Small Batch Apple Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
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Every fall, these small batch apple pumpkin muffins come back as a reader favorite. Pure pumpkin and pumpkin spices make all four muffins moist and flavorful, while chunks of fresh apple add sweet little bursts to every bite. They’re topped generously with buttery streusel crumbles for a crisp crunch against the soft muffin centers.
FEATURED REVIEW
“Absolutely LOVE this recipe! Delicious, flavorful, moist, and perfectly low yield. I hate finding recipes that make wayyyy too many baked goods. This is a perfect portion for small families and/or when you’re low on ingredients and want to make something quick that still has a WOW factor.” ★★★★★ Janelle
Classic Pumpkin Muffins, Upgraded
There’s probably a poll out there about which is more popular for fall: pumpkin or apple. I started with a classic pumpkin muffin, then added apple so you don’t have to choose.
The thing is, when I hear pumpkin-flavored anything, I want to actually taste the pumpkin. I learned from my small batch pumpkin bread that using more pumpkin matters, and it comes with another benefit.
Pure pumpkin and sour cream bring plenty of moisture, which translates into a batch of soft muffins. Add the expected warm spices, and you’ve officially hit fall baking.
But I didn’t stop there. Crisp apples go into the batter, followed by a generous layer of buttery streusel on top. Just like on my pumpkin coffee cake, the streusel is piled on so it doesn’t disappear as the muffins bake.
After making my fair share of these muffins, I found one improvement worth making: bake them in tulip liners to keep all that streusel from tumbling off. The pumpkin still gets to be the star; there’s just plenty of apple and spiced streusel to make things more interesting.
Preparing The Apples
The apple goes into the batter and the streusel top, and because we’re working with a small batch batter, you only need about half an apple. It’s up to you if you want to peel it. I opt not to because I like the bite and little pops of color from the skin.
Cut the apple into small cubes, then chop some of those pieces even smaller. Those tiny pieces will nestle into the streusel crumbles.
Is There An Apple That’s Best For Baking?
The million-dollar question. My answer: use an apple you like to eat, with one caveat – it should be a firmer variety.
I like to use Honeycrisp apples in most of my small batch apple recipes. As the name implies, they are sweet and crunchy. Pink Lady, Braeburn, and Granny Smith will also work.
Make The Streusel First
Have the streusel ready to go so the pumpkin batter doesn’t have to wait to get topped. Add the butter, sugars, flour, and cinnamon to a small mixing bowl. You can mix the streusel with a fork, but for such a small batch of streusel, your fingers are the best mixing tool.
Press the butter into the dry ingredients until you have pea-sized pieces. You’re not aiming for cookie dough, but rather moistened little crumbles — like the ones that sit on top of my small pumpkin streusel bread. Mix in the small apple pieces, then refrigerate the streusel until ready.
How To Make Pumpkin Muffins
I make these as a one-bowl muffin batter. There’s enough moisture from the pumpkin, sour cream, and small amount of apple juice to incorporate the dry ingredients evenly, so there’s no need to mix the wet and dry ingredients separately.
Start by whisking together all of the wet ingredients. The sour cream adds richness and helps give the muffins their soft crumb.
Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the top and whisk just until you no longer see dry flour. Break up any large lumps with the whisk so they don’t bake into little flour pockets.
Add the apple chunks and switch to a spatula to gently fold them in. Once the flour is added, keep the mixing to a minimum so the muffins stay soft.
Divide all of the batter among 4 muffin liners — they’ll be quite full, and that’s intentional. Filling the liners generously is what gives these muffins their tall, puffy tops. Then pile the streusel over each one.
To achieve the classic muffin top, the muffins get a quick high-heat bake, then finish baking at normal temperature. The streusel will be golden, and a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out mostly clean.
Make Your Own Tulip Muffin Liners
I discovered this trick after watching some of that glorious streusel tumble off the tops of the muffins as they bake. I ate the runaway crumbles, but taller liners work beautifully to keep the buttery streusel where it belongs.
- Cut a piece of parchment paper into 4, 5-inch squares.
- Center each square over a muffin well and press a small glass straight down to imprint the bottom outline.
- Cut a straight slit in the middle of each side up to that marked outline.
- Press the liner back into the well with the glass, folding the flaps to overlap. Crease the bottom edge with your fingernail. Don’t worry if it pops up slightly; the batter will weigh it down.
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If you made these apple pumpkin muffins, let me know in the comments below! Your comment and star rating are greatly appreciated and help other bakers discover the recipe.
Small Batch Apple Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
by Erin Cernich
Equipment
- Tulip Liners (optional)
Ingredients
Apple Streusel Topping
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
- 1 ½ tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 ½ tablespoons small apple pieces (optional; reserved from below)
Apple Pumpkin Muffins
- 5 tablespoons pure canned pumpkin
- 1 ½ tablespoons full fat sour cream, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon apple juice (or orange juice or water)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup fresh apple, cut into small cubes (dice about 1 ½ tablespoons smaller for the streusel)
- ½ cup, plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line the muffin pan with 4 muffin liners. Tulip liners are ideal for keeping the streusel contained on top of the muffins. See below for how to make your own.
- Dice the apple into about 1/4 inch cubes for the muffins. From that, take out about 1 ½ tablespoons and chop those pieces even smaller (about half the size) for the streusel topping.
Apple Streusel Topping
- In a small mixing bowl, add the flour, butter, both sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Cut the butter into the flour using a fork or your fingers, and mix until you have pea-sized, moistened crumbs.3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes, 1 ½ tablespoons light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 pinch salt
- Stir in the small apple pieces, then refrigerate the streusel until ready to use.1 ½ tablespoons small apple pieces
Apple Pumpkin Muffins
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the pumpkin, sour cream, both sugars, egg yolk, juice, and vanilla. Whisk until combined and smooth.1 ½ tablespoons full fat sour cream, room temperature, 5 tablespoons pure canned pumpkin, 1 tablespoon apple juice, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, 1 large egg yolk, room temperature, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 cup fresh apple, cut into small cubes
- Sprinkle the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt over the wet ingredients. Whisk until no flour streaks or pockets remain. Use a spatula to fold in the remaining apple cubes. Careful not to overmix the batter, or the muffins can be tough and chewy.1/2 cup, plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1/8 teaspoon salt
- Evenly scoop the batter into the prepared muffin liners. I like to use a cookie scoop for this to get even portions. The muffin liners will be nearly full. Top each muffin with equal portions of the streusel topping. It will seem like a lot, but as the muffins bake, it will spread to cover the muffin tops.
- Bake the muffins at 425F degrees for 5 minutes. The quick time at high heat makes the muffin tops puff up. Then, with the muffins still in the oven, reduce the heat to 350F degrees and bake for an additional 13 to 14 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean. Do not overbake, or the muffins will be dry.
- Cool the muffins in the pan, set on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes, then transfer to the rack to cool completely. If some of the streusel fell off during baking, press it back onto the top of the warm muffins.
- Store the muffins in a covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Beyond that, and they will start to dry out.
Notes
- Serving Size – This is a small batch recipe that can be doubled.
- DIY Tulip Liners: Cut parchment paper into 5-inch squares. Center and press each square into a muffin well with a glass to mark the base. Remove and cut a slit in the center of each side, up to that mark. Press back into the well, overlapping the flaps, and crease the bottom edge. The batter will weigh down any slight lifting.
- Apple – Select a firm variety of apple like a Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or Fuji.
- Pumpkin – Be sure it is pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. The latter has added ingredients we don’t need for this recipe. I prefer Libby’s canned pumpkin because it doesn’t contain as much moisture as other brands.
- Leftover Pumpkin – You will have leftover pumpkin, regardless of the size of can you use. Check out my other small batch pumpkin recipes to make another batch of pumpkin treats.
- Mini Muffins – The batter will yield about 12 mini muffins. Skip the 5-minute high heat around 12 minutes.
- Freezing – Wrap each muffin individually tightly in plastic wrap, and place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw at room temperature.
Nutrition Estimates
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About the Author …
Hi, I’m Erin! With years of experience baking for two in my own small household, I know about the love for desserts without the leftovers. I’ve tested, written, and photographed every one of the 300+ recipes on my website. And even had some of my desserts featured on Taste of Home, The Spruce Eats, ELLE, Parade, and more! From traditional to gluten free desserts for two, I have the recipe for you.
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These were wonderful!!! Only thing I did extra was to add some chopped pecans to the topping. It made 6 regular sized muffins for me.
Thank you for the recipe!!
Thanks so much Denise – and LOVE the idea of adding chopped pecans! I appreciate you visiting the blog and trying the recipe!
Absolutely LOVE this recipe! Delicious, flavorful, moist, and perfectly low yield. I hate finding recipes that make wayyyy too many baked goods. This is a perfect portion for small families and/or when you’re low on ingredients and want to make something quick that still has a WOW factor.
Thanks so much Janelle for the kind words! So happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe!
I followed the recipe and easily got 6 regular size muffins. I substituted my home-made apple butter for the pumpkin. Nice Fall treat!
Thanks for trying the recipe Carol! Apple butter sounds delicious! 🙂
Can I use pie pumpkin puree for this recipe? Thanks.
There are a lot of extra ingredients and thickeners in pumpkin pie filling – which is why I don’t recommend it. You can certainly try though and let us know how they turn out!
Wish I would have looked beforehand at the amount of muffins that this recipe yields. Usually it’s always a dozen. Pretty frustrating- who actually makes 4 muffins?????
I do. This is a small batch baking blog. And the recipe does indicate it can be doubled.
Can I substitute Greek yogurt for the sour cream?
Hi Alex – Yes, I think that would be fine.
Very delicious and so much flavor. I doubled the recipe and made 7 jumbo muffins. Will absolutely make these again!
Thanks so much Kathie!