Sourdough Apple Cider Muffins
This is the best sourdough apple cider muffin recipe made with leftover sourdough starter discard. These muffins are quick, easy to make, and covered with a cinnamon-sugar topping!
Carmyn’s Notes
These sourdough apple cider muffins are everything you love about fall. Made with leftover sourdough starter discard, they’re soft, moist, and packed with warm apple cider flavor.
The recipe comes together quickly with simple ingredients and no fancy steps, making it perfect for busy mornings or afternoon snacks.
Whether you enjoy them fresh from the oven or warmed up the next day, these muffins are an easy way to turn sourdough discard into something delicious and seasonal.
Enjoy! xx
Ingredients & Equipment needed
- 12-Count Muffin Tin & Cooking Spray or Muffin Liners
- Wet Ingredients: You'll need apple cider (not to be confused with apple cider vinegar!), sourdough discard, unsalted butter, light brown sugar, an egg, sweetened or unsweetened applesauce, and apples.
- Dry Ingredients: For the dry ingredients, you'll need all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and apple pie spice. To make apple pie spice from scratch for this recipe, combine 2 and ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground allspice, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, and ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg.
- Topping: granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, and melted butter.
Pro Baking Tip
For the best results, we recommend weighing your ingredients with a kitchen scale rather than using measuring cups. A scale ensures precise, consistent measurements every time, which means your muffins will turn out exactly as intended. Also, this means less dishes to wash!
Measuring cups can vary depending on how ingredients are scooped or packed, but using a scale removes the guesswork and helps you achieve bakery-style muffins right at home!
Step-by-Step Instructions with Photos
Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease a 12-count muffin tin with cooking spray or line with muffin liners.
Step 1
Pour the apple cider into a small saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Let it cook, stirring every so often, until it’s reduced to about ¼ cup.
This will take roughly 20 minutes. The cider will still be thin but slightly darker in color.
Pour it into a heat-safe bowl or a glass measuring cup and let it cool to room temperature before using.
Step 2
Once the cider is room temperature, mix the apple cider, sourdough discard, melted butter, light brown sugar, egg, applesauce, and apples in a large bowl.
Step 3
In a large bowl, mix the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and apple pie spice.
Step 4
Add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until fully incorporated.
Step 5
Scoop the muffin batter into the muffin wells evenly, filling each well about ⅔ full.
Step 6
Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Step 7
In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. In a separate bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar.
Dip the tops of each muffin into the butter and then into the cinnamon sugar mixture.
How to Store
How to Store: Keep leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. For longer storage, store them in the fridge for up to a week.
How to Freeze: Let the muffins cool completely, wrap each one in plastic wrap, then place them in a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months.
How to Reheat: If frozen, let the muffins thaw at room temperature. To reheat, microwave in short 10-second intervals until warm and soft.
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Sourdough Apple Cider Muffins
INGREDIENTS
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup (240 g) apple cider
- ½ cup (125 g) sourdough discard
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter (melted)
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup (122 g) applesauce
- 2 medium (250 g) apples (peeled, cored, and shredded)
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt
- 1 tablespoon (6 g) apple pie spice (see notes)
Topping
- ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons (4 g) ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 12-count muffin tin with cooking spray or line with muffin liners.
- Pour the apple cider into a small saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Let it cook, stirring every so often, until it’s reduced to about ¼ cup (60g/ml) and slightly darker in color. This will take roughly 20 minutes. Pour it into a heat-safe bowl or a glass measuring cup and let it cool to room temperature before using
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cooled apple cider, sourdough discard, melted butter, light brown sugar, egg, applesauce, and grated apples.
- In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and apple pie spice.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together until fully incorporated.
- Scoop the muffin batter evenly into the 12 muffin wells, filling each one about ⅔ full. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Let the muffins cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In a small bowl, microwave 2 tablespoons of butter in short intervals until fully melted. In a separate bowl, combine the granulated sugar and ground cinnamon. Dip the tops of each muffin into the butter and then dip into the sugar-cinnamon mixture.
NOTES
- 2 and ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Great muffins. Followed the suggestion to add boiled cider to topping and loved it. Made big batch of topping and mixed leftover butter/cider and cinnamon sugar to use as toast spread to keep that muffin flavor going!
This is now my families favorite muffin recipe! Worth all the steps and so easy to warm up later. I’m going to freeze some to have at Christmas.
Delicious in every bite. Moist with best flavor ever. I will make these muffins all year 😋
Delicious! Instead of just the melted butter then sugar after they are done, I put a 1/4 cup of boiled cider in the butter and then dunked them into the sugar/apple spice mixture. And it gave the perfect sweet/sour taste. And right now - November- is the perfect time to buy unfiltered apple cider to boil down. I boiled down a gallon and it took just over 5 hours and I ended up with 16 ounces of boiled cider. So good to use in recipes like this!
It was more work than anticipated but worth it! Excellent recipe!
Can I long ferment these overnight to bake in the morning? I was also wondering the same about the pumpkin cream cheese muffins? I'm wanting to make both for refreshments I am providing. Thank you :)!
Yes you can.
big hit with the kids. cinnamon sugar topping is a must. add a delicious crust of sweetness. will make again.
Hi! Do you think this would work if I cute the apples into chunks instead of shredding them?
Hi Maggie, yes that should work!
What are the best apples to use in this recipe?
Hi Kathy, we used honey crisp, but you can use whatever apples you want!
This recipe sounds amazing. Apple cider is not something we usually have, may I use apple juice instead? I imagine the muffins will be a little different, but do you think it would work?
BTW, I love your recipes! I am new to sourdough parenthood and your detailed steps pretty much insure success! Thank you
Hi Terry, thank you so much! I think apple juice will work just fine. Please let me know how they turn out!
These muffins look amazing, I was wondering if I could use sparkling apple cider for this recipe? I bought it for another recipe and still have some.
Hi Patricia, we havent tested this recipe with sparkling cider so we're not exactly sure how it would come out, but I dont see why it wouldnt work.