Soft and Moist Blueberry Apple Muffins

Blueberry muffins are a classic recipe that everyone loves. I also love a good apple cinnamon muffin so I thought it would be fun to combine these flavors.

You get the sweet and tart flavor from both the berries and the apple which pairs so nicely with the sweet muffins. Adding in the apple also helps keep the muffins nice and moist.

How to keep muffins moist and fluffy?

There are a few things in this recipe that help keep the muffins moist. One is the use of applesauce. This is a great way to add in some apple flavor while also adding in a different soft texture.

The milk also helps keep these muffins moist. If you want, you can even use a 1/2 cup of milk instead of a 1/3 to make them even more moist.

The shredded apple also brings some moisture to the muffins. When you grate the apples you will see just how much water is actually in them. You don’t want all of this moisture or the muffins will come out soggy, so I like to really squeeze the grated apple piece to get out as much water as I can. Even though you are getting rid of most of the liquid, those apple pieces still hold their moisture really well in the muffins.

To create fluffy muffins, you want to make sure to add the right amount of flour and baking powder. This recipe uses a decent amount of baking powder to help them rise a little more in the oven.

Are muffins better with oil or butter?

I love to use melted butter in my muffins but you can use butter or vegetable oil. I have tried both and they both work great. If you are using butter make sure to use unsalted. If you only have salted butter, I would only add 1/4 tsp of salt in the recipe.

How to store leftover muffins

Store your homemade muffins in an airtight container or bag. I like to store these in the fridge and they will stay good for 3-5 days. If you are going to enjoy them right away you can store them at room temperature for a couple of days.

These muffins are very moist so I have found keeping them in the fridge keeps them tasting better for longer. They even taste good cold!

What apples to use in blueberry apple muffins?

This recipe calls for one granny smith apple. These are tart apples and I think they pair really well with the sweet muffins but if you wanted something a little less tart I would use something like golden delicious or pink lady. If you want something more sweet go for a honeycrisp apple.

If you have extra apples and want to have more of that flavor you can also make these with 2 apples. I have made them with one grated apple and with two and they both came out great!

Tips for the best muffins

• Don't defrost your berries. If you are using frozen berries, just add them in frozen. If you try to defrost them before, the color will start to bleed and when you mix the batter everything will turn a blue/purple color. I often use frozen berries since that is what I have on hand but you could also use fresh blueberries.
• Use an ice cream scoop to add the batter to the tins. I have found that the easiest way to get the batter into the muffin tins, especially if you are using muffin liners, is to use a large ice cream scoop. You might need to do a couple of scoops to fill each tin but this is a great way to add in the batter with less mess.
• Use paper liners. I have made these just greasing the muffin tin and also using muffin liners and I feel like it is so much easier with the liners. Since these are fairly moist muffins, this makes it easier to take them out in one piece. I love to use these muffin liners but any will do.
• Fill your tins almost to the top. Some muffin recipes suggest filling your muffins two-thirds full since they will rise, but I like to fill them up almost all the way. They will still rise but this way you get a nice muffin top. If you want smaller muffins you can just fill them two-thirds and you will probably get closer to 14-16 muffins instead of 12.
• Squeeze out excess moisture in the apple. After grating a fresh apple there is a lot of extra water. You want to squeeze out as much water as you can before adding it to the muffin batter.

Other Blueberry Recipes

If you are looking for another blueberry muffin recipe this is a classic one with a crumb topping. It also only makes 6 muffins so it’s nice if you are looking for a small batch.

If you still have extra blueberries you should try these blueberry white chocolate scones or a classic blueberry buckle cake.