This Spiced Buttermilk Roasted Apple Muffin recipe is the essence of fall. These muffins are warmly spiced, full of tender, sweet apples, and are as comforting as can be!Imagine, if you will, something between luscious apple pie and warm apple cake.
That’s exactly what this Spiced Buttermilk Roasted Apple Muffin recipe tastes like!
And let’s go ahead and call this sweet, amazingly comforting deliciousness a muffin — that way we can feel good about having it for breakfast. 😉
I think we all know a “muffin” is often dessert.
I hope you’ll try this recipe over the weekend — have it for breakfast or for dessert!
You will be so happy you did. My advice . . . warm it slightly, and have it with a perfect cup of coffee.
Make sure you begin with fantastic apples — they should be sweet and crisp.
Taste them before you buy them — all you have to do is ask, and most produce departments will happily slice into one for you.
I was lucky enough to get these from a friend’s backyard Fuji apple tree. Remember when we used them to make Fall Chai Spiced Apple Cake?
What are the best apples to bake with?
The best apples to bake with are apples that will keep their structure when heat is applied. We want to use apples that will stay in pieces, rather then turning int apple sauce in our cakes, muffins, etc. Here are a few (of several) that work really well.
- Braeburn
- Fuji
- Granny Smith
- Honeycrisp
- Pink Lady
I think making this Spiced Buttermilk Roasted Apple Muffin recipe is sure to bring you some fall joy!
A few more delicious, fall apple recipes for you:
- Heirloom Apple Salad Starring the Pink Pearl
- My Mom’s Ginger Applesauce
- Braised Pork Ribs with Apple Ginger Soy Sauce
- Fall Chai Spiced Apple Cake
- Caramelized Apple Brie Melt
Enjoy every last crumb of these oh-so-delicious roasted apple muffins!

This Spiced Buttermilk Roasted Apple Muffin recipe is the essence of fall. They're warmly spiced, full of tender, sweet apples, and are as comforting as can be!
- 3 cups Fuji or Granny Smith apples, peeled, thinly sliced (from about 3 to 4 apples)
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup golden raisins
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup raw pecans or walnuts, very finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons unsalted cold butter, cut into small chunks
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Prepare a muffin tin with 12 paper cups. Set aside.
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, and adjust a rack to the center.
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In a large bowl, gently mix the apples with the brown sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Set aside.
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Add the butter to a sheet pan and place it in the preheated oven for about 30 seconds to melt it. Remove the pan from the oven and move it around to evenly distribute it. Then add the prepared apples and use a flat-bottomed spatula to gently mix them with the butter. Spread them out in a fairly even layer.
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Place the sheet pan back in the oven until the apples are soft, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.
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Turn the oven heat down to 375 degrees F.
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In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour with the baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
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In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the sugar, eggs and vanilla.
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Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix just until smooth.
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Fold in the melted butter, the raisins and the roasted apples. (Use a rubber spatula to scrape every last bit of the butter and apples from the pan.)
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Fill the prepared muffin cups evenly -- each should be about 3/4 filled with the batter. Set aside.
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In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar with the nuts and cinnamon. Then use your fingers to incorporate the butter -- it should be a crumbly mixture.
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Evenly distribute the topping on the surface of each muffin.
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Place in preheated 375 degree F oven until they've risen a bit above the top of the cups and are becoming golden, about 20 minutes.
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Let them cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Love all the fall apples and love the idea of cake for breakfast disguised as a muffin.
Thank you, Patricia! Nothing like dessert for breakfast! 😉
These apple muffins look amazing and perfect for fall mornings!
They are! Thank you, Jillian! Enjoy. 🙂
Love everything about these! These look like autumn in a muffin wrapper! I am pinning these for future reference and I look forward to consuming a dozen! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Autumn in a muffin wrapper — I LOVE that! Thank you! 😀
I am SO jealous of that apple orchard – oh my goodness you lucky girl! I’m printing this recipe off as we speak – looks so amazing and you described it perfectly!
Thank you so much, Amanda! If only it were my orchard! 😉 Thank you for checking out the recipe and I hope you love these as much as I do!
Yes!! I have been wanting to make apple muffins. So delicious!
Perfect. 🙂
Oh my God! These look absolutely AMAZING! I love apple pie and apple cake, so I can imagine what these muffins taste like. Pinning to try later!
Thank you, Diana! Hope you try them. 🙂
Showed your picture to my mom and the first thing she said. “you making these Jude?” and yes I am. Thanks for these perfect fall treats.
Oh I love that! Hugs to your mom! xo
They look delicious, Valentina! I love the use of cardamom – that’s what really sets them apart!
Thanks David! Love cardamom SO much. Happy fall to you and yours. 🙂
These were epic! I have a crush on them.
Thank you, Dorothy! So happy you got to taste them! XOXO
In fact, I loved this so much I told all my readers! http://www.shockinglydelicious.com/recipe-crushes-7-great-recipes-from-food-bloggers/
Thank you, my friend! 😀 xo
Super excited to make these! Do you know if I refrigerate the batter overnight and bake them fresh in the morning, will they still be as good? If I do so should I make the apples in the morning too?
Hi Catherine, Though I haven’t tried it so I’m not 100% sure, I do think it would work to make the batter ahead of time and refrigerate. You could also roast the apples the night before — but I’d leave them out, wrapped tightly once they’ve cooled. I hope you love them and let me know how it goes. Enjoy & thanks for checking out my recipes. 🙂