Cinnamon Walnut Applesauce Muffins

I don’t can. Every fall I cook applesauce down in big batches and put it straight in the freezer, and then I’ve got a few months to bake through it before it’s past its best. These applesauce muffins came out of that, developed the same season as my applesauce bread and applesauce cake built around the same problem. This is the one I make through spring.

The work is the reason they stay in rotation. I make a batch on a Sunday, cool them all the way, and most of them go in the freezer so there’s something to hand somebody on a weekday morning without thinking about it. They rarely make it to day three. A full cup of walnuts goes into the batter, more than most muffin recipes ask for. Without them these would eat like a sweet roll.

If you’ve got a jar of slow cooker applesauce sitting in the fridge or freezer, start here. A cup of it goes in, so there’s no peeling, no coring, and no chopping anywhere in this recipe. I make these in the fall because that’s when the applesauce is, but they’re just as good in February. There are more like them in my fall recipes.

How It Comes Together

You mix the dry in one bowl and the wet in another, then combine them at the last minute. The stirring is the only step that takes any judgment. Pull the spoon out while a few streaks of flour are still showing, because muffin batter keeps mixing itself as you scoop, and the difference between a tender crumb and a tough one is about four extra turns.

Fill the cups all the way full. Not two-thirds, not to the line. All the way. Underfilled cups give you a flat, pale muffin with nowhere to climb, and this batter is thick enough to hold its shape on the way up.

Scroll to the bottom of this post for a printable recipe card with the full ingredient list, measurements, and step-by-step instructions.

Ingredient Notes

All-purpose flour. Spoon it into the cup and level it off with the back of a knife instead of scooping straight from the bag. Scooping packs in as much as an extra quarter cup, and in a batter this wet that’s the difference between soft and dense.

Applesauce. Homemade when I have it, store-bought unsweetened when I don’t. Both work. Sweetened applesauce will push these past where you want them, so if that’s what’s in the pantry, pull the granulated sugar back a little.

Brown sugar. Only a quarter cup next to the white, and it’s in there for the molasses more than the sweetness. It keeps these from tasting flat.

Walnuts. A full cup, chopped, folded in at the end. They’re the point of this version. Leave them out if you want and change nothing else, because the batter doesn’t need adjusting either way.

Substitutions

Cinnamon. Apple pie or pumpkin pie spice also works.

Walnuts. Swap in pecans or almonds. Pumpkin seeds if you need it nut-free.

What to Serve with Applesauce Muffins

Because we can’t eat apple cinnamon cake for breakfast every day, these muffins will stand in for it. Go warm from the pan with scrambled eggs and bacon on a slow morning, or split and buttered on a weekday when there’s no time for anything else. Pair them with fall coffees or a dirty chai latte.