These apple butter muffins are swirled with a cinnamon cream cheese topping and are filled with spiced apple butter!
Apple butter is my favorite fall condiment and flavoring! These muffins are full of apple butter flavor and spiced cinnamon cream cheese.
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Why you will love this recipe:
Apple butter is a fall staple and my favorite condiment once Autumn hits; it's made from apples, spices, and sweeteners. It tastes exactly like fall harvest. This recipe is great with both store-bought butter or this stovetop bourbon apple butter recipe.
These muffins with apple butter are made with cream cheese, making them moist, a bit tangy, and totally delightful. But even though it's made with cream cheese and they are a traditional muffin, they are still incredibly fluffy!
Key Ingredients:
Apple Butter: apple butter is made by cooking down apples in spices and a little sweetener. For this recipe, I use this bourbon apple butter which is made with apple cider, bourbon, brown sugar, and maple syrup but store-bought apple butter works as well!
Eggs: The eggs in this recipe work double-time as a binding agent for all the ingredients, but they also help the muffins rise.
All-purpose flour: AP flour is what gives the muffin its structure.
Sugar: sugar is what makes these muffins sweet and tasty. However, there's not too much; I'm not a fan of overly sweet things.
Cream Cheese: cream cheese adds moisture, texture, and a tangy flavor to the muffins. The cream cheese mixture in this recipe used cinnamon and vanilla to make it extra delicious!
See recipe card for quantities.
Step by step instructions:
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Then mix in the vanilla.
Next, mix in the apple butter.
Followed by the flour, salt, and baking powder. Sit the bowl aside.
Add the batter to a prepared lined muffin tin, filling ¾ of the way up.
Make the cream cheese mixture by beating the cream cheese, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla, and egg yoke together until smooth.
Add about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese to the tops of the muffins and use a toothpick to swirl the mixture into the muffin batter.
Tips for success:
- Don't over-mix the batter; the key to the perfect muffin texture is just mixed batter.
- A toothpick is the best method to swirl the cream cheese; a knife works, but it's harder to swirl in a muffin tin.
Storage
Store these muffins in an airtight container for 2-3 days at room temperature or freeze them for up to 3 months.
Variations
- If you don't have any apple cider, you can substitute it for apple juice, but it will have a less "spiced" flavor.
- Looking for an apple cider cupcake, these bourbon apple cider cupcakes have a similar taste but in cupcake form and are topped with a bourbon frosting!
Equipment
- Muffin tin
- Electric mixer
- Toothpicks
FAQ's
They will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Looking for more muffin recipes? Check these out!
Cream Cheese Apple Butter Muffins
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Muffin
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These apple butter muffins are swirled with a cinnamon cream cheese topping and are filled with spiced apple butter!
Ingredients
Muffins:
- ½ cup softened butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup apple butter
Cream cheese topping:
- 8 oz cream cheese
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Then mix in the vanilla.
- Next, mix in the apple butter.
- Followed by the flour, salt, and baking powder. Sit the bowl aside.
- Add the batter to a prepared lined muffin tin, filling ¾ of the way up.
- Make the cream cheese mixture by beating the cream cheese, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla, and egg yoke together until smooth.
- Add about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese to the tops of the muffins and use a toothpick to swirl the mixture into the muffin batter.
- Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then lower to 375 and bake for 15 -20 minutes more.
Notes
- Don't over-mix the batter; the key to the perfect muffin texture is just mixed batter.
- A toothpick is the best method to swirl the cream cheese; a knife works, but it's harder to swirl in a muffin tin.
elizabeth says
These were amazing! The cream cheese was such an unexpected surprise!
★★★★★