• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Start here
  • Baking 101
  • Recipes
  • Shop

The Bake School

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Start here
  • Baking 101
  • Recipes
  • Shop
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Start here
    • Baking 101
    • Recipes
    • Shop
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Muffins

    Published on: August 20, 2012 by Janice; Updated on: March 9, 2023 10 Comments

    Hearty apple blackberry muffins

    72 shares
    • Facebook52
    • Yummly
    • Email
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    These apple blackberry muffins are made with less sugar and instead use grated apple, which adds moisture and sweetness to these hearty breakfast muffins.

    Low sugar apple blackberry muffins with a vintage muffin pan of baked muffins in the background, a cup of black tea, and a speckled ceramic plate with half a muffin and a dish of butter + knife

    These apple blackberry muffins are quite low in sugar. I'd say they definitely fall into the "healthier" muffin category, along with these blueberry bran muffins, which are also low in sugar. They are the perfect hearty breakfast muffins, made with oats, yogurt, grated apple, and blackberries.

    Ingredients to make apple blackberry muffins measured out and ready to be mixed, including fresh blackberries, apples, brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, 2 eggs, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, as well as oats, yogurt, melted butter, flour, and silicone liners for baking
    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Both the blueberry bran and these apple blackberry muffins are actually variations of the same recipe and so they follow a very similar formula.

    If you compare this recipe to these rhubarb muffins with sour cream  or these honey blueberry muffins, you can see that there's much less sugar in the recipe below: one third the sugar to be exact. But remember fruit purées are a common baking substitution for replacing sugar when you are baking with less sugar. So here, we have grated apple in the muffin batter to add sweetness, but also moisture.

    Cinnamon and vanilla are two other ingredients that are good at tricking you into thinking a baked good tastes sweet. Don't cut them out of this recipe because you will end up with muffins that taste very bland.

    Finishing apple blackberry muffins placing blackberries, oats, and turbinado sugar on top before baking

    These muffins are mixed using the traditional muffin mixing method: your dry ingredients go in one bowl and your wet ingredients go in another, then you combine them to make the muffin batter.

    Since sugar technically falls under the wet ingredient category of baking ingredients, you will treat the brown sugar like a wet ingredient in this recipe and combine it with the other wet ingredients. Were you to whisk it with the dry ingredients, the brown sugar would stay lumpy and you would run the risk of ending up with a muffin batter that is under-sweetened, with chunks of sugar hiding in places.

    Freshly baked blackberry oat muffins

    One baking substitution you might consider for this recipe is to use plain yogurt instead of sour cream. While both are acidic dairy ingredients, full fat sour cream has 14 % fat, while plain yogurt has 2 % fat (more or less depending on the product you use).

    Both yogurt and sour cream work in this recipe, but from my tests, I much preferred the muffins baked with full fat sour cream which had a more tender and moist crumb.
    Hearty oat apple muffins with blackberries on a ceramic plate with butter and a knife, vintage muffin pan in background

    I also tested baking the muffins in silicone muffin liners in muffin pans versus paper liners. Silicone works great, as does paper. It's up to you what you prefer to use. Just note that with silicone, the muffins might take a few minutes longer to bake since silicone is more insulating.

    Hearty apple blackberry muffins with oats, one split open on a plate with butter and a knife, served with black tea

    These muffins keep pretty well at room temperature for up to 4 days. This recipe makes 12 muffins so you may want to freeze part of the batch for later. I freeze them in a single layer in a large freezer bag. Then when I want a muffin, I take one out and microwave it for about 30 seconds on high. This is just enough to defrost the muffin completely and heat the muffin through so that it's just like a freshly baked muffin in the end!

    A plate with an apple blackberry muffin split open, served with butter and a cup of tea.
    Save Recipe Saved! Print Pin

    Hearty apple blackberry muffins

    Prevent your screen from going dark
    These apple blackberry muffins are made with oats and grated apple making these hearty breakfast muffins that are low in sugar!
    Course Breakfast
    Cuisine American
    Keyword apple blackberry muffins, Hearty apple blackberry breakfast muffins
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 25 minutes
    Total Time 40 minutes
    Servings 12 muffins
    Calories 253kcal
    Author Janice

    Equipment

    • Muffin pan
    • 3-¼ oz scoop
    • OXO balloon whisk

    Ingredients

    • 250 grams (2 cups) bleached all-purpose flour
    • 65 grams (⅔ cup) rolled oats (or large flake oats), plus more for sprinkling on top of the muffins
    • 10 mL (2 teaspoon) baking powder
    • 5 mL (1 teaspoon) ground cinnamon
    • 2.5 mL (½ teaspoon) baking soda
    • 2.5 mL (½ teaspoon) Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
    • 2 large egg(s)
    • 125 mL (½ cup) sour cream (14% fat), 2 % plain yogurt also works, but the muffins are better made with full fat sour cream
    • 70 grams (⅓ cups) dark brown sugar
    • 2 (2) Golden Delicious apples, grated
    • 115 grams (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted
    • 250 grams (⅔ lb) fresh blackberries, frozen works too (don't defrost!)
    • Turbinado sugar, or cinnamon sugar for sprinkling on top of the muffins before baking

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two 6-cup muffin pans with paper liners. Set aside
    • In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking, powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
    • Whisk the eggs with the sour cream and the brown sugar.
    • Grate the apples and whisk them into the wet ingredients. Drizzle in the melted butter while whisking to incorporate it.
    • Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and stir until just combined.
    • Fill the prepared muffin cups halfway with the batter, then place 2 berries on top of the batter.
    • Top with remaining batter and berries (press them down gently to anchor them) and sprinkle the top of each muffin with coarse turbinado sugar or cinnamon sugar and a few extra oats.
    • Bake for about 45 minutes or until golden. Use a cake tester to make sure the muffins are baked in the middle. It should come out clean and the muffins should spring back when pressed gently.
    • Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or room temperature.
    Give backIf you enjoy the free content on this website, say thank you!

    Notes

    You can freeze the muffins. To defrost, place 1 muffin in the microwave and heat for 20–30 seconds (on max power). They should be hot and fluffy and just like they were freshly baked!
    Tried this recipe?Mention @bakesomethingawesome or tag #bakesomethingawesome!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 121mg | Potassium: 259mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 450IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 2mg
    apple blackberry breakfast muffins

    More Muffin recipes

    • Serving pizza muffins on plates with marinara dipping sauce and chilli flakes.
      Pizza muffins
    • A plate with a pumpkin muffin split open and smeared with butter, with a cup of coffee on the side.
      Pumpkin muffins
    • Freshly baked carrot muffins being served on plates with butter.
      Moist carrot muffins
    • A grey-rimmed ceramic plate with two banana muffins, one split open and buttered.
      Banana muffins with oats (gluten-free)
    72 shares
    • Facebook52
    • Yummly
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Baking resources

  • Baking conversion charts
  • Baking ingredients and pantry staples
  • Baking substitutions
  • Common baking conversions
  • Choosing baking pans
  • How to measure ingredients for baking
  • Mixing methods
  • Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Medeja says

      August 20, 2012 at 6:43 am

      Perfect breakfast! Such a great and delicious combination!

      Reply
    2. Lynn says

      August 20, 2012 at 1:25 pm

      I'm terrible at putting stuff away too. Must be genetic.

      Reply
      • Jan says

        August 23, 2012 at 6:34 pm

        If it's genetic, then there's no fixing me 😉

        Reply
    3. Torviewtoronto says

      August 21, 2012 at 3:42 am

      muffins look wonderful

      Reply
    4. Jane says

      August 23, 2012 at 5:25 pm

      I love your impromptu muffin papers! They are adorable and, you know, people pay big money for pre-fab versions of what you did on your own. Your muffins look absolutely yummy, and I think your blog is wonderful!

      Reply
      • Jan says

        August 23, 2012 at 6:34 pm

        Thank you! And, you know what I used instead of muffin liners? Hamburger papers, as in those papers that they stick between two hamburger patties at the butcher/store! Go figure, I had no muffin liners, but I had hamburger papers 😉

        Reply
    5. Olivia says

      August 30, 2012 at 12:42 pm

      These muffins look really appealing!!!

      Reply
    6. Lena says

      August 31, 2012 at 3:24 pm

      Delicious muffins, I've baken them with half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat. Perfect for breakfast, thank you!

      Reply
    7. Tanya says

      March 06, 2013 at 4:03 pm

      Thank you thank you! I made these last weekend and they were a hit!

      Reply
    8. Robert and Elizabeth Beck says

      September 01, 2020 at 9:39 am

      These look fantastic! I will try them soon. Stay well! Hugs.

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    This is a picture of Janice Lawandi

    Hi, I'm Janice! I am a baking-obsessed recipe developer with a PhD in Chemistry who writes about baking and the science of baking.

    More about me →

    Give back

    If you enjoy the free content on this website, consider saying thank you!

    Eggless chocolate cake

    Chocolate layer cake with cream cheese frosting and chocolate sprinkles on a cake stand.
    Learn to make an eggless chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting!

    Bake for Easter

    • Mini Eggs cookies cooling on a wire rack.
      Easy Mini Eggs cookies
    • Mini Egg bars cut into squares and served on small plates with a glass of milk on the side and a bowl of Mini Eggs.
      Mini Eggs blondies
    • Brownies decorated with Easter eggs cut into squares to serve.
      Easter brownies with Mini Eggs
    • A slice of carrot cake layer cake with cream cheese frosting on a pale blue plate with a fork and striped linen napkin.
      Eggless carrot cake
    • Hot cross bun on a pink plate split open and served with butter.
      How to make hot cross buns for Easter weekend
    • Slices of chocolate babka bread
      Dark chocolate babka for Easter

    Bake with citrus

    • Lemon loaf cake topped with lemon icing and fresh raspberries being sliced to serve it
      Lemon loaf cake
    • Jars of homemade lime marmalade on a cooling rack.
      Lime marmalade
    • Pavlova cake filled with whipped cream, lemon curd, and raspberries being served.
      Pavlova
    • Orange pie with saltine crust and topped with orange marmalade glaze.
      Orange pie
    • A pot of homemade marmalade ready to be canned in jars.
      Orange marmalade
    • A pink glass plate with lemon bars.
      Easy lemon bars

    Baking conversions

    Buy the baking conversion charts NOW!

    How to poach pears

    Poached pears on an enamelware plate.
    This easy poached pears recipe is simple and you can use the poached fruit for salads, appetizers, and desserts!
    This is a picture of Janice Lawandi

    Hi, I'm Janice! I am a baking-obsessed recipe developer with a PhD in Chemistry who writes about baking and the science of baking.

    More about me →

    Give back

    If you enjoy the free content on this website, consider saying thank you!

    Eggless chocolate cake

    Chocolate layer cake with cream cheese frosting and chocolate sprinkles on a cake stand.
    Learn to make an eggless chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting!

    Bake for Easter

    • carrot focaccia with feta and almonds
      Carrot focaccia
    • Let's bake with carrots-
      What to bake with carrots
    • Button-shaped cookies - Honey flavoured cookies
      Honey sugar cookies (cut-out cookies)
    • carrot cake
      Glazed carrot cake

    Bake with citrus

    • A pink plate filled with lemon shortbread cookies and with a yellow napkin.
      Lemon shortbread cookies
    • Pink grapefruit marmalade on toast on a plate with a striped linen.
      Grapefruit marmalade
    • Slices of orange cranberry cake served on pink glass plates with forks.
      Orange cranberry bundt cake
    • Rubbing lemon zest into granulated sugar in a bowl to make lemon sugar.
      How to make lemon sugar
    • Drizzling lemon cranberry muffins on a wire rack with lemon icing.
      Cranberry lemon muffins
    • A scoop of lemon ice cream served on a speckled plate with a cone and a black spoon
      Lemon custard ice cream

    Baking conversions

    Buy the baking conversion charts NOW!

    How to poach pears

    Poached pears on an enamelware plate.
    This easy poached pears recipe is simple and you can use the poached fruit for salads, appetizers, and desserts!

    Footer

    If you enjoy the free content on this website, consider saying thank you!

    Buy Me a Pound of Butter

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Meet Janice
    • FAQ
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and conditions
    • Accessibility
    • Press

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Services
    • Portfolio

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    COPYRIGHT © 2023 · THE BAKE SCHOOL