Morning Glory Muffins
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS Morning glory muffins are chock-full of nuts, fruit, carrots, and spices. But all
these tempting add-ins can make for heavy, dense muffins, so our first move was to
strain the fruit and press out the extra juice to prevent our muffins from being soggy.
To keep the bright, fruity flavor intact, we simply saved the released fruit juice,
reduced it on the stovetop, and added the concentrated syrup back to the batter. To
keep the nuts and coconut from becoming mealy or soggy in the finished muffins, we
toasted and processed them. At last, our muffins were truly glorious. See the sidebar that follows the recipe.
MAKES 12 MUFFINS
Though we prefer golden raisins here, ordinary raisins will work, too.
|
¾ |
cup (2¼ ounces) sweetened shredded coconut, toasted |
|
½ |
cup walnuts, toasted |
|
2¼ |
cups (11¼ ounces) all-purpose flour |
|
¾ |
cup (5¼ ounces) sugar |
|
1½ |
teaspoons baking soda |
|
½ |
teaspoon baking powder |
|
1 |
teaspoon ground cinnamon |
|
¾ |
teaspoon salt |
|
1 |
(8-ounce) can crushed pineapple |
|
1 |
Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and shredded |
|
8 |
tablespoons unsalted butter, melted |
|
3 |
large eggs |
|
1 |
teaspoon vanilla extract |
|
1½ |
cups shredded carrots (2 to 3 carrots) |
|
1 |
cup golden raisins |
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable oil spray. Process coconut and walnuts in food processor until finely ground, 20 to 30 seconds. Add flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and pulse until combined. Transfer mixture to large bowl.
2. Place pineapple and shredded apple in fine-mesh strainer set over liquid measuring cup. Press fruit dry (you should have about 1 cup juice). Bring juice to boil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat and cook until reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly. Whisk melted butter, cooled juice, eggs, and vanilla together until smooth. Stir wet mixture into dry mixture until combined. Stir in pineapple-apple mixture, carrots, and raisins.
3. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 24 to 28 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let muffins cool in muffin tin on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. (Muffins can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.)