Differences in temperature between ingredients can lead them to not mixing very well which will in turn, will throw off your texture.
- Pay attention to the age of your sourdough starter discard. The older the discard, the more tangy it is. This will help you when deciding if you want your muffins to be more or less tangy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
While the term sourdough discard may sound unappetizing, it is not. It is simply left-over sourdough starter that you wouldn't use for bread. Rather than throwing it away, many people like to use it in other recipes. When you feed your starter, you end up with more, and if you don't consistently make sourdough bread, you end up with more than you need. This needs to be discarded and either thrown away or used for another recipe.
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📖 Recipe
Sourdough Apple Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Muffins:
- 2 c all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ c brown sugar
- ½ c granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs room temperature
- ⅓ c vegetable oil
- ⅔ c milk
- ½ c sourdough discard
- 2 granny smith apples finely chopped
For the Oat Crumble Topping:
- ½ c quick oats
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
For the Muffins:
- Preheat oven to 375℉. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and spray with nonstick spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, vegetable oil, milk, and sourdough discard until smooth and just combined.½ c brown sugar, ½ c granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 2 eggs, ⅓ c vegetable oil, ⅔ c milk, ½ c sourdough discard
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and mix well so everything is evenly distributed. Add to the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.2 c all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- If you haven't yet, peel and core your apples before finely chopping them. Add the apples to your mixture and fold them into the batter.2 granny smith apples
- Fill the cupcake liners in the muffin tin about ¾ full with the batter. Sprinkle the oat crumble topping on top of the batter. Place in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick entered in the center comes out clean.
For the Oat Crumble Topping:
- In a small bowl, add the oats, softened unsalted butter, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Use a fork to work the butter into the mixture and get everything well combined. Once it's completely mixed, you can sprinkle the topping on your muffins before baking them!½ c quick oats, 4 tablespoon unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon
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