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Chai Spiced Apple Butter Muffin Bread. Better than anything you’ll find at a coffee shop, this bread is such a cozy fall treat! It’s a simple muffin-style loaf made with my homemade chai spice blend, apple butter, and brown sugar, then swirled with chai-spiced Honeycrisp apples. What makes it really special are the ribbons of cream cheese baked inside and the sweet, spiced chai crumble on top. Fresh out of the oven or toasted with a smear of butter, this bread is truly irresistible.
I’ve spent the past week in New York, and while the weather has been perfect, you can definitely feel fall in the air. The markets are overflowing with autumn scents, fresh figs, and the most beautiful apples. New York really does have the best apple selection—so many varieties! My favorite will always be Honeycrisp, but it’s so fun to see all the options.
It’s the perfect reminder that it’s apple season, and the perfect time to bake. This bread is just right for a cozy fall weekend, especially on a chilly day when you’re craving something warm from the oven. No pumpkin yet—just all the autumn apples!
These are the details
Ingredients
The Chai Spice
- cinnamon
- ginger
- cardamon
- nutmeg
- all-spice
- cloves
Muffin Batter
- salted butter
- brown sugar
- plain Greek yogurt
- apple butter
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- Honeycrisp apples – I never peel them!
- cream cheese
Chai Swirl CRUNCH
- brown sugar
- whole wheat or all-purpose flour
- salted butter
Steps
Step 1: Mix the chai spice
This one’s easy—just mix all the spices together in a small bowl. That’s it! If you have leftovers, save them for sprinkling into your coffee. So yummy!
Step 2: Make the batter
Start with melted butter. I don’t use a microwave, so I melt mine on the stove until it reaches a lightly browned stage for extra flavor.
Whisk the butter with yogurt, apple butter, eggs, and vanilla. Then stir in the dry ingredients: whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose), a little of the chai spice, baking powder, and salt.
Step 3: Add the apples and cream cheese swirl
I like to leave the skin on my apples—it gives more flavor and fiber. Slice and chop the apples, then toss them with brown sugar and chai spice before folding them into the batter.
Swirl in the softened cream cheese gently. Don’t overmix—just a light stir gives you those pretty ribbons of cream cheese throughout.
Step 4: Make the chai swirl topping
Mix brown sugar, chai spice, flour, and butter together until clumps form. Sprinkle the clumps evenly over the batter.
Bake the bread for about 1 hour, until golden on top and cooked through. It’s a long wait, but worth it!
Serve
Enjoy the bread warm or cooled, though it’s hard to resist cutting into it fresh from the oven. I love it with a pat of European-style butter and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. Cozy, spiced, and the perfect way to welcome autumn!
Pro Tips
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Storage: Keep the bread in an airtight container at room temp for 2–3 days, or in the fridge for up to a week.
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Freezing: Slice and wrap individually, then freeze. Warm slices in the oven or toaster oven when ready to enjoy.
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Apples: Honeycrisp are my favorite, but use what you love—Gala, Fuji, or even Pink Lady all work great.
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Flour: Whole wheat pastry flour gives a light, nutty flavor. All-purpose flour is a perfect substitute if that’s what you have.
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Extra Chai Spice: Sprinkle leftovers into coffee, over oatmeal, or onto baked apples—it’s delicious anywhere.
Looking for apple recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Brown Butter Apple Blondies with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
Haunted Pumpkin Patch Margarita
Cinnamon Crunch Apple Butter Soft Pretzel Knots
Salted Maple Apple Tarte Tatin with Cinnamon Pumpkin Seeds
Cinnamon Spiced Apple Fritters with Vanilla Coffee Glaze
Baked Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cider Doughnut Holes
Lastly, if you make this Chai Spiced Apple Butter Muffin Bread, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Chai Spiced Apple Butter Muffin Bread
Ingredients
Chai spice
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon all-spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
Muffin Bread Batter
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup apple butter
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat or all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Honeycrisp apple, very thinly sliced or chopped
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature or melted
Chai Swirl
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
Instructions
- 1. To make the chai spice. In a shallow bowl, combine all the spices. 2. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×5 inch bread pan with parchment paper.3. In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, the yogurt, apple butter, eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour, 1 tablespoon chai spice, the baking powder, and salt. Mix until fully combined.4. Toss the apples with 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 2 teaspoons chai spice. Mix the apples into the batter. Dollop the cream cheese over the batter and give it a gentle stir, don't over-mix it. 5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. 6. To make the swirl. Mix the butter, brown sugar, flour, and 1-2 teaspoons of chai spice. Arrange the clumps over the batter. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until the center is set. If the top is browning too quickly, cover with foil halfway through cooking.7. Remove, slice, and enjoy with butter and flaked sea salt.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Can I omit the cream cheese here?
Hi Frannie,
Yes, that would be perfectly okay for you to do. I hope you love this recipe!
I think 1 tbsp baking powder is too much? My loaf ended up tasting bitter.
Hi Rachel,
So sorry to hear this! You could certainly reduce the baking powder next time. Let me know if that helps!
Hi. I made this exactly to directions. Oven temp was good. After 1 hour, I checked with a toothpick multiple times, especially in the center. They were “dry.” The more it cooled, the more it sank in the middle. When it was cool enough to cut, we found the middle was still batter. Any suggestions?
Hi Jan,
Thanks for trying this recipe and your feedback, so sorry to hear the middle was raw. What kind of baking pan did you use? I always seem to have the best results using metal for a bread like this. I hope this helps!
Family loved this! Even my picky eaters!
Hey Debbie,
Amazing! I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was a hit!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Hi Tieghan! I made this and both my bf and I thought it was absolutely PHENOMENAL!!! The only thing is, mine came out dense. I made the recipe exactly as is and my ingredients weren’t expired. I’m at regular altitude. Do you have any tips on how I can make it less dense next time? Thank you! 🙂
Hey Kei,
Wonderful! I am so glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for making it! For a less dense muffin, try just filling half of your muffin tins with batter. I hope this helps! 🎃👻
With this having plain cream cheese mixed in is this considered shelf stable? Or does it need to be refrigerated?
Great recipe all around though I felt it didn’t need the cream cheese.
Thanks for trying the recipe, Jessica! You can keep this in an airtight container on the counter. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
So yummy! Didn’t have apple butter, but used apple cider jam. Also didnt toss the apples in the extra brown sugar (just the spice) – the extra sweetness wasnt missed, my son loved it too.
Hi Sarah,
Love to hear this! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your feedback! Have a great day!
I just made this, and OMG! Smells and tastes like the perfect Fall day. Absolutely delicious!
Thanks so much, Julie! Love to hear this bread turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it!
This turned out really good. Not too sweet. However, it was too much ginger for my taste. I think next time I’ll do less ginger. But overall an easy delicious fall dessert!
Hi Olga,
Happy Fall Friday! Love to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks for making it and your comment!
This bread was really good. Not too sweet. I modified slightly based on comments and lowered the amount of Greek yogurt to 1/3 & increased the flour to 2 cups. I also mill my own flour so I used fresh milled spelt. My chai swirl melted down into my bread but other than that, it tasted like fall. 🍎
Hi Sandra,
Happy Wednesday! Thanks for trying this recipe and letting me know it went well!
I just made this recipe! It is very tasty! I put some vanilla ice cream on top ! Recommend 10/10
Yay! Thanks so much, Martine! Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you!
This might sound ridiculous but apple butter isn’t readily available in the UK – is it just puréed apples? Could I use a pouch of apple purée from the baby food aisle?!
Hey Nia,
Apple butter is a super concentrated and thicker form of apple sauce. My guess is that the apple sauce pouch will work just fine for you here. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it!
The King Arthur website has a recipe to make Apple Butter out of apple sauce that is the following:
1 1/2 cups (383g) applesauce, unsweetened
2 1/2 tablespoons (34g) dark brown sugar or light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon boiled cider, optional
Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then cook, stirring frequently and adjusting the heat to prevent scorching, until the applesauce has reduced, darkened, and begun to stick to the bottom of the pan, about 13 to 18 minutes.Remove from the heat, stir in the boiled cider, then transfer to a liquid measuring cup or small bowl to cool completely. Your mixture should have reduced to about 3/4 cup
Pure deliciousness! Perfect amount of spices, sweetness and the best way to welcome fall season. 🍁
Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Hey Claudia,
Thanks for testing this recipe out, I’m thrilled it was a success for you. Have a nice day!
Really yummy. Moist flavourful and a slice for breakfast. I didn’t do the chai swirl, used leftover homemade apple pie filling, subbed sour cream for yogurt, added 1/8t almond extract and walnuts. It took about 80 minutes to bake, tented the last 10 minutes to ensure it was cooked through.
Hey Debs,
Awesome!! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed and thanks for sharing what worked well for you!
Hi,
My “bread” came out like sauteed apples instead of a bread texture. I used regular yogurt instead of greek because I didn’t have it. Do you think this is why it was so wet? I’m so bummed!
Thanks!
D
Hi Dana,
Oh no! So sorry to hear this! The regular yogurt could have given more of a wet consistency. I would try greek yogurt next time if you are able to! Have a great week!
Tieghan
I attempted this delicious recipe, and the consistency came out way different. It was more “flat”. I don’t know if the outside cooked faster (I checked while baking it didn’t seem to be an issue) or if maybe I over mixed at one of the steps…can you give some insight into trouble shooting.
Hi Alex,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback. Sorry to hear you had some issues. Do you mean the bread itself was flat? Were any of your ingredients expired? Anything you may have adjusted? Please let me know:)
Do you think pumpkin pie spice would be an ok substitute for the spice mix? I have a ton of that on hand.
Hey Amber,
So sorry, I have never tried that, it’s going to give different flavors, but it would probably work. Let me know how it turns out! xx