Morning glory muffins
Morning glory muffins are American muffins packed with carrots, apples, pineapple, raisins, walnuts and desiccated coconut, so every bite is moist, hearty and full of texture. Warm cinnamon and brown sugar make each one feel like a complete breakfast you can hold in your hand.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Rising or chilling
- 15 min
- Total time
- 1 hr 10 min
- Method
- Oven-baked
Ingredients
Muffin batter
Vegetables, fruit and nuts
Instructions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and line or grease sixteen muffin cups; if your tin has only twelve cups, bake in two batches. Muffins with lots of vegetables need moderate heat to cook all the way to the center. The oven is ready after about fifteen minutes of preheating.
Step 2
Finely grate 200 g carrots and 120 g peeled apples, finely chop 80 g fresh pineapple and squeeze it gently to remove some juice, and break 60 g walnuts into small pieces. Pineapple that is too juicy will make the crumb soggy. The mix-ins are right when the grated vegetables are fine shreds and the pineapple is only slightly moist.
Step 3
Whisk 250 g all-purpose flour, 5 g baking soda, 4 g baking powder, 6 g ground cinnamon and a pinch salt together in a large bowl. The cinnamon and leaveners need to be spread evenly through the flour so the muffins rise evenly and taste the same throughout. The dry mix is right when it is an even light brown with no clumps of cinnamon.
Step 4
In another bowl, stir 150 g egg with 150 g brown sugar until the sugar has mostly dissolved, then add 160 g vegetable oil and 5 g vanilla extract. Oil keeps the muffins soft even the next day, unlike butter, which firms up. The mixture is right when it is smooth and the oil no longer separates.
Step 5
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones, stir a few turns, then add the carrots, apples, pineapple and walnuts along with 60 g raisins and 40 g desiccated coconut, and fold just until combined. Juice from the produce thins the batter as you mix, so stop early to keep the muffins from turning tough. The batter is right when the mix-ins are evenly distributed and no patches of dry flour remain.
Step 6
Divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling each about four fifths full and slightly mounded in the middle. A batter heavy with mix-ins rises less than a regular muffin batter, so fill the cups a little fuller. The tin is right when the cups are evenly filled and the tops are gently domed.
Step 7
Bake at 180 degrees C for about 22 to 26 minutes, until the tops are deep brown. The longer bake makes sure the moist produce inside cooks through. The muffins are right when a skewer inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs and no wet batter.
Step 8
Let the muffins rest in the tin for five minutes, then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. Fruit-filled muffins are very soft while hot, so the crumb needs a little time to set. They are ready when they don't sag as you lift them and the liners peel away easily.
Equipment
- Oven
- Muffin tin
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Kitchen scale
- Mixing bowl
- Wire cooling rack
Tips
- Toasting the walnuts and desiccated coconut in a dry skillet for about three minutes gives the muffins a much richer, nuttier flavor.
- You can replace a third of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour for sturdier, higher-fiber muffins that are still tender.
- If you don't have fresh pineapple, well-drained canned pineapple works just as well.
Storage
Because they contain so much fresh fruit, keep the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for no more than two days, then move them to the refrigerator for up to three more days. They freeze well for about a month.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The crumb is wet and heavy even though the tops are done.
- The pineapple or apples were too juicy. Squeeze the pineapple more thoroughly and bake a few minutes longer, until a skewer comes out dry.
- The bottoms are burnt and dark.
- Brown sugar and fruit scorch easily at the bottom of a dark metal tin. Bake on the middle rack and lower the temperature to 170 degrees C.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
