Cinnamon Applesauce Crumb Muffins

These bakery-style cinnamon applesauce crumb muffins are moist and fluffy, with a cinnamon-brown sugar layer and a buttery crumble on top for added texture.

Why You’ll Love These Cinnamon Applesauce Crumb Muffins

• Incredibly moist – I love a freshly baked muffin, and these are just as good on day two.
• Layer of cinnamon-brown sugar – adds a touch of extra sweetness.
• Buttery oat crumble – tops it off with the perfect bit of crunch.
• Waste less – If you’re anything like me, you likely have unfinished containers of applesauce and sour cream in the fridge. These muffins are a great excuse to use them up! We love using our home-canned applesauce in these!
• Versatile – These are a great snack, grab-and-go breakfast, and perfect addition to your next brunch.

We love adding muffins to our breakfast lineup! If you need more ideas, try our Easy Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins Recipe or our Overnight Brioche French Toast Casserole

What Makes These Cinnamon Applesauce Crumb Muffins So Moist

Applesauce has a high water content, which adds moisture to the batter and keeps the crumb soft.

I love using sour cream in muffin batter because it’s thicker than milk and buttermilk, adding moisture without thinning the batter too much. It gives you a softer, more tender crumb because it helps prevent too much gluten development.

Ingredients Needed to Make Cinnamon Applesauce Crumb Muffins

Ingredient notes:

• Unsweetened Applesauce – you can use sweetened applesauce. It will result in a sweeter muffin. Store-bought or our home-canned applesauce both work great!
• Sour Cream – You can swap full-fat Greek yogurt as a 1:1 substitution
• Avocado Oil – I like using avocado oil here because it has a mild, neutral flavor.
• Light Brown Sugar – You can use dark brown sugar. However, it has more molasses, which can alter the texture and flavor. A 1:1 swap won’t ruin the muffins, but expect a slightly different outcome.
• Ground Cinnamon – I kept the cinnamon fairly subtle in this recipe, but if you’re a cinnamon lover like me, feel free to amp it up. Add an extra teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the crumble topping, and double the cinnamon in the batter, for a more cinnamon-forward muffin.
• Cold Butter – Essential for making the crumb topping.

How to Make Applesauce Streusel Muffins

Step 1 – Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Step 2 – The Batter: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt until well combined.

Step 3 – In another bowl, whisk together sugars, eggs, applesauce, sour cream, oil, and vanilla. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined. Scrape down the edges as needed. Careful not to overmix.

Step 4 – Cinnamon sugar layer: In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon until combined.

Step 5 – The oat crumb: Add oats, flour, brown sugar, butter, and salt into a medium bowl and cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, fork, or your fingers until crumbly.

Step 6 – Fill muffin liners halfway with batter using a cookie scoop or measuring cup. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of cinnamon mixture into each muffin.

Step 7 – Generously sprinkle crumb mixture on top of each muffin. Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let muffins rest in the pan for 5 minutes before serving. Cool on a cooling rack completely before storing.

FAQ

How do I store applesauce crumble muffins?

Once fully cooled, store these muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Because these muffins are so moist, expect the crumb to soften the longer they sit. You can help prevent this by adding a paper towel in the bottom of the container, and another on top of the muffins to help absorb extra moisture.

Can I substitute fat-free Greek yogurt for sour cream?

You can, but it will result in a less rich and moist muffin. I prefer to stick with full-fat Greek yogurt as a substitution. It’s similar enough to the sour cream and gives the best results.

Can I use sweetened applesauce instead of unsweetened?

Yes, the main difference is sweetness. This recipe was developed to control the sweetness by adding granulated and brown sugar and leaving the applesauce unsweetened.

Why did my crumb topping melt into the muffins instead of staying on top?

If this is happening, it’s most likely your butter. If your butter is too warm when mixing, you will get a paste rather than a crumble, and it’ll spread and flatten over the muffin. Work with cold butter, and if your kitchen runs warm, put it back in the fridge until you’re ready to top your muffins. Sinking can also happen if the batter is too thin to hold the crumb topping in place.

Can I use Home-Canned Applesauce in this Recipe?

Yes, it’s a personal favorite. My applesauce is a little thinner than store-bought, and they still come out amazing. I’ve never found the need to adjust ingredients.

Why Did My Muffins Turn Out Dense?

Dense muffins are usually the result of overmixing the batter, which overdevelops the gluten. To avoid this, mix the flour into the wet ingredients just until the flour disappears; a few small lumps are ok.

Too much flour can also increase density. If you’re scooping straight from the container, it can pack more flour into the cup than the recipe intended. To avoid this, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife.