Hi hello look – a new recipe! 😜 It’s been a minute and I wanted something simple to ease back into things. Enter: spiced applesauce crumble muffins.
This recipe saw multiple iterations; it began as a snack cake with a maple glaze, but we found the texture was…not ideal. Next try was muffins but, again, it was missing *something.* Because I firmly believe everything is improved with a salted butter crumble I gave it a try. And we found a winner!
We’re fans of simple breakfasts around here and were delighted to find a new go-to. These muffins are an easy autumn treat, spiced with classic fall flavors. They’re delicious warm from the oven with a generous spread of salted butter. But I also found myself grabbing one every morning as I rushed out the door to work.
The flavors are simple but satisfying. They’re not too sweet, slightly spiced, and the crumble adds the perfect texture. While the crumble loses it’s crisp-ness after a day or two, it’s nothing a quick toast in a toaster oven (or, in the case of my work, an Otis Spunkmeyer cookie oven) can’t fix.
Bonus: it’s a one-bowl recipe! Double bonus: you probably have everything on hand to make these muffins! You can thank me later. 😏
spiced applesauce crumble muffins
Ingredients
for the crumble
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, softened (see notes!)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ cup old fashioned oats
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
for the muffins
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce (see notes!)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- heaping ¼ teaspoon clove
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 ½ cups flour
Instructions
for the crumble
- In a medium bowl mash softened butter with a fork.
- Add remaining ingredients and mix well to combine. The mixture will be soft and kind of crumbly, but will stick together more than anything. Put in the fridge to chill while you make the batter.
for the muffins
- Preheat your oven to 350. Line a standard muffin tin with muffin liners.
- In a large bowl, combine applesauce with eggs and oil. Whisk to combine. Add the brown sugar and whisk again.
- Sprinkle the spices, vanilla extract, and salt over the batter. Whisk to combine. Sprinkle the baking powder and baking soda then whisk again.
- Add the flour to your batter and fold it in gently. Don't over mix! Once there's no flour streaks remaining, you're good to go.
- Scoop the batter into the muffin liners, filling them about ⅔ of the way. I used an ice cream scoop for this and it worked perfectly!
- Grab your crumble topping and sprinkle on the batter. It will look like a lot but forge ahead. Press the topping gently into the batter. This ensures it doesn't spread to the sides of the muffin top when baking.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for about ten minutes before removing.
- Serve warm with salted butter! Or let cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
- If you don’t have salted butter, add a generous pinch of kosher salt to the crumble. Don’t skip this! I usually add a pinch even when I do have salted butter.
- If you don’t have unsweetened applesauce I think you’ll be fine to use what you have on hand. It’ll be a little bit sweeter but I doubt you’ll hear complaints! 😉
