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Zoomed-in shot of a perfectly baked apple cinnamon muffin with a golden, crunchy streusel topping, ideal for cozy fall mornings.

Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Discard Muffins Recipe

This delicious recipe for Apple Cinnamon Sourdough Discard Muffins brings together tart, orchard-fresh apples, warm spices, and the subtle tang of sourdough starter, turning leftover discard into a fall treat that tastes like a sourdough apple pie in muffin form.
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Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: apple, bowl, muffin, muffins, Sourdough
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 0
Author: Stephanie

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour or fresh milled wheat
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 cup sourdough starter discard or active sourdough starter
  • ¾ cup (150g) light or dark brown sugar to be mixed with wet ingredients
  • ½ cup melted unsalted butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 ¼ cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add-Ins

  • 1 ¼ cups finely chopped crisp apples peeled or unpeeled

Crumble Topping:

  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup brown sugar packed
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup cold unsalted butter cubed

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line or grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  • In a separate bowl, combine discard, melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and milk. Mix until smooth.
  • Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined — don’t overmix.
  • Gently fold in chopped apples.
  • Fill the muffin pan ¾ of the way up with muffin batter.
  • Next make the crumb topping by combining flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the cold butter and cut it into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture becomes crumbly. Sprinkle the crumble on top of the muffin dough.
  • Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Notes

  • These freeze well! You can wrap individually for an easy grab-and-go breakfast or I just simply place them in a gallon sized freezer safe Ziploc baggie once they've cooled.
  • Try mixing in chopped pecans, shredded coconut, or raisins (one of our favorite add-ins!)for variation.
  • This recipe works great with tart apples like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp.