Apple Cheddar Muffin
intro
Tender, moist sweet-savory muffins packed with tart baked apples and melted sharp cheddar, ideal for quick breakfasts, snack time, or holiday baking spreads.
Ingredients
Steps
Preheat oven and prep tin
Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F) with a rack positioned in the middle. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners, or lightly grease each cup with nonstick spray or melted butter to prevent sticking.
Whisk dry ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, combine 240g spooned-and-leveled all-purpose flour, 50g granulated sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp fine sea salt, and 1 tsp ground cinnamon. Whisk vigorously for 30 seconds until all ingredients are evenly distributed, with no clumps of leavening remaining.
Toss apple and cheese
Add 180g of 1/4-inch diced tart apple and 113g (1 cup) of the shredded sharp cheddar to the dry ingredient bowl, tossing to coat every piece fully in the flour mixture, which prevents fruit and cheese from sinking to the muffin bottoms during baking. Set the remaining 57g (1/2 cup) of shredded cheddar aside to use as a topping later.
Mix wet ingredients
In a separate medium mixing bowl, whisk together 240ml room-temperature whole milk, 1 lightly beaten room-temperature large egg, 57g cooled melted unsalted butter, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Whisk for 20 seconds until the mixture is completely smooth, with no streaks of separated egg visible.
Fold muffin batter
Pour the entire wet ingredient mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients, apple, and cheese. Use a silicone spatula to fold the ingredients together gently, making only 10-12 broad strokes, until just combined. The batter will be thick and slightly lumpy; do not overmix, as this will create tough, dense muffins.
Portion and top muffins
Scoop the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup 2/3 full (about 3 tablespoons of batter per cup). Sprinkle the reserved 57g (1/2 cup) of shredded cheddar evenly over the top of each muffin portion.
Bake and cool muffins
Place the muffin tin on the middle oven rack and bake for 18-20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown, a toothpick inserted into the center of a middle muffin comes out with 1-2 moist crumbs attached, and the internal temperature reaches 93°C (200°F). Let the muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then serve warm, or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely for storage.
Tips
2.Stop folding the batter as soon as no dry flour streaks remain—lumps are expected and desirable. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour and results in tough, dense muffins instead of tender, crumbly ones.
3.Use a firm, tart baking apple (like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp) instead of soft, ultra-sweet eating apples (like Red Delicious or Gala); softer apples break down into mushy bits during baking and can make muffin crumb soggy.
OMG these apple cheddar muffins are a total game changer!!! I threw them together for my kids’ after school snack this week and they devoured every single one before I even had a chance to pack leftovers for my husband’s work lunch. The sweet-tart apple paired with the sharp cheddar is *chef’s kiss* — who knew such a simple combo would hit so hard? 10/10 will be making these every Sunday for meal prep from now on.
These were so easy to whip up before our early morning hike last weekend! I added a tiny sprinkle of cinnamon on top per a friend’s suggestion and it paired so well with the apple and cheese. Only note: my batch needed a couple extra minutes in the oven compared to the recipe’s suggested time, but that’s probably just my old apartment oven being weird. SO good, will make again for our next trail day.
Absolute win for my tiny dorm kitchen! No fancy equipment needed, minimal cleanup, and these keep really well in the fridge for quick breakfasts between 8am lectures. I used a Honeycrisp apple I grabbed from the campus market and a block of cheap store-brand cheddar and it still slapped. 10/10 for broke college students everywhere.
5 stars because I made these last week with regular flour for my next door neighbor and they were incredible! Quick question though — has anyone tried making these with a 1:1 gluten free flour blend? My kid has a wheat allergy and I’ve been hunting for easy, kid-approved savory-sweet muffin recipes that don’t require a million weird ingredients, so I’m dying to adapt these for them.
I was so skeptical about sweet apple and savory cheddar in a muffin but wow, these totally converted me! Brought a batch into work this week and my coworkers were begging for the recipe before our 9am team meeting even started. The only change I made was adding a little extra shredded cheddar on top before baking for that crispy cheesy crust, highly recommend doing that if you’re a cheese fiend like me.