Carrot Pineapple Muffins

     Four days ago Typhoon Dolphin passed by us. The only connection these muffins have to Typhoon Dolphin is the enjoyment we had of them on our typhoon morning. What really inspired me to make these muffins was a craving I was having for carrot cake the week before this typhoon. At the time I didn't want to make a whole cake but certainly would have eaten a piece if someone else had made it. :-)  The day before the typhoon I was stocking the shelves with some canned goods and noticed I had two cans of crushed pineapple. Suddenly that carrot cake craving came back. I settled for mingling this craving in a muffin and was not disappointed. The ingredients to make these are pretty simple and one's I think most people will have on hand. Minus the frosting, these muffins are reminiscent of carrot cake, moist, light and spongy.


Enjoy!

Carrot Pineapple Muffins

Makes 12 muffin
dairy-egg free

printable recipe

Ingredients:

2-3 cups grated carrots

8 oz. can crushed pineapple

¼ cup safflower oil

4 oz. unsweetened applesauce (1 snack size container)

½ cup sugar (I used Wholesome Organic Sugar)

2 cups flour

½ t. baking powder

½ t. baking soda

2 t. cinnamon

½ cup chopped walnuts (optional, sunflower seeds are a nice nut free option)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 °F.  Lightly oil a muffin tin for 12 muffins.

1. Grate the carrots and set aside.

2. Set a wire strainer over a bowl, add the pineapple and press out the liquid using the back of a spoon. Pour the liquid into a measuring cup. Add some orange juice (or other juice like mango) to make ½ cup of juice. 

3. In a medium bowl add the grated carrots, pineapple, oil, applesauce, juice and walnuts (if desired).

4. In another bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Use a whisk to sift together. Add the flour mix to the wet ingredients. Use a spatula to fold the ingredients together just until the wet and dry are combined.  

5. Fill each muffin tin with the batter. You can fill the cups a little more than the usual 2/3 cup recommendation.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. They are done when a toothpick comes out clean.