When you think of Fall, what flavors come to mind? Yes, pumpkin spice of course because that flavor seems to be the clear front runner, but apple too. Introducing apple pie cupcakes that you’ll never know how you did without!
We also think caramel is the bomb at this time of year, especially for these cupcakes. We totally recommend salted caramel icing to frost them with. But more on that later.
Why else are these apple cupcakes the best thing you’ll bake this season? First, they’re pretty easy: you don’t have to make all the ingredients from scratch, like the apple pie filling, although you totally can, if you so desire. Second, the taste is phenomenal—it’s just like the apple pie your favorite relatives used to make, but in cupcake form.
And finally…these apple cupcakes are homemade. Homemade is always better, don’t you think? Homemade desserts and treats really add a certain loving touch to parties, events, or even just a normal meal.
If you’re feeling apple pie cupcakes for your next baking project, here’s how to make them! You’ll just need the following list of ingredients for these delicious homemade cupcakes. We dress them up in our maroon cupcake liners restocking in just a few weeks! Some other fall colors of the paper liners would be our solid gold too. Gold is a great color for fall.
Apple Filled Cupcakes: Ingredients & Utensils
This recipe makes 24 cupcakes.
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 18-20 min
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
- 1 can apple pie filling (you will use about ½ a can)
Note that you can easily double this recipe, if you have the space, and make even more apple cupcake goodness! You can always half it too but once you taste these, we really don’t think you will want to.
Utensils & Other Items
- Cupcake pan
- Cupcake liners
- Whisk and/or stand mixer
- Two bowls
- A toothpick
- Totem Pole Sprinkles
How To Make Apple Pie Cupcakes Recipe
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line cupcake pan with paper liners.
- In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves. Set aside.
- In a large bowl on medium speed, cream together sugar, brown sugar, and butter until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time to the butter mix, beating after each addition.
- Add applesauce to the butter mix and stir well.
- Gradually add flour mixture. Mix just until combined after each addition.
- Divide batter into cupcake liners.
- Chop apple pie filling into small pieces, and add about 1 tablespoon of filling on top of the batter.
- Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Set cupcakes on cooling rack as they cool completely.
- Frost with our Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting, and, optionally, add Totem Pole Sprinkles for some fall flair!
Tips & Ideas For Making Apple Filled Cupcakes
Got a question about this recipe? Read this section before commenting—maybe we’ve answered it here!
- We’re sure your careful, but definitely watch these as they’re baking—they can be easy to burn or overcook. Know your oven inside and out!
- As always, you can change up the frosting and sprinkles to suit any holiday, occasion, or taste you want. A lot of people frost these apple cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing, for example. We’ll always at least recommend Salted Caramel Frosting to top these cupcakes, though! The combination is just superb, and totally suited for fall!
- We recommend using all-purpose flour for this recipe. We haven’t tried any dietary substitutes like gluten-free flour, so proceed with caution there!
- These can sit on your counter for about 8 hours, and in your fridge for about 3 days. Be sure they warm up to room temperature before serving.
- If you are in a rush or happen to be on vacation and wane to make these, spice cake mix would be really good in a pinch.
- An appropriate garnish would be a cut up granny smith apples too. Have fun with how you dress these up!
- Make perfectly even cupcakes with our tips on filling cupcake liners.
Apple Pie Cupcakes For Fall Dessert Tables
They say that apple pie is at the core of American life, but we have to disagree: we think it’s definitely apple cupcakes! Did these apple filled cupcakes turn out well for you? Were they scrumptious as all get-out? Did they make your house smell amazing? Is there really any more classic flavor than apple pie? We just had to make them into cupcakes and we hope you’ll enjoy these too. Let us know down in the comments, and we’d be happy to answer any questions we didn’t cover, too!
Love these Apple Pie Cupcakes? Check out more awesome desserts!
Like us, we know you probably can’t get enough sweets in your life…so here’s a few more cupcake recipes on our blog for you to try!
- Cookies and Cream Cupcake Recipe + Oreo Frosting
- Fall Maple Cinnamon Cupcakes Recipe
- Pumpkin Cupcakes Recipe + Cream Cheese Frosting
- Fall Desserts Roundup