These light and fluffy Paleo Apple Cinnamon Muffins are chock-full of fall flavors!
Table of Contents
- This recipe is…
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins Recipe Ingredients
- Recipe Variations and Modifications
- How to Make Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Recipe Tips
- How to Serve Cinnamon Apple Muffins
- How to Store and Reheat Muffins
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More of Our Best Fall Baking Recipes
- Paleo Apple Cinnamon Muffins Recipe
This recipe is…
Once the last warm days of summer give way to the crisper weather of fall, we start to crave classic autumnal flavors like apples and warming spices such as cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. There’s nothing like those first cool days of the season when you get inspired to bake something up that makes the entire house smell of fragrant fall fruit and baking spices.
That’s where these Paleo apple cinnamon muffins come in. These muffins showcase all those cozy fall flavors, are easy to make (you don’t even have to pull out your mixer), smell amazing while they bake, and result in a perfectly moist, lightly sweet muffin that is perfect for breakfast or brunch.
Enjoy them on their own as a healthy breakfast or snack, or eat them alongside Quiche Lorraine, Healthy Breakfast Salad, Egg Muffin Cups, or our Blueberry Sweet Potato Breakfast Meatballs for a heartier brekkie or brunch.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A delicious medley of fall flavors: apples, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves
- Only 15 minutes of prep, and ready in 35 total
- Makes a big batch of 18 muffins: enough to eat some now, and freeze some for later
Apple Cinnamon Muffins Recipe Ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need to make the two components of these muffins: the batter and the crumble. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
For the Muffins
- Flour – 3 cups 278 g paleo baking flour
- Sugar – 1 1/2 cups coconut sugar
- Baking powder – 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Baking soda – 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Cinnamon – 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- Ginger – 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- Nutmeg – 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- Cloves – 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- Salt – 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- Eggs – 4 eggs
- Butter – 1 cup butter melted (may also use ghee or coconut oil)
- Vanilla – 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Apples – 2 apples grated, about 1 cup total
For the Crumble
- Butter – 1/2 cup butter softened
- Sugar – 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- Flour – 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- Pecans – 1/4 cup chopped pecans
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
Here are a few simple ways to make this recipe your own:
- Nuts – if you’d prefer, feel free to swap the pecans for another nut, like almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts
- Spices – this recipe calls for cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. But if you don’t have all of these spices on hand, don’t fret! You can either double up on one of the other spices, or use the same amount of pumpkin pie spice, which is a blend of all these spices.
How to Make Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Now, let’s jump into how to make these delicious apple muffins!
Step 1: The first thing you’ll do for this recipe is to whisk together the flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, and spices. Once the mixture is fully incorporated, set it aside.
Step 2: Next, you’ll whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and butter or ghee in a separate bowl, until fully blended.
Step 3: Now you’ll stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the batter is fully combined. The batter will be slightly stickier and wetter than a traditional batter. Once the batter is formed, you’ll stir the grated apple into it until it is evenly distributed.
Step 4: For the crumble topping, you’ll add the butter, sugar, and coconut flour to a small bowl and work the mixture with your hands until it is fully combined. It will be more of a paste-like consistency than a traditional crumble.
Step 5: Finally, you’ll fill your muffin tins about 3/4 of the way full, take a bit of the crumble and flatten it with your hands to make enough to cover the muffin, place it on top of the muffin, sprinkle on pecans, and bake for 17-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool slightly, then enjoy!
Recipe Tips
Freeze for later – this recipe makes a big batch of 18 muffins that freeze well. If you want to save some for later, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet until they’ve firmed up. Then, wrap them individually and place them in a large freezer bag.They’ll keep for up to 3 months.
Slather with spreads – while these muffins are delicious on their own, you can also eat them with spreads like butter or nut butters like almond, hazelnut, or cashew.
How to Serve Cinnamon Apple Muffins
Serve these lil’ babies warm from the oven, or at room temperature plain — or with butter or nut butter.
How to Store and Reheat Muffins
These cinnamon apple muffins will keep for up to 5 days, so they are perfect to make over the weekend and eat for breakfast during the week! For the best texture, we recommend storing your muffins in the refrigerator then quickly microwaving or toasting them before eating.
Frequently Asked Questions
They can! In fact, we tested a TON of different egg substitutes in several different baked goods, took all kinds of notes, and then laid it all out for you in this super helpful guide to egg-free baking. For muffins (though this isn’t a Paleo option), we recommend subbing in plain Greek yogurt (¼ cup of yogurt per egg) – Greek yogurt made for fluffy and slightly crisp on the outside muffins that had a really delicious flavor and held together really well.
More of Our Best Fall Baking Recipes
If you tried this recipe for Paleo Apple Cinnamon Muffins, or any other recipe on the Fed & Fit website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Paleo Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Ingredients
For the Muffins
- 3 cups 278 g paleo baking flour
- 1 1/2 cups coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup butter melted (may also use ghee or coconut oil)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 apples grated, about 1 cup total
For the Crumble
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a muffin tin with parchment paper liners.
- Add the flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt to a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine, smoothing out any lumps.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Then, mix the dry ingredients into the wet and whisk until fully combined. Stir the grated apple into the batter until evenly distributed Spoon the batter into the muffin tins until they are almost all of the way full.
- To make the crumble, combine the softened butter, coconut sugar, and coconut flour in a small bowl and work the mixture with your hands until it takes on a paste-like consistency.
- Flatten the crumble mixture with your hands to make enough to cover a muffin, and place it on top of the muffin batter. Repeat for each muffin.
- Sprinkle the pecans over top of the muffins, then bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Let cool then enjoy!
Nutrition
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These look delicious!! Do they freeze well?
They do freeze well, Dani!
Hello Cassy and Fed+Fit Team,
Do you have any thoughts regarding glyphosate found in non-organic flours made with almonds? You can also just link to research you have done to form your opinion. I have mostly avoided almond flour because of what I have read. I have your book and I frequent your website so I trust your research. Thanks in advance for your time!
Oh my, these are THE best paleo muffins I have ever made! I did not make the crumble topping instead topped with candies pecans. They are very flavorful and sweet. The texture is fluffy and moist, not at all the usual dense heavy paleo texture. Thank You fed and fit team, I will make these again
Wahoo!! So glad you loved these, Ashley! Thank you for sharing this with us!
Cassy and Fed & Fit team, I made these apple muffins yesterday morning and they are the bomb. I used ingredients I had at home (almond flour, fresh ginger) and both my husband and myself loved them. Gracias mil!
So glad you enjoyed them Patricia!
This flour really has me interested. I would like to bake with different flours, however, I haven’t had good results. I’ve baked with white wheat and wheat pastry flour and the end product has a chalky thick taste. I am going to look for this next time I’m shopping. Recipe sounds yummy!