Watch the short video showing you how to make these Apple Cinnamon Muffins, then scroll to the end of this post and print out the recipe so you can make them at home!

Easy Apple Cinnamon Muffins

These muffins are wonderful because they have a delicious layer of crumb on the tops.  If you’re anything like me, I like to eat the crumbly top before I devour the rest of the muffin!  There are tips in the recipe below for flour substitutions and how to cut down on fat. When my now 6 foot 4 giant child was a wee one, we used to pack the car with a picnic and head to the local San Diego mountains on fall weekends.  Those weekends are full of great memories such as going to the pumpkin patch and running through the corn maze, standing on tippy toes near the fences to pat the horses and dig into sheep fur, and sipping hot apple cider when there was a good chill in the air. We often took our family photo at the pumpkin patch– standing in the remains of a long-ago picked corn field.  Those were the days.  And they were days I likely won’t be able to get back since 16 year olds aren’t so hip on hanging out with their parents at pumpkin patches any more!

The best part of those fall weekends was our time at the apple-picking orchards.  If you’ve never been apple picking, it’s one of those things you must do.  It’s not even like the apples are the best apples you’ve ever eaten, but the experience of walking around with a bucket and picking apples directly from the trees is super fun.  And it’s really a nice thing for the kids to experience too. Be sure to investigate (Google!) to see if you have any apple orchards near you.  Usually they invite the public in to pick their own apples for a certain dollar amount per basket or by the pound.  It’s so much fun! Kids have always read in books that apples come from apple trees. But to actually stand in front of an apple tree, pick apples and put them in a basket… that’s a completely different experience!  They’re seeing the connection between plants and food and what we can create at home with that food.  That’s so important!

The best part of the whole apple picking experience is coming home with loads of apples and deciding what you’re going to make.  I always make a good batch of applesauce with my apples.  And baking cakes, apple bread and these Easy Apple Cinnamon Muffins is most often on the agenda too! Ask your kids what they’d like to make with your bounty of apples, and get them in on the cooking and baking action.  You’ll create wonderful memories!

Here are a few baking recipes to try if you have a bucket-full of apples!

Caramel Apple Scones  Apple Crisp  Apple Pie Cake  Caramel Apple Sheet Cake  Maple Apple Tartlets