I can only think of a few better things than the classic apple fritter baked inside of a muffin. They smell like warm apple pie…but better.
It’s been years since I’ve had a traditional apple fritter. Our first home, a tiny 870 sq ft pink raised house, was just down the street from a local grocery with a huge bakery department. They sold the most amazing donuts and gigantic apple fritters. From time to time, my husband and I would treat ourselves to one on the weekends.
The sweet melt-in-your-mouth glaze, the fried crispy edged pieces of dough, and the almost jelly like pieces of apples inside… Wow. Sometimes it’s nice to take a trip down memory lane, isn’t it?
Not too long ago, I was determined to make a grain free version; and sadly, the outcome didn’t come close to what I remembered. Tasty yes, resembled an apple fritter…no.
Then I thought: I might as well make a gluten free version and “cheat” with those (I eat gluten free things on occasion). And once I developed the gluten free version, I adapted it for regular baking. It’s a win-win for everyone, right?
You might have noticed that some of the recipes in this website and on MOMables now include a video. Last September, I launched the MOMables channel on YouTube and I am having so much fun creating food videos for you!
I love working with my (small) crew every 4-5 weeks. Clay, my camera man and editor, also eats gluten free; so he is always excited when see sees gluten free recipes in my production sheet. It’s safe to say that we eat a lot between takes.
Watch this video and check out how easy these baked apple fritter muffins are to make. You can see that the ones in the video are gluten free because they are lighter in color. You are not going to want to miss what they look like in the inside!
Today’s photos were taken with a batch where I used whole-wheat pastry flour (or white whole-wheat). Using white-whole wheat flour will give the muffins a golden brown tone. If you use all-purpose white flour or most gluten-free baking flour mixes, they will turn out much lighter (like in the video).
I typically reserve all baking for the weekends. It’s always nice to sit in our back porch on a Saturday morning and enjoy freshly baked goods with a little yogurt and fresh fruit. But don’t worry, you can make these on weekdays too!
I typically prepare the batter the night before, fill the lined muffin pan, and store the entire thing in the refrigerator. In the morning, all I have to do is bake in the preheated oven while I wait for my coffee to brew and the kids get ready… and enjoy! Bonus: they are perfectly portable for those rushed mornings we are running a little late to school.
Gluten Free Baked Apple Fritter Muffins Recipe {video}
- Yield: 12 muffins
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 apple peeled and chopped in small even sized pieces (any variety)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, softened at room temperature (not melted)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose gluten free baking flour mix*
- 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
- In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, beat sugar and butter until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until incorporated; add vanilla extract.
- Combine flour and baking powder together in a bowl; stir into creamed butter mixture. Add in milk into batter until smooth.
- Fill muffin cups with about 2 tablespoons of batter (half way full) and distribute apple pieces evenly in all the cups. Top with additional batter, about another 2 tablespoons, covering the apples.
- Top each muffin with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon brown sugar mixture. Using the back of a fork, gently swirl brown sugar and cinnamon mixture into the muffin batter.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 22 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and cool.
Notes
The type of flour mix you use will make a big difference. I have tried this recipe with King Arthur Flour All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour, King Arthur Flour All Purpose Gluten Free Baking Flour, Cup4Cup (blue bag), Pamela’s Gluten Free Baking Mix (orange bag), Pamela’s All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour Mix (blueish/purple bag), Namaste Gluten-Free Perfect Flour Blend.
Please note that if you make your own mix you must make sure you add xanthan gum to help bind your flour starches together (the mixes above already have it). I can’t advise on other blends since I haven’t tried it. If you use another mix successfully, please leave a comment for others to read.
Baked Apple Fritter Muffins Recipe {video}
- Yield: 12 muffins
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 apple peeled and chopped in small even sized pieces (any variety)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, softened at room temperature (not melted)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and line a muffin pan with 12 paper liners.
- In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
- In a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer, beat sugar and butter until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until incorporated; add vanilla extract.
- Combine flour and baking powder together in a bowl; stir into creamed butter mixture. Add in milk into batter until smooth.
- Fill muffin cups with about 2 tablespoons of batter (half way full) and distribute apple pieces evenly in all the cups. Top with additional batter, about another 2 tablespoons, covering the apples.
- Top each muffin with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon brown sugar mixture. Using the back of a fork, gently swirl brown sugar and cinnamon mixture into the muffin batter.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 22 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and cool.
Leave a Reply 34 comments
Super yummy and my 2 year old had a good time making them with me. We made them for the freezer to have some for breakfasts over the next few weeks.
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I’m so happy they were a success!
Any thoughts on making these grain free? I know I can’t do 1:1 ratio of regular flour to almond flour. Have you tried making them grain free? Sound yummy!
Erin, I am still testing the recipe grain free. The apples add moisture so they’ve either come out to “wet” or I’ve over compensated so far.
These came out quite yummy. I made the one with the AP flour. I somehow missed the step to reserve the brown sugar mixture and added it to the batter in step 3. They still came out pretty good. I look forward to trying this recipe as written some day. 🙂
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glad you liked these Sarah!
Could I use something in place of the butter? I have vegan soy free dairy free sticks or coconut oil. My son can’t have dairy. The milk I’ll just use rice milk ( nut and soy allergy). Thanks
I would use coconut oil or ghee.
I made these a couple of days ago. OH MY!!!! I did use maple sugar instead of regular sugar, but that was the only change I made. So, absolutely delicious!! My whole family thanks you for this great recipe!!!!!
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Do you provide nutrition information such as calories on your recipes? Thank you! Love your kiddo lunch ideas!
Hi Chelsie,
there are quite a few websites that will give you nutritional data for recipes. You have to enter recipes with the amount of each ingredient, and then based on that data they give you an estimated nutritional profile. This is something I do not do for my recipes since my focus is in whole-food, fresh, unprocessed, and real ingredients. One a lot of people use is MyFitnessPal.com I hope this helps.
These apple fritter muffins were the bomb-dot-com! My kids helped me to make them–very easy and very yummy. We’ve had them for breakfast (along with fruit) for the past two mornings. I love how all of your recipes have simple ingredients that I most likely already have in my pantry/fridge/freezer. Thank you!!
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I am so glad these were a hit Kelly! And thank YOU for trying my recipes.
What would you change to be able to use a normal all purpose flour that is not gluten free, wheat for instance
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1 to 1 ratio. Here is the regular version: http://www.momables.com/baked-apple-fritter-muffins/
My family loved these! Will definitely make these again!
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I’m absolutely obsessed with apple fritters! I need to make these
Love your videos, they make it seem so easy to cook/ bake!
I love making muffins for my family. They are quick and easy to eat on-the-go and take as snack for school.
I love the taste of apples and cinnamon together. Always reminds me of my grandmother’s apple crumble for christmas!
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These are my new favorite muffins!
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apple fritters…childhood memories!!
OMG YES!
I made these yesterday and my children begged me for more. They were a success!
Gosh, I love apple fritters.
Love, love, love these!
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These are so good. My kids ask me all the time to make these!
LOVE these!!!
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Amazing, need to make these again. They are so delicious.
I made these when you first released this post. They were amazing. I need to make them again!
Delicious!!
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I love apple fritters. SO GOOD!
These look absolutely delicious and I love the idea of prepping them the night before. What kind of liners you use? I think the ones I have might get soggy by morning!
Thx for sharing another delish recipe.
Heather
For this recipe, I didn’t use any liners 😉 Simply grease your muffin pan so they come out easy.
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