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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 🙂Â
- 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.Â
- 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!Â
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!
My new favorite muffins! Thanks, Adrianna!
love hearing this!
I just made these and they came out absolutely delicious! I’ll be adding these to my go-to fall desserts. Thank you for sharing!
I’ve made these twice and they are delicious! The first time I missed the step to rest for 20 minutes. They came out ok still. The second time I did rest and they were so much prettier/rose better. Definitely rest like recommended if you have time!
These are my absolute favorite muffins! Everyone loves them. The streusel topping is perfection. Thank you!
I’m obsessed with the cider donuts I grew up with at a local cider mill but unfortunately cannot find any that compare (where I live now). So when I saw this recipe I had to try it out. These turned out beautifully and really reminded me of the cider donuts I grew up with. I’ll be making these regularly now! I’m also not the most experienced baker and I felt these instructions were very clear. Thank you! Highly recommend.
I really like the ingredients in your recipe and would like to try it, but I have apple cider I need to use up. Can I substitute apple cider for the applesauce? Thanks!
unfortunately that won’t work. this needs the apple sauce in order to work!
This is my new favorite muffin!
Easy recipe too!
love hearing this!
I’m a terrible baker, but these muffins came out wonderfully! Such a perfect autumn treat and love the accessibility/ease of applesauce! I didn’t have any all spice on hand when making them, but they still turned out great!
love hearing this!
Apple cider doughnut muffins without a single drop of apple cider!! What is wrong here? This is indeed misleading. Come up with a new name or a new recipe that uses apple cider. There is no excuse for this deception. Shame on you!!
lol SHAME ON ME!!! a bit dramatic, don’t you think? they’re muffins, jeff.
Stay away from coffee cake my friend lol
My did you have to rate them without trying them? You are annoying and stop commenting on stuff you haven’t tried and being here to just spread negativity! Folks, consider itself spared from expensive ass cider and try these. They are so good. I went on an Apple cider donut muffin/cake baking spree this season (I made 5 different recipes) and this was everyone’s favorite BY FAR.
If you’ve ever eaten a true cider donut from a cider mill, you’ll find that this muffin replicates it to a T! Have your cider on the side with your muffin and get over it.
These have a great flavor! The streusel is what makes it taste exactly like a doughnut, don’t skip it! Will 100% make again.
so happy you loved them! 🙂