Who can resist a cinnamon-scented muffin bursting with fruit, carrots, coconut, and nuts? We have our own chef Pam McKinstry to thank for this now famous muffin, which she created when she owned the Morning Glory Café on the island of Nantucket. Her recipe was published in Gourmet magazine in 1981, and ten years later, was chosen as one of the magazine’s twenty-five favorite recipes from the past fifty years. These supermoist muffins taste even better a day after they’re baked. But who can wait that long?
Yield : Makes 16 standard-size muffins
Ingredients
- Butter, for greasing the muffin cups (unless using cupcake liners)
- 2¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1¼ cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
- 2 cups finely grated carrots (from about 6 carrots; see Notes)
- 1 large crisp apple, such as Fuji, Gala, or Granny Smith, peeled and grated (see Notes)
- ¾ cup raisins
- ½ cup shredded, sweetened coconut
- ½ cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter 16 standard-size muffin cups or line them with cupcake liners (see Notes)
2. Place the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and whisk well to combine. Add the pineapple, carrots, apple, raisins, and nuts and stir to combine.
3. Place the eggs, oil, and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk to combine well. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them almost to the brim.
4. Bake the muffins until they are brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
5. Place the muffin pan(s) on a wire rack and let the muffins cool for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan to finish cooling. The muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Let the muffins thaw in the refrigerator overnight and return to room temperature before serving.
Notes
You can save time by using a food processor fitted with the grater blade to grate the carrots and apple. If you use a box grater, use the medium-size holes.
You’ll need to use two 12-cup muffin tins or one 12-cup and one 6-cup muffin tin to bake these. Butter only 16 muffin cups, leaving the rest bare. If you do not have 2 muffin tins, bake the muffins in two batches.
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