Apple Walnut Muffins (Vegan)
These apple walnut muffins check all the boxes – a little sweet, a little crunch and a lot of warm flavors, perfect for breakfast, brunch, or a sweet snack. They feature an irresistibly tender crumb infused with fresh, sweet apple pieces, roughly chopped walnuts, and a hint of cinnamon. Drizzled with a sweet cinnamon glaze, every bite is a delicious combination of sweet apple, warm cinnamon, and crunchy walnuts all wrapped up in a wonderfully soft muffin. These yummy, perfect anytime muffins are completely dairy- and egg-free, super easy to make, and ready to become your next delicious weekend bake.
What you will need:
These muffins are a breeze to make and use simple, pantry-friendly ingredients. You can choose any type of apple you like—I’ve tried them with Cosmic and Pink Lady apples. I tend to bake with sweet rather than tart apples, but a tart Granny Smith would be a great choice for this recipe.
Ingredients:
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- ground cinnamon
- plant based butter with salt
- plant based milk
- plant based yogurt
- apple cider vinegar
- cane sugar
- brown sugar
- vanilla extract
- apple – 1 medium or 2 small
- walnuts
- powdered sugar
How to:
The Batter:
To bring the batter together, start by add all the dry ingredients to a small bowl – flour, baking powder, baking soda, and ground cinnamon. Whisk to combine and set the bowl aside. Next, add all of the wet ingredients and the sugar to a medium bowl – melted butter, apple cider vinegar, milk, yogurt, vanilla extract, and cane and brown sugar. Whisk the sugar and wet ingredients together until well combined, about 30 seconds. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, gently folding until no more flour can be seen.
Resting and Prep Work:
Cover the muffin batter and leave it on the countertop at room temperature for 30 minutes to rest. While the batter is resting, the apple(s) and walnuts can be chopped. One medium or 2 small apples should provide enough apple for the recipe. The apple(s) needs to be peeled, cored and chopped into about 1/4-inch pieces. The bulk of the apple pieces will go in the batter (1 cup) and a reserved few will go on top of the batter (18 pieces, 3 per muffin) before baking. The walnuts need to be measured out and roughly chopped, make sure to reserve a few extra pieces for the tops of the muffins.
Baking:
This recipe calls for a 6-cup jumbo muffin tin. Prep the tin by lining it with cup liners or making your own liners with parchment paper.
Preheat the oven to 425F. Add the 3/4 cup of roughly chopped walnuts and the 1-cup chopped apple pieces to the batter, gently folding until they are well incorporated. Divide the batter among the six muffin cups. It is about a heaping 1/4 cup of batter per cup. Place 3 pieces each of apple and walnut to the tops of each muffin.
Bake the muffins for 8 minutes at the initial temperature of 425°F. Reduce the temperature to 375°F and bake the muffins for an additional 20 to 25 minutes. They should be starting to brown on top and a toothpick inserted should come out clean. Do not be tempted to open the oven door when reducing the temperature. Once out of the oven, let the muffins rest in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Serving and Storing:
While the muffins are cooling, prepare the cinnamon glaze. In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk and ground cinnamon. Stir the ingredients together until they are well combined and smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the tops of the muffins and serve. The muffins can be served warm or room temperature. Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature.
Alright, let’s get started. Please make, bake and enjoy!
Apple Walnut Muffins (Vegan)
Ingredients
Apple Walnut Muffins
- 10 tbsp/ 140 grams plant based butter with salt – melted
- 10 tbsp/ 150 grams plant based milk – room temperature
- 10 tbsp/ 150 grams plant based yogurt – room temperature
- 1 cup + 14 tbsp / 226 grams all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 7 tbsp/ 85 grams brown sugar
- 7 tbsp/ 87 grams cane sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 medium or 2 small apple(s) – peeled, cored and chopped (1/4-inch pieces) (1 cup for the batter + 18 pieces reserved for the tops of the muffins)
- ¾ cup walnuts – roughly chopped + extra for the tops of the muffins
Cinnamon Glaze
- 6 tbsp powdered sugar
- 2 tsp plant based milk
- ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine all of the dry ingredients in a small bowl – flour, baking powder, baking soda, and ground cinnamon. Whisk to combine and set the bowl aside.
- Combine the sugars and all of the liquids to a medium bowl – sugar, melted butter, milk, yogurt, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar. Whisk the ingredients together until well combined – about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, gently folding until no more flour can be seen. Cover the batter and let it rest on the countertop for 30 minutes.
- While the batter is resting, peel, core and chop the apple(s) into ¼-inch pieces and roughly chop the walnuts. (one medium or 2 small apples should be enough)
- Prep the 6-cup jumbo muffin pan by lining each cup with a large paper liner or make your own with parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Add the chopped apple pieces (1 cup) and the roughly chopped walnuts (¾ cup) to the batter, gently folding them in until evenly distributed.
- Divide the batter among the 6 jumbo cups – about a heaping ¼ cup of batter per cup. Place 3 pieces each of chopped apple and walnut to the top of each muffin.
- Bake the muffins at 425F for 8 minutes. Decrease the oven temperature (do not open the oven door) to 375F and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes. The tops should be starting to brown and a toothpick inserted should come out clean.
- Once out of the oven, let the muffins rest in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack. The muffins can be served warm or at room temperature.
- Prepare the cinnamon glaze by combining the powdered sugar, milk and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir until well combined and smooth.
- Drizzle the glaze over warm or room temperature muffins and serve.
- Store the muffins at room temperature in an airtight container. The are best served the same day.
