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These Apple Cider Doughnut Muffins taste like an apple cider doughnut but are in muffin form. They’re super tall and delicious with a crispy streusel cinnamon sugar topping. These doughnuts pair exceptionally well with a savory breakfast such as chilaquiles, or my irresistible breakfast burritos.
Ingredients for apple cider muffins
- Apple sauce – The apple sauce adds a really delicious crumb and moisture to these muffins.
- Neutral oil – I love muffins with oil. It adds a lightness and moisture that just can’t be achieved with butter. My favorite neutral oil is avocado oil.
- Spices – These muffins have cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. This adds that perfect apple-spice flavor.
Please see recipe card for the rest of the ingredients!
How to Make Apple Cider Doughnut Muffins
- Whisk together the apple sauce, white sugar, neutral oil, eggs and vanilla together.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and kosher salt. Pour the wet into the dry ingredients and mix just until you no longer see any speckles of flour.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. I find that resting the batter like this really creates beautifully domed muffins.
- Meanwhile, make the streusel topping. Mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt together. And then mix in the cold butter, pressing it with your fingers. Mix it throughout the flour mixture until they’re are teeny tiny beads of butter.
- Divide the batter amongst the muffin tin cavities. Top each muffin with a handful of streusel topping.
- Transfer to the oven to bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then pop the muffins out and transfer to a cooling rack.
Tips and Tricks
- These muffins are nearly fool-proof but I will say that resting the batter for 20 minutes is super important in resulting that bakery-like, beautiful muffin. If you skip it, know that they won’t be as perfectly domed and pretty.
- Can I make these ahead: Yes! You’re welcome to make the batter up to a one day in advance, cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge. Bake them the next morning!
Recipe FAQs
Why don’t these apple cider muffins have apple cider in them?
This is the most common question and I’ll say I tried it with apple cider but it has too much water content. They also didn’t taste anything like apple cider. These have the flavors of an apple cider doughnut without using apple cider at all.
Can I use pumpkin instead of apple sauce?
You know that’s a good question and it will probably work but I just haven’t tested them!
Recipes to Serve with these Muffins!
- Cranberry Cake
- Salted Honey Parker House Rolls
- Homemade Apple Pie
- Cozy Beef Stew
- Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Apple Cider Doughnut Muffins
These Apple Cider Doughnut Muffins taste like an apple cider doughnut but are in muffin form. They’re super tall and delicious with a crispy streusel cinnamon sugar topping.
Ingredients
Muffins:
- 1 1/4 cups apple sauce, (unsweetened or sweetened are both fine!)
- 1 1/4 cup white sugar, (250g)
- 1/2 cup neutral oil, (such as grapeseed, avocado or canola)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, (240g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Streusel:
- 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, (40g)
- 2 tablespoons white sugar, (25g)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes (28.5g)
Instructions
To Make the Muffins:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the apple sauce, white sugar, neutral oil, eggs and vanilla.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and kosher salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until combined, being sure not to over mix because this will cause tough muffins. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 20 minutes. I find that this is the key to super tall, gorgeous muffins.
To Make the Streusel Topping:
- Mix together the flour, white sugar, cinnamon and pinch of salt together. Add the butter and mix it together with your fingers. It should have teeny bits of butter throughout.
- Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray, if needed (I didn’t need it) and divide the batter amongst the 12 muffin cavities. Top it with a handful of the streusel topping and then transfer to the oven to bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Notes
Tips and Tricks
- These muffins work with sweetened and unsweetened apple sauce. I’ve tried either and both are delicious. Obviously one is sweeter than the other 🙂
- These muffins are nearly fool-proof but I will say that resting the batter for 20 minutes is super important in resulting that bakery-like, beautiful muffin. If you skip it, know that they won’t be as perfectly domed and pretty.
- Can I make these ahead: Yes! You’re welcome to make the batter up to a one day in advance, cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge. Bake them the next morning!
Nutrition
Calories: 198kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 204mg | Potassium: 79mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 70IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this Recipe? Please Rate & comment below!
Really yummy! Great flavor and moist. I did 1/2 coconut oil and 1/2 butter cuz that’s what I had on hand and they turned out great.
wonderful to hear!
They are good but they don’t taste anything like apple cider doughnuts.
Wow!! So yummy! I started making the recipe and realized I didn’t have eggs so I used flax eggs and the muffins were great. Not as domed as they would have been with chicken eggs, but so delish!
If I don’t have allspice can I substitute it for something else (I have pumpkin pie spice) or just omit?
Apple cider muffins without apple cider listed in the ingredients?? Just call them applesauce muffins…
just don’t make them then! simple!!
I actually like that they don’t have cider in them because it’s not an ingredient people always have around! Applesauce is much easier to find and cheaper!
These muffins are awesome and delicious… I was craving an apple cider donut. These muffins remind me of the cider donuts I bought from the orchard…
I made these muffins for Thanksgiving morning and oh my god, insanely delicious! I subbed whole wheat flour for AP and added 1/8c milk so they wouldn’t be dry and they are perfectly moist. These are a must bake!
wonderful!!
These were delicious! However, if you want them to puff up as much as the photos, don’t use cupcake liners. I made some with liners and some without and I was surprised at the difference it made!
Wow! The “donut” in this muffin recipe caught my eye and I knew I had to try it. This is my first recipe from your blog and I am such a happy camper. I used a pinch of apple cinnamon apple sauce and omitted all spice (didn’t have any handy) and the muffins were packed with cinnamon flavor. I was doubting the streusel because mine looked different from yours, it was a bit mushier, even though I left small chunks of butter. I will say these muffins hold up well days after – I’m on day 5 – and taste even better heated up in the air fryer for a crispy top. I definitely need to make more to share with my friends!
wow wonderful hearing this. thanks for all of the great feedback 🙂
These come out sooo soft and lovely, but not enough apple flavor