Brown Butter Apple Muffins (Gluten-Free)
These Brown Butter Apple Muffins are tender, moist, and full of fall flavor. Made with gluten-free flour, nutty hazelnut flour, and naturally sweetened with maple syrup and brown sugar, they're infused with warming spices and shredded Granny Smith apples. Finished with chopped pistachios and optional apple slices, these bakery-style muffins are perfect for breakfast or a cozy afternoon treat.
Prep Time 20 minutes mins
Cook Time 25 minutes mins
Cooling Time 5 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 12 muffins
Calories 220 kcal
Ingredients
- 140 g unsalted butter 1 1/4 sticks
- 140 g gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 50 g hazelnut flour
- 2 tbsp tapioca starch
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
- 0.25 tsp ground ginger
- 0.125 tsp ground nutmeg
- 0.125 tsp ground cardamom
- 2 eggs
- 80 ml maple syrup 1/3 cup
- 70 g light brown sugar 1/3 cup
- 1 vanilla bean split lengthwise, seeds scraped
- 2 Granny Smith apples peeled and grated
- 2 tbsp chopped pistachios for garnish
- lady apple slices for garnish (optional)
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Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
In a small saucepan, cook the butter over medium heat until it bubbles and the milk solids brown at the bottom. This takes about 5 minutes. It should smell nutty. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, hazelnut flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla bean seeds, and cooled brown butter until well combined.
Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Fold in the grated apples evenly.
Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin liners, filling each about 3/4 full. Garnish with chopped pistachios and/or apple slices on top.
Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Transfer muffins to a wire rack and let them cool completely before serving.
- Can be made with regular all-purpose flour instead of gluten-free. Use a 1:1 ratio.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or freeze for longer shelf life.
- For best results, use freshly grated apples to retain moisture.
Keyword gluten-free apple muffins, brown butter muffins, fall baking, maple sweetened muffins, hazelnut flour muffins, pistachio muffins, easy apple muffin recipe