Fluffy Apple Walnut Muffins

A seriously fluffy muffin filled with apple, toasted walnuts and a good dash of cinnamon. The only fluffy apple walnut muffins recipe you'll ever need.

I’m a bit of a muffin hoarder.

(“A what?”)

A muffin hoarder. You know, someone who stashes a serious supply of muffins in their freezer so they can pull one out whenever they are craving a muffin (which is often in my case) or in need of an easy lunchbox filler.

On any given day, you can open my freezer to find lots of muffins waiting to be eaten. Any day except last Friday that is, when I opened my freezer to find only a few muffin crumbs at the bottom of the freezer bag.

Disaster, clearly.

It was time to replenish the stash and the apples I had sitting in the fridge seemed like the perfect ingredient for the job along with some toasted walnuts and a good spoonful of cinnamon.

Thus without further ado, let me introduce you to these fluffy apple walnut muffins. I need to emphasise on the fluffy part because these muffins are so light, and so airy that they melt in your mouth with every bite.

Why you’ll love these apple walnut muffins

• They are wonderfully soft, light and fluffy.
• Each muffin is packed with juicy apple pieces, toasted walnuts and cinnamon.
• They are perfect for breakfast, afternoon tea or lunchboxes.
• They freeze beautifully, making them ideal for future muffin cravings.
• You can make full-sized muffins or use leftover batter for mini lunchbox muffins.

Want to know how to make them? Let’s talk about the baking secrets...

Baking Secrets For Fluffy Apple Walnut Muffins:

1. Use oil for a soft, moist muffin

Most muffin recipes use a liquid fat such as oil or melted butter. I use oil in these muffins because it helps keep them soft and moist, even once they have cooled. The reason for this is because oil coats the proteins in the flour better than butter, which means less gluten, resulting in a fluffier muffin (just like in these decadent cupcakes).

2. Use both white and brown sugar

I have used a combination of both white and soft brown sugar. White sugar adds a stronger sweetness and crunch, and the brown sugar adds richness and moisture. You could try substituting all brown sugar, however do note that the muffins may be heavier and more dense. Adding all white sugar will slightly change the acidity of the muffins as brown sugar is slightly acidic so you would need to adjust baking time (acidic batters cook faster – you can learn more about acidity here).

3. Leave the apple skin on

I like generous chunks of apple in my muffins, so I dice the apple rather than grate it. For fibre (and less work), I leave the skin on which you don’t notice when eating them. However you can remove the skin if you would prefer.

4. Yoghurt gives the muffins extra lift

Yoghurt adds moisture and a little acidity to the batter. The acidity reacts with the baking soda, helping the muffins rise beautifully and stay light and tender.

5. Fill the muffin cups generously

For tall, cafe-style muffins, fill the muffin cups right to the top (not just ¾'s). These muffins are packed with apple and walnuts, so the batter makes a generous amount. If you have leftover batter, use it to make a few mini muffins for lunchboxes or snacking. I used paper cups for these muffins because I was being lazy and didn’t feel like washing my muffin tray. For a more ‘cafe-style look’, bake these in a muffin tin without the paper cups.

6. Toast the walnuts first for extra flavour

Toasting the walnuts before adding them to the muffin batter will make these muffins so good! A few minutes in a dry frying pan or oven brings out their flavour and gives them a much better texture in the finished muffins. Untoasted walnuts can taste a little flat and become soft once baked into the batter.

7. Do not over-mix the batter

Once the flour is added, stir only until the ingredients are just combined. A few small streaks of flour are fine. Over-mixing develops gluten, which can make muffins tough or dense rather than soft and fluffy.

Right, I think that’s enough to get you started – it’s time to get baking!

**For extra muffin making tips, pop over here for all the baking secrets in creating cafe style muffins every time**

I’m off to re-heat a fluffy apple walnut muffin with a cup of tea.

Happy baking.

Related

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Fluffy Apple Walnut Muffins

Sarah Sears

A deliciously fluffy apple walnut muffin recipe.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 17 minutes mins

Course Snack

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

• 70 g (⅔ cup) walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 312 g (2 & ½ cups) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 125 ml (½ cup) oil
• 100 g (½ cup) white sugar
• 100 g (½ cup) soft brown sugar
• 200 ml (¾ cup) plain yoghurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 medium eggs
• 1 Granny Smith apple cored, and diced

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 170C (340CF). Place walnuts on a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside.
• Turn oven up to 220C (or 425F) and generously grease a 12 cup muffin baking pan with butter or oil (or use paper cups).
• In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together and whisk well to combine. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine the oil with the sugars, yoghurt, extract and whisk well. Add the eggs and whisk again until well combined.
• Take 1 tablespoon of the dry mixture and place in a smaller bowl and stir through apples and walnuts until they are well coated in the flour mixture (this helps evenly distribute the apple and walnut pieces throughout the mixture and prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins).
• Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add the wet ingredients. Gently fold the mixture until just combined (about 9 folds) and then gently fold the apples and walnuts in until just incorporated.
• Evenly divide the batter into the 12 muffin cups, making sure that the mixture is topped to the brim (tip: using an ice cream scoop can help ensure even amounts of mixture in each muffin cup).
• Bake for 5 minutes at 220C (425F), then reduce the heat to 190C (375F) and bake for another 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Notes

Muffins will keep up to 3-4 days in an airtight container -simply reheat in oven or microwave and top with a knob of butter (for extra buttery deliciousness, of course).

Muffins freeze really well in a airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months

Keyword apple, muffins, walnuts