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Apple Muffins with Lemon Glaze recipe
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Apple Muffins with Lemon Glaze
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
45 mins
 
Apple muffins with lemon glaze will give your morning breakfast some festive sparkle and shine. They are delicious moist muffins with apple and apricot surprises in every bite. These muffins are painted with a light lemon glaze and dipped in lemon sugar crystals. Party worthy muffins all age groups will enjoy. These muffins can be made ahead, frozen before cooking, then baked (still frozen) the morning you want to serve them. See my tip in blog post. Apple muffins with lemon glaze are best served the day they are baked, but will last for one day, packed in an airtight container.
Servings: 12 medium size muffins
Author: Ginger
Ingredients
  • 2 medium sized apples (see note)
  • 2/3 cup/158g granulated sugar
  • Rounded 1/3 cup/ 63 g chopped dried apricots about 1/4" in size
  • 4 Tb/2 oz/56 g sweet butter
  • 2 cups/280 g all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tb/13g baking powder
  • 1/2 tea baking soda use only if you add yogurt, buttermilk or sour cream
  • 1/2 tea Kosher salt
  • 1/2 tea freshly grated nutmeg 1/4 tea if used ground nutmeg
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup/ 237 ml yogurt or buttermilk you can substitute with whole milk or cream- but omit the 1/2 tea baking soda
  • 1 tea/5ml vanilla
Lemon Sugar Glaze for muffin topping
  • zest from one small lemon
  • 1/2 cup/100g Turbinado sugar
  • 1/4 cup/60ml fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup/54g granulated sugar
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a regular size muffin tin with cooking spray.
  2. Peel and core the apples. Grate one of the apples on the coarse side of a box grater and put into a medium size bowl. Chop the remaining apple into pieces no bigger than 3/8" /1 cm. Add to the bowl with the grated apples. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the apples and stir until combined. Add the granulated sugar and chopped dried apricots. Stir then cover with plastic wrap directly on top of the apples to prevent browning, and let the apple sugar mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
  3. Melt the butter in a microwave or saucepan. Set aside to slightly cool.
  4. In a large mixing bowl, add the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, (only if using yogurt, buttermilk, or sour cream), Kosher salt, and nutmeg, and whisk until just combined.
  5. In another large bowl whisk together the yogurt (or substitute), eggs, melted butter, and vanilla until just combined. Add the apple mixture to the yogurt mixture and stir until just mixed in.
  6. Add the yogurt/apple mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Be careful not to over mix the muffin batter.
  7. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin and fill each cup slightly shy of the top of the tin.
  8. Bake the muffins in the oven for 14- 17 minutes, turning from front to back halfway through the baking time. A toothpick inserted in the middle of a couple of muffins should come out clean.
  9. Cool the muffins for a couple of minutes in the muffin tin. Remove the muffins from the tin and place the muffins on the cooling rack. Serve or add the Lemon glaze to the muffins.
Lemon Glaze
  1. While the muffins are cooking prepare the lemon sugar and lemon glaze. Mix the grated lemon zest with 1/2 cup Turbinado sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
  2. In small sauce pan add 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture becomes syrupy and reduced to about 4 tablespoons.
  3. I recommend to place the cooling rack with the muffins over a piece of parchment paper, newspaper, or baking sheet to protect your counter from the dripping glaze.
  4. Once the muffins have cooled for 5 minutes, brush the warm lemon glaze over the muffin tops with a pastry brush. When all the muffins are glazed, dip one muffin at a time, and top side down, into the lemon sugar. Turn muffins right side up and place on the cooling rack.
  5. Best enjoyed on the same day they are made. These muffins do not have to be completely cooled before serving. Can be served after they have been cooled and glazed.
Recipe Notes

There are some great types of apples to use in baking. I used Lady Dragon and Granny Smith Apples in my recipe testing. You want to use a firm apple that will stand up to the high temperature of baking.