Apple Butter Muffins with Oatmeal Streusel Topping
Updated Aug 12, 2025
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Apple Butter Muffins are tender, warmly spiced, and topped with a buttery oatmeal streusel for the perfect crunch. Rich apple butter keeps them moist, while cinnamon and cloves add cozy fall flavor.
Whether you call them apple butter muffins or apple butter oatmeal muffins, they’re a must-bake for breakfast, brunch, or afternoon coffee. Fire up the oven and treat yourself to the taste of fall today!
Featured Comment: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Scanned the net looking for a way to use up a jar of apple butter since I don’t eat much bread & came across this and LOVE them! I prefer these muffins to the bars because they are easier for me to freeze and snack on when craving sweets. – Renee
Apple Butter Muffins with Oatmeal Streusel Topping
🔍 Quick Look
⏱️ Prep Time: 15 minutes
🍳 Cook Time: 25–30 minutes
🕒 Total Time: 40–45 minutes
👥 Servings: 12 muffins
📊 Calories: ~380 per muffin
🔥 Cook Method: Oven-baked with oatmeal streusel topping
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Table of Contents
🍎 Why You’ll Love These Apple Butter Muffins
🍎 Why You’ll Love These Apple Butter Muffins
🎉 Perfect for any occasion – Ideal for fall baking, holiday brunches, or relaxing weekend mornings.
🍂 Tastes like autumn in every bite – Sweet apple butter pairs perfectly with warm cinnamon and cloves. You’ll find this same flavor profile in our Oatmeal Apple Butter Bars, Apple Butter Scottish Tea Cookies, Homemade Apple Butter Bread, and our Apple and Sage Sauce Gnocchi.
🥣 Hearty oatmeal streusel topping – Adds nutty flavor and satisfying crunch without changing the soft muffin crumb.
✨ Gorgeous and golden – They bake up beautifully, making them just as pretty as they are delicious.
👃 Smells amazing – Your kitchen will be filled with cozy fall aromas.
💧 Stay moist for days – Perfect for baking ahead and enjoying throughout the week.
💡 Good to Know
- 🍏 Apple butter magic – A slow-cooked, spiced fruit spread that adds sweetness, moisture, and deep apple flavor.
- 🥄 Built-in oatmeal topping – The streusel’s oats crisp up in the oven for a hearty texture that complements the soft crumb. We feature this same sweet and savory combination in our
- 🔥 Crispier streusel tip – Chill the topping for 10 minutes before baking to help it hold its shape and crunch.
- 🍯 Flavor flexibility – Try swapping apple butter with pear butter or applesauce for a twist.
- 🕒 Make-ahead friendly – Muffins keep well for 3 days at room temperature or freeze for up to 2 months.
- 🧑🍳 Baking pro tip – Avoid overmixing to keep the muffins light and tender.
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📝 Ingredients Overview
These apple butter muffins are made with a classic baking base of fats, sugars, flour, leavening, and spices that come together to make a soft, tender crumb.
Apple butter is the main ingredient. It gives the dish a strong apple flavor, natural sweetness, and moisture, so you don’t need a lot of oil. For the best flavor and texture, use a high-quality apple butter with a robust spice profile, and chill the streusel before baking to keep the topping distinct and crunchy. Organic is always best and it’s super easy to make your own with our delicious crockpot apple butter recipe.
Cinnamon and cloves are warm spices that add to the smell of fall and make every bite taste like fall.
The topping is a simple oatmeal streusel that bakes into a crisp, golden layer. It is made with oats, butter, sugar, and flour. This not only gives the apple butter oatmeal muffins their hearty texture, but it also makes them look better and adds a satisfying crunch that goes well with the moist inside.
Pro Baking Tips
Allow your eggs to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before adding them to the apple butter muffin batter. This will shorten baking time and help them to bake more evenly. Here’s a quick way to bring eggs to room temperature.
How To Make Apple Butter Muffins
(See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and complete instructions.)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare your muffin tin.
- Cream butter and sugars, then mix in eggs, milk, and baking powder.
- Add flour in batches, stirring gently, and fold in cinnamon, cloves, and apple butter for a rich fall flavor.
- Fill cups halfway, top with a chilled oatmeal streusel for crunch, and bake 25–30 minutes until golden.
- Enjoy slightly warm for the best texture and aroma.
🛠 Quick Substitutions for Apple Butter Muffins
- 🍎 No Apple Butter? Use unsweetened applesauce with a pinch of nutmeg and extra cinnamon.
- 🥥 Dairy-Free: Replace butter with coconut oil or plant-based margarine.
- 🥜 Nut Crunch: Fold in chopped walnuts or pecans.
- 🌾 Whole Grain Upgrade: Swap half the flour for whole wheat pastry flour.
- 🧁 Mini Muffins: Bake in mini tins for 12–14 minutes.
- 🌿 Gluten-Free: Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend and certified GF oats.
Common Questions and Answers
Never overmix muffin batter because it can make the muffins tough and dense instead of light and tender. It is OK to have a few lumps in the mixture of these apple butter muffins.
Slow cooking the apples with the right balance of sweetener and spices brings out a rich, caramelized flavor and silky texture. Patience is key to letting the flavors fully develop.
To keep muffins soft and moist, use the right amount of wet and dry ingredients and don’t bake them too long. Adding things like yogurt, sour cream, or fruit puree can boost moisture and help prevent dried-out muffins.
You can spread apple butter on air fryer toast, make a savory apple meatloaf with it, and even mix it into oatmeal, swirl it into baked goods, or use it as a glaze for meats like these apple butter pork chops. It gives both sweet and savory foods a sweet, spicy taste.
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Apple Butter Muffins with Oatmeal Streusel Topping
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Ingredients
For the Muffins
- 1/2 Cup Softened Butter
- 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 1/2 Cup Flour
- 1 3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 Cup milk
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 Teaspoon Vanilla
- 3/4 cup Apple Butter
- 2 Tablespoon Cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon Cloves
For the Strussel Topping
- 1/4 Cup Softened Butter
- 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Oatmeal
- 1/4 Cup Flour
- 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
Instructions
- Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease cupcake pan or use cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl cream butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar together until butter and sugar are incorporated.
- Add eggs and milk and mix only until the mixture becomes looser.
- Add baking powder.
- Add flour a little at a time and stir each time to incorporate.
- Add cinnamon, cloves and apple butter and combine until batter is smooth. Do not over stir.
- Fill batter in a cupcake pan only halfway up each cupcake liner.
- Set aside.
- Strussel top:
- In a bowl add all ingredients.
- Using your hands combine until the mixture is “lumpy”. You may need to add more flour to accomplish this.
- Place a little of the topping on each of the cupcakes before baking.
- Bake in preheated oven for approximately 25-30 minutes. Cupcakes are done when you can insert a toothpick in the center and it removes clean.
Notes
Important Tips for the Best Homemade Apple Butter Muffins
- Streusel tip: For a crunchier top, chill the streusel before baking.
- Flavor boost: Add a pinch of nutmeg or ginger for extra spice depth.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days, or freeze up to 2 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These are delicious without the streusel to reduce calories and sugar! I did think 2 tablespoons of cinnamon sounded overpowering and cut down to a scant 1 tablespoon, as well as a scant teaspoon of cloves, which is perfect for my taste. I had pear butter as a Christmas gift and of course it was great; looking forward to apple butter next time. I cut the white sugar a bit and will reduce further because they are very sweet. I will be serving these to guests at a salad luncheon and making them again!
Too much cloves and cinnamon!!! Quantity of streusel is too much!
Annoyed that ALL of the other comments are 5 stars from people who say it’s a good idea or sounds delicious… but didn’t make the muffins. I come to the comments to make sure a recipe actually works. Do you just have a bunch of friends who don’t actually cook? Not cool.
Dear Muffins
Scott made the muffins. They are a good idea. They are delicious. The recipe works because Scott make it and I took the photos for it. Save your Karen comments for someone else and, be cool.
Scanned the net looking for a way to use up a jar of apple butter since I don’t each much bread & came across this and LOVE them! I prefer these muffins to the bars because they are easier for me to freeze and snack on when craving sweets. LOVED this “Karen” reply. Just snarky enough. Happy Holidays!
It’s like I’ve died and gone to fall heaven! These apple butter muffins were crazy good! Awesome job 🙂 Thank you for this recipe!
Sometimes the best tastings things don’t look good. These look delicious though. That lump of gooey in the middle has me licking my fingers.
Loving these muffins, my favourite cake involves apple so know these would taste amazing:-)
Oh, Wow! Apple butter in a muffin!!! I’m ready for it!
Love the idea of using apple butter in the muffins. What a lovely muffin and I can’t wait to give it a try.
Lol.. my mom always has brownie mix boxes in her cabinet for just such an emergency! But these look even yummier– YUMMMM