BY JANÉE McCONNEL
These muffins are wholesome, zen, and full of healthy vibes. They’re packed with good-for-you ingredients and are super chill about substitutions. Swap out the all-purpose flour for buckwheat or whole wheat flour, sneak in some chocolate chips for a treat, or go full-on health nut and throw in some flax seeds. Yes, they take a little effort, but your taste buds (and possibly your karma) will thank you later!
Ingredients
¾ C sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
½ C walnuts or pecans, toasted
2 ¼ C all-purpose flour
¾ C Sugar
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
8 oz can crushed pineapple
1 granny smith apple, cored and shredded
8 Tbs butter, melted and cooled slightly
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ C shredded carrots
1 C golden raisins (or cranberries, or dried cherries-your call)
Mise En Place (Fancy French way of saying, “getting ready” or “the things I always skim over but wish someone would remind me of again before I get started, and have to start over”)
Don’t drain the pineapple YET, you will be using the juice.
You can toast the nuts and coconut (separately) in a skillet over medium heat for ~5 minutes until golden and fragrant.
To shred the carrots, you can use a box grater or a food processor. Or buy pre-shredded carrots (no judgment), the results are the same.
I prefer golden raisins for this but you can use any dried fruit.
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 and adjust an oven rack to the middle.
Place 12 liners in a muffin tin.
Dry Ingredient Prep
In a large bowl, add flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Process the coconut and nuts together in a food processor until finely ground, mix in with flour mixture.
Wet Ingredient Prep
Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and place the shredded apple and pineapple, straining the juice into the bowl below. Press/squeeze the fruit into the strainer, getting as much juice from it as you can. You want to get about 1 C of juice.
Bring that juice to a boil in a small saucepan or skillet over med/high heat and cook until it’s reduced to about ¼ C, (5 min). Set aside to cool.
Whisk melted butter, eggs, vanilla and cooled juice all together in a bowl until smooth and combined.
Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients-don’t over-mix!
Stir in pineapple-apple mixture, carrots, and raisins.
Scoop 3 Tbs of batter into muffin cups and bake for 24-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Let cool in the tin for ~10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
Serve warm – muffins can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days – they also freeze beautifully.
Janée McConnell is the head chef of local favorite, Foxwood Bakery. If these are too intimidating, don’t fret. You can order yours here: foxwoodbakery.com