I must confess, I have a fondness for all things apple – especially these Three Ingredient Apple Spice Muffins. Growing up, my Granny had an apple orchard and every autumn, usually, towards the end of August on into September, we would gather the apples as they fell from the trees.
Granny and I would go out and shake the limbs of the apple trees and then run for cover as the apples came bouncing and tumbling out of the branches. Once we harvested our bounty, we would prepare them for apple butter, applesauce, apple pie, apple crisp, apple cake, and Apple Spice Muffins.
When I was much younger, I used to climb the apple trees in the summer and sit among the branches, pretending the tree was my fort or a grand pirate ship.
As I grew older, Granny’s apple trees became my refuge after a long, frustrating day at a school I hated going to. I would grab a book and climb the apple trees, escaping into the fantasy world I was reading about and inhaling the sweet scents of the apple blossoms.
Apple Muffins
There is just something about a fresh apple – or a fresh Apple Muffin that smells like home to me. Over the years, Granny’s beloved apple trees became diseased and began to die off one by one. Just two years ago, the last apple tree left standing succumbed to the disease and had to be cut down. Granny and I both shed some tears over that dear, old, apple tree that held so many memories and stories for both of us.
Today, I honor the memory of that faithful, loved, tree in sharing this recipe for Apple Muffins.
Somehow, as I write this, I think I can still faintly hear the whisper of the leaves through the apple branches, smell the sun-kissed sweetness of the fruit, and feel the solid, rough, bark of the tree branch beneath me as I relax back against its trunk.
Apple Cinnamon Muffins
To begin making these Apple Cake Mix Muffins, you’ll need unsweetened applesauce, apple pie filling, and one boxed Spice Cake mix. That’s right, no eggs, no dairy, no oil, these Vegan Apple Muffins are allergen-free and perfect for everyone!
If you’re caught up in the back to school rush, these Easy Apple Muffins make a great on-the-go breakfast. Another fast and easy muffin recipe you will love is these Three Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins.
How to keep your Spiced Apple Muffins from sticking in the muffin pan
I like to use silicone muffin liners for these apple muffins because I find that paper liners almost always stick to the muffin. However, these silicone liners tend to stick as well, so to prevent that from happening, spray them lightly with nonstick cooking spray. You can also bake the apple muffins straight in the muffin pan as long as you spray it well with nonstick spray.
Please note, this recipe yields 14 muffins so you will need to make two batches if you use a half dozen muffin pan.
How to make Apple Cake Mix Muffins
Now that your muffin liners are ready to go, you can also go ahead and preheat your oven on 350F. Open the box of Spice Cake mix and empty the cake mix into a medium-sized mixing bowl. If you have Little’s, this is probably the part they will love helping with the most – I know my little guy LOVES dumping things out!
How to Make the Best Ever Apple Muffins
My secret ingredient to these Three Ingredient Apple Spice Muffins is apple pie filling. I added one, 28 ounce can of Apple Pie Filling to my Spice cake mix and boy, was that just the icing on the cake for these muffins! The addition of the Apple Pie Filling gave these Apple Spice Muffins such a wonderful, apple pie flavor that just can’t be beaten!
One thing about using apple pie filling though is that the apple slices are rather large. I used the edge of my spatula to “cut” the apple slices into bite-sized pieces after adding them to the spice cake mix, but you could slice them up before adding them in.
Vegan Apple Spice Muffins
After adding the apple pie filling to the spice cake mix, add in 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce. The applesauce acts as an egg/oil substitute and makes these apple spice muffins so moist without adding any extra fat.
Apple Pie Muffin batter
Stir the apple pie filling, the unsweetened applesauce, and the spice cake mix together until smooth. Remember to be sure and cut up slices of apple in the apple pie filling into bite-sized chunks either before you add it or use your spatula to do so after adding it.
How to bake your Three Ingredient Apple Spice Muffins
Use a tablespoon to scoop the apple muffin batter in the silicone muffin liners. I filled my muffin liners to the top and this recipe still yielded 14, large apple spice muffins.
Cinnamon Apple Muffins
Place these simple cinnamon apple muffins in the oven and bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes. Pro Tip: If you have a small, convection oven and you’re using a half dozen muffin pan as I did, you can bake these easily without heating the entire house up. I love using my convection oven for these Apple Muffins and the Three Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins I made last week.
Easy Apple Cinnamon Muffins
When the baking time is over, carefully remove the apple cinnamon muffins from the oven and check them by inserting a toothpick into the middle of the muffin. If the toothpick comes out clean, your muffins are finished baking and ready to eat! However, if the toothpick comes out with some muffin batter on it, bake them for an additional 5-10 minutes or until cooked through.
Easy Three Ingredient Apple Spice Muffins
Once baked, remove the muffins from the muffin pan and place them on a baking rack to cool. When the muffins are completely cooled, you may remove them from the silicone muffin liners. Yum! These Three Ingredient Apple Spice Muffins are so delicious served hot with a cup of coffee or glass of cold milk!
How to store your Three Ingredient Apple Cinnamon Muffins
I suggest storing your cooled Apple Spice Muffins in an airtight container in the fridge. They can be stored at room temperature for up to 24 hours and stored in the fridge for up to 7 days. For long term storage, wrap the muffins tightly in plastic wrap or foil and place in a freezer, Ziploc bag. These Three-Ingredient Apple Spice Muffins can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Cinnamon Sugar Apple Muffins
When you’re ready to thaw and eat your cinnamon apple muffins, simply allow them to thaw at room temperature or in the fridge. If you find that they’re too moist once thawed (slightly doughy) just place them on a pan and bake them in the oven at 325F until warm and firm.
Share these Apple Cider Muffins with a friend!
Want to brighten someone’s day? Take them an Easy Apple Muffin! These Three-Ingredient Apple Spice Muffins are great for baking and sharing, or serving at a party! If you’re hosting any bonfire parties this fall or winter or planning any gatherings, I can assure you, these Apple Cinnamon Muffins will be a big hit!
Three Ingredient Apple Spice Muffins
Three Ingredient Apple Spice Muffins make a fast and easy cake mix muffin dessert, a perfect treat for the fall and winter holidays with all of the flavors of Apple Pie in a muffin.
Ingredients
- 1 box Spice Cake mix
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 28 oz Apple Pie Filling
Instructions
Preheat oven at 350F.
Pour all ingredients into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Use the edge of your spatula to break the apple slices into smaller, bite-sized pieces.
Stir all ingredients together until well blended and smooth.
Line a dozen or half dozen muffin tin with silicone muffin liners and lightly spray the liners with nonstick cooking spray.
Spoon the Apple Muffin mixture into the liners until full, then place in the oven and bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Place the muffins on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before removing from the muffin liners.
If using a half dozen muffin tin, you will need to make two batches of muffins since this recipe yields 14 muffins.
Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Optional Toppings:
Cream Cheese frosting and Streusle both pair beautifully with these Apple Spice Muffins!
We will love your Apple Spice Muffins, they look so good! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday, we sure enjoyed your post!
Miz Helen
Thank you Miz Helen!
We sure loved these fast and easy Apple Spice Muffins!
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Girl! These muffins look AH-MAZING!!
Look delicious! What about trying to bake them as mini muffins?
This is a fantastic website, thank you for the detailed recipe.