Pumpkin Apple Spice Muffins

by Mel on October 16, 2008 · 57 comments

An old friend from high school sent me this recipe months and months ago. I finally tried it out last week and oh my. Oh my. These are by far some of the best muffins that have ever graced my home. I have to confess I’m not a huge muffin maker – I think it is because I always have high hopes for the outcome and it is generally a disappointment (either in overflowage or flavor) so when these turned out to be incredible, I was thrilled. My family and I honestly ate the whole batch in less than 24 hours. I am making them again this afternoon. The tart granny smith apple (be sure to finely chop the apple!) adds great texture to the smooth spice of the pumpkin. These are fabulous. Thanks, Melissa!

Pumpkin Apple Spice Muffins
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Printable Version with Picture

*Yield: 2 dozen

INGREDIENTS:
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice**
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and finely chopped

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice**
3 tablespoons sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine pumpkin, butter, and eggs in another bowl and add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Fold in chopped apple and spoon into greased muffin pans, filling two-thirds full. Combine 3 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice; sprinkle evenly over muffins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from pans immediately, and cool on wire racks.

**My tip: if you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, use the following combination: 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ginger and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon cloves. Mix together and woila! – you have the equivalent of 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (and it is much cheaper than buying it premade).

Recipe Source: from Melissa F.

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{ 57 comments… read them below or add one }

1 kitchenbelle September 28, 2009 at 9:06 pm

Apple and pumpkin together?! Yum, yum, and yum!comforttable.wordpress.com

2 Angie September 28, 2009 at 9:08 pm

Oh my… these look amazing! Definitely going to be on my “to make” list and will probably go to the top of the list since my kids LOVE muffins. Thanks for sharing!

3 RecipeGirl September 28, 2009 at 9:16 pm

Great choice- they look so seasonally delicious. And that blue background… wow! Great !

4 Patti September 28, 2009 at 9:16 pm

I made these yesterday, and they were fabulous! I can’t say how long they’ll stay fresh either, because they were gone by the end of the day. I’ll be making them again soon!

5 Annie September 28, 2009 at 9:17 pm

I also made some of these yesterday to bring some to work and some to daycare with my daughter and they were a HIT! They were SOOOO GOOD!! YUM! Thanks for the recipe!!!!

6 Maria September 28, 2009 at 9:17 pm

Pumpkin and apple, so perfect for fall!

7 nicole September 28, 2009 at 9:17 pm

These look fantastic. I love pumpkin recipes.

8 Mary Ann September 28, 2009 at 9:18 pm

These muffins look so good. I love anything pumpkin and my fam would definitely eat these in 24 hours too! Great recipe!

9 Colleen September 28, 2009 at 9:18 pm

Two of my favorite fall ingredients! PLUS pumpkin pie spice – yum!

10 Melanie September 28, 2009 at 9:19 pm

Leslie – my family and I ate the entire batch within 24 hours – so they definitely stayed fresh that long! I would say if you aren’t going to eat them within a day, pop them in a freezer bag and reheat when you want one.

11 Leslie September 28, 2009 at 9:20 pm

mmm.yummy! How long did they keep fresh for?They look FAB!

12 grace September 28, 2009 at 9:20 pm

oh the moistness of it all. what a stellar muffin, and thanks for the tip about the actual components of pumpkin pie spice!

13 Emily September 28, 2009 at 9:21 pm

I too am not a muffin baker galore . . . I see all these incredible recipes and think “they will just end up frostbitten in the freezer.” (sad I know) But this recipes sparked my interest! It sounds perfect for breakfast in the fall! Yum-E!

14 Melanie September 28, 2009 at 9:25 pm

Patti – yay! I’m so glad they turned out. And I’m glad I’m not the only one who devoured them before they had a chance to get stale. :)

15 Melanie September 28, 2009 at 9:25 pm

Hi Stephanie – a streusel topping sounds delicious! Thanks for letting me know you liked these muffins!

16 PheMom September 28, 2009 at 9:25 pm

These sound like a great combination. I actually just made pumpkin muffins today for next week’s Tuesdays with Dorie and they were really great. Now that I’m discovering that I might like pumpkin more than I though I will have to give these a try.

17 the September 28, 2009 at 9:26 pm

I love your recipes!!! I thought I would say hello, Ive been looking at all your awesome recipes for a few days now. I will for sure be back more often :) Stephanie

18 Erin September 28, 2009 at 9:28 pm

Well, I am a muffin lover, and these look wonderful! I especially like chopped up apples in muffins. I can’t wait to try these, Mel.

19 Katie September 28, 2009 at 9:28 pm

This looks great! I love all the pumpkin recipes popping up :)

20 Beth September 28, 2009 at 9:28 pm

I can’t get canned pumpkin over here in the UK – will have to see if I can order some online – they look fantastic

21 Martha September 28, 2009 at 9:29 pm

I have a pumpkin/cranberry coffeecake that is good — am anxious to try a pumpkin apple muffin.I love the flavors of fall!Martha

22 Stephanie September 28, 2009 at 9:32 pm

I made these muffins on Thursday, adding a streusel topping. They were delicious! Very light and fluffy, moist, and so yummy – thanks for the great recipe!

23 Melanie September 28, 2009 at 9:33 pm

Stephanie – thanks for saying hello! Your comment was sweet and I appreciate it. Check back in as often as you like!

24 Melanie September 28, 2009 at 9:33 pm

Martha – oh, pumpkin and cranberry together sound great! The flavors of fall are so fun!

25 Marisa September 28, 2009 at 9:35 pm

Those look so good! I agree that I don’t often make muffins. But I’ll for sure be trying these!

26 Patsyk September 28, 2009 at 9:35 pm

Those muffins look so moist and yummy. There are so many apple recipes floating around right now… I’m never going to get through them all!

27 Melanie September 28, 2009 at 9:36 pm

Annie – thanks so much for checking back and letting me know these were a hit. I’m so glad!

28 Deborah September 28, 2009 at 9:36 pm

Yum! Pumpkin and apple!!

29 Shari September 28, 2009 at 9:36 pm

Pumpkins and apples in the same recipe! Delicious!!

30 rachel October 26, 2009 at 6:16 pm

I made these this morning for a playdate brunch and they were a big hit with the kids and the mommies!

31 Melanie October 26, 2009 at 7:53 pm

rachel – I’m glad you liked these! Thanks for letting me know!

32 ~~louise~~ October 27, 2009 at 4:21 pm

Hi Melanie,
While I was rounding up some Pumpkin & Apple recipe links to include in a post I did for National Pumpkin Day, I came across your yummy looking muffins in my search engine. I hope you don’t mind that I included your link in my post. Thank you so much for sharing…Now, I must take a look at those Hoagies of yours!!!

33 Steph November 4, 2009 at 2:19 pm

Right before I made these I was going to hop on and see if you had “freezing” instructions. Unfortunately (only for my waistline) over half the batch was eaten by my husband and I last night and he brought a bag of them into work and after breakfast there won’t be any left! Muffins have never dissapeared so fast at our house! Mmmm

34 Melanie November 4, 2009 at 8:40 pm

Steph – I have frozen these before and they freeze great, although it sounds like you have the same problem we do – they usually don’t last that long! Thanks for letting me know you and your husband liked them!

35 Shanté November 13, 2009 at 10:24 pm

I love these so much! I’ve made them 3 times now. The last 2 times I doubled the batches and froze them. The first time I froze them I individually wrapped each one in saran wrap after they cooled and placed them in big ziplocks-this made it easy to put in lunches or throw in my purse for a snack. The second time I froze them I didn’t get to it until the next day and just put them in a ziplock. I found that they didn’t taste as fresh this way. I would recommend freezing right after they cool down. Thanks for the recipe! My husband says it’s his favorite muffin ever!

36 Melanie November 14, 2009 at 8:09 pm

Shante – thanks for your comment! I’m so glad to know about freezing them. I have frozen them before and used the latter method so it looks like next time I’ll try individually wrapping them.

37 The Double Dipped Life December 2, 2009 at 5:28 pm

I have leftover pumpkin to use… so it looks like I’m making this today too! Yum!

Thanks!

38 Lisa December 11, 2009 at 3:50 am

I made this yesterday and my kids loved them. They really are moist and were easy to prepare. Thanks for sharing.

39 Melanie December 11, 2009 at 8:34 pm

Lisa – glad you liked these! Thanks for letting me know.

40 Lisa October 4, 2010 at 6:54 pm

I wonder… do you think you can take this and turn it into a pumpkin apple spice BREAD instead of muffins just by pouring it into a different pan?

41 Mel October 5, 2010 at 8:56 pm

Lisa – yes, I think that it could easily be adapted into a loaf pan. You would have to be careful as you fill the pan to only fill it 2/3 full so I’m not sure how many loaves (maybe only one) this would make. Also, adjust the baking time to much longer. Let me know if you try it!

42 Lisa October 8, 2010 at 12:03 pm

The verdict: This cooks up as an *excellent* bread! The amount the recipe makes is the perfect amount for the pan, and I let it cook for about an hour. It’s soft and not dried out at all. The apple gives it just the right amount of kick.

I’m looking forward to surprising the family when they come home!

43 Mel October 9, 2010 at 8:39 pm

Lisa – thank you so much for checking back in to let me know how the bread experiment worked out. I’m thrilled it worked out because I will be making it like that this week. Thanks!

44 Meredith October 19, 2010 at 1:04 pm

Made these this morning to share at playgroup… DELISH!!! Came home with an empty container! Great recipe!

45 Mel October 19, 2010 at 9:25 pm

Thanks, Meredith!

46 Megan H. November 6, 2010 at 4:55 pm

how big is the can of pumpkin for these? The BIG can(32/36 oz?) or the medium size one?

47 Mel November 7, 2010 at 9:33 pm

Megan – you can use any size can of pumpkin as long as you are ok with leftovers because the recipe just calls for 1 cup canned pumpkin – so I just measure it out of the can and use the leftover canned pumpkin for something else. Hope that helps!

48 Robyn September 14, 2011 at 10:31 am

So so good! I made them exactly according to directions and got RAVE reviews. Apples and pumpkin–what a combination!

49 JenH November 8, 2011 at 5:12 pm

Hi Mel,
I was thinking of instead of making cupcakes I could make this into a bundt cake. Do you think I should double it for that?
Thank you!

50 Lesley November 8, 2011 at 7:01 pm

I have tried and loved so many of your recipes! I am planning on trying these and wondering if shortening or oil could be used in place of butter for my dairy free friend, any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

51 Mel November 8, 2011 at 7:42 pm

JenH – hmmm, that’s a good question. Yes, I’d probably double it but you may not use all the batter in the bundt pan (don’t want it to overflow!). I guess you’ll have to judge the size of your bundt pan and see. You could always make a few muffins with the leftover batter, if you have it. Let me know how it goes!

52 Mel November 8, 2011 at 7:47 pm

Lesley – I’d probably substitute canola or vegetable oil over the shortening. I bet they’ll still turn out delicious. Good luck!

53 Lesley November 12, 2011 at 6:38 pm

Thanks for the quick answer, I made them today with canola oil and they were great! I only got about 12 muffins though, i must have filled the cups to full :) I also made the pumpkin cream cheese muffins which were also wonderful! This is my go to site for great recipes, thanks for sharing so many!

54 allie November 15, 2011 at 11:19 am

In this recipe, how much canned pumpkin? (from what size can?)

Thanks.

55 allie November 15, 2011 at 11:29 am

Oops. I found it. Not reading correctly. Can’t wait to try these.

56 Kimberly Christiansen November 19, 2011 at 7:40 pm

Mmmm I am eating them as I type. :) These are delish! We are going on a road trip tomorrow and I made them for the car. They are so moist and I love the texture of the apple chunks in there. Oh and the pumpkin spice seasonings, mmmm it’s like Fall has bursted open inside my mouth. LOL Love it!

57 Rae January 5, 2012 at 10:09 pm

My kids think these are the best muffins. I made some minor changes to reduce the sugar, added some whole wheat flour and made them as mini-muffins. I never would have thought of this combination!

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