Morning Glory Muffins
These cinnamon-spiced Morning Glory Muffins are the best! Healthy and indulgent all at once, these fabulously hearty muffins are full of carrots, pineapple, apple, raisins, walnuts, and flavored with ground toasted coconut. Breakfast dressed up like carrot cake is something I can get behind!
I think that most people are either “breakfast people” or, most assuredly, “not breakfast people”. Which are you? I definitely fall into the latter camp and have for pretty much my entire life.
However, making a batch of these muffins and then freezing them for easy, delicious breakfasts is a phenomenal decision. The flour mixture of these muffins is augmented with ground walnuts and ground toasted coconut, as well as cinnamon, which results in some mind-blowing flavor. In addition to that, the batter contains shredded carrots, grated apple, crushed pineapple, dried pineapple, and golden raisins. So basically, every imaginable fantastic add-in you could dream of is in these muffins.
This is what breakfast dreams are made of.
If you’ve ever wondered how morning glory muffins got their name, a little history lesson… they were developed by Chef Pam McKinstry for her restaurant, Morning Glory, on Nantucket Island. The recipe was first published in Gourmet magazine in 1981, and in 1991 it was chosen as one of the magazine’s 25 favorite recipes from the past 50 years.
An absolute classic!
Making morning glory muffins from scratch, step-by-step
These aren’t as quick to throw together as, say, regular old banana or blueberry muffins, as they require grating carrots and an apple and reducing some liquid (you get the intense flavor and none of the mushiness!), but you are rewarded with a breakfast muffin that feels healthy and indulgent all at once. Here’s how we make them:
- Preheat oven and line a muffin tin with liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- Process the coconut and walnuts in a food processor until finely ground.
- Add the dry ingredients and pulse to combine.
- Drain the pineapple and shredded apple over a bowl.
- Reduce the liquid on the stove to ¼ cup and cool slightly.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined (do not overmix or the muffins will be tough).
- Fold in the add-ins (crushed pineapple, apple, carrots, raisins, and dried pineapple).
- Divide the batter between the muffin cups.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Mix-in ideas and substitutions
If you want to change up the recipe a bit to suit your tastes or just want to try something different, here are a few ideas:
- Walnuts: You can omit them or replace them with pecans, almonds, or pistachios. You can also replace them with an equal amount of more coconut.
- Coconut: You can omit or substitute with any of the nuts mentioned above (including extra walnuts).
- Carrots: You can substitute shredded zucchini!
- Raisins and dried pineapple: Substitute any dried fruit you’d like! Chopped dates, cranberries, cherries, sunflower seeds, more chopped nuts, more shredded coconut, or omit entirely.
- Citrus Zest: For an additional punch of flavor, try adding some lemon or orange zest to the batter.
Topping ideas
Just like mix-ins, you can also add some delicious toppings for some contrasting flavors and textures. Some of my favorite ideas:
- Cinnamon-sugar streusel: Before baking, mix together ½ cup brown sugar + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the muffins then bake as directed.
- Crumble topping: Use the topping from my New York crumb cake and sprinkle over the top of these muffins for something extra special!
- Drizzle with glaze: Whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar + 1 tablespoon milk + 1 teaspoon vanilla and drizzle over cooled muffins. You can replace the milk with lemon juice, orange juice, or lime juice if you’d like.
- Cream cheese frosting: Turn these muffins into dessert by adding my favorite cream cheese frosting.
Muffin pans and liners
Any standard 12-cup muffin pan will work for these muffins. I’ve had the Wilton Everglide Avanti muffin pan for ages, but it is not readily available in most places anymore. If you can’t get your hands on one, my next recommendation is the USA Muffin Pan.
You can spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray or use liners. I’ve used tons of different types of liners over the years, and I absolutely prefer the basic white paper liners. You can find them at just about any grocery store or craft store, but they are incredibly inexpensive if you buy them in bulk online (and they last forever!).
Storing and freezing morning glory muffins
There are a few different options for storing these muffins:
- Room Temperature – Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Refrigerator – Kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator, these muffins will stay fresh for up to 1 week.
- Freezer – Once completely cooled, wrap each muffin in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container or ziplock freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Muffin love!
More of my favorite muffins:
- The Best Blueberry Muffins
- Apple-Cinnamon Muffins
- Triple Chocolate Chunk Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Banana Muffins
- Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Muffins with Pecan Streusel
- Zucchini-Chocolate Chip Muffins
If you make these morning glory muffins and love them, I would so appreciate it if you would take a moment to leave a rating below. Thank you so much! ❤️️
Morning Glory Muffins
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (22 g) sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
- ¼ cup (28 g) walnuts, toasted
- 2¼ cups (270 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (149 g) granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) salt
- 8 ounce (8 ounces) canned crushed pineapple in juice
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and shredded
- 3 eggs
- 4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups (149 g) shredded carrots, 2 to 3 medium carrots
- 1 cup (149 g) golden raisins
- ¾ cup (107 g) finely chopped dried pineapple
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
- Process the toasted coconut and walnuts in a food processor until finely ground, about 15 seconds. Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and pulse until combined, about 3 one second pulses. Transfer the flour mixture to a large bowl and set aside.
- Pour the crushed pineapple into a fine-mesh strainer set over a 4-cup measuring cup (or small bowl), then add the shredded apple. Press the fruit mixture until it is completely dry (the resulting juice should measure about 1 cup). Transfer the juice to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the juice has reduced to ¼ cup, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
- Transfer the juice to a medium bowl and whisk in the eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract until smooth. Gently fold the egg mixture into the flour mixture until just combined. Gently fold in the pineapple and apple mixture, the carrots, raisins, and dried pineapple.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 24 to 28 minutes, rotating the muffin tin halfway through baking. Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove the muffins to a wire rack, and cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Leftover muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They can also be wrapped individually in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 1 month.
Notes
- Flavors & toppings: See suggested substitutions, combinations, and instructions in the post above.
- Equipment recommendations: Food processor / My muffin pan / Another muffin pan / Paper liners / Large cookie scoop
- Food processor alternative: If you don't have a food processor, then very finely chop the coconut and walnuts until a ground consistency, then proceed with the recipe.
- Mini muffins: This recipe will yield 24 mini muffins; bake for 10 to 14 minutes.
- Quick bread: You can use this batter to bake a quick bread. Spread it in a 9x5-inch loaf pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes.
- Storage: Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Freezing: Once completely cool, the muffins can be wrapped in plastic wrap and transferred to an airtight container or zip-top bag and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
- Recipe adapted from The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2013
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
[Photography by Ari of Well Seasoned]
I made these muffins and they took forever to make, it was my first time making them. It took me about 2.5 hours total. I don’t understand the reason for boiling down the pineapple juice when you can just use 1/4 cup out of the can. Shredding the carrots by hand takes a bit more time, so I recommend buying shredded carrots unless you have an electric or easy to use shredder. I had the muffins in 12 minutes then rotated another 12 minutes. The muffins are ok, pretty bland and dry. Maybe I needed more than a 1/4 cup of pineapple juice or more apple. I used a small apple. Will not make again.
Hi Keri, I’m sorry to hear that you were disappointed in the muffins. I did just want to make one clarification – the pre-shredded carrots from the store have a much different texture than freshly shredded carrots. Freshly shredded carrots are quite soft and retain a lot of moisture (which is what we want for the muffins). Pre-shredded carrots are hard and crunchy and they do not soften up very much during baking. I do not recommend making this substitution.
Can I use almond flour instead
Hi Debbie, I haven’t tested that, so I can’t say for sure.
Loved these. Because I used the dried pineapple and a Gala apple I used only 1/2 cup sugar instead of 3/4 cup. They are plenty sweet, especially for breakfast. Wonderful recipe. 👍🏼
Excited to try this recipe. Thankyou!
These are great muffins and something different when you want a muffin. Happy to see you use butter in this recipe as the recipe I have used and many I have seen all use oil. I am not a big fan of using oil as it always tends to make the finished product greasy.
Anyway to add bran
Wondering to replace coconut with some dates
That sounds delicious!
I have made these and they’re amazing! However, I wonder what your recommendation is with regards to reducing the amount of white sugar? Do you think it’s possible? I ask because the fruit — pineapple, raisins, apples — add a lot of sweetness on their own. No interest in substitute sweeteners, but rather dialing down the sweetness somewhat.
I haven’t tried making it with less sugar, but I think you could dial it back a bit and still be okay!
I doubled the recipe. Made 3 dozen. Was I supposed to use large pans? I used the USA brand regular size.
I snitched before coffee finished.
OH MY WORD!! All that prep work was so worth it. BTW, I followed your directions to take letter. Baked 24 min.
Perfect.
Coffee ready so having a second. Never had such a great coffee break. Did I say moist and delicious. This could be a girl group thing for fun during the prepping.
These have been in my “must” make file. Finally gathered all the ingredients and was off….I am by no means an inexperienced baker, but my goodness these were labor intensive as well as “let’s dirty every piece of kitchen equipment I own”. They were okay, not great, just okay and so NOT worth the effort. But I’m glad I can say I did attempt them and I am enjoying eating them, but never again, lol.
Mom and I just made the morning glory muffins. They are delicious!
For those doing Weight Watchers–these are 12 SmartPoints per muffin. I say “worth every single point!”
Made these this morning for a tea party! Wow. We loved them. So completely delicious. Definitely worth the effort,Thank you.
I’ve read letting batter rest will help them rise. Also read if it contains baking soda you need to bake immediately. The recipe confuses me since you have equal amounts of both. Rest or no rest with this recipe?
You do not need to let the batter rest.
These were phenomenal. A bit more work than a more simple muffin, but well worth it! Made them for friends who just had a baby, and saved a few for us :)
If I want to serve these as fresh as possible, and do not have a lot of time in the morning, would you recommend I bake and store them (counter? fridge?) the night before , or prepare the batter the night before and bake them in the morning?
Thanks :)
Hi Michelle, I would bake them the night before and store them in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy!
Hello :D
Since the day you posted these, I had them rolling in my mind.
I couldn’t make them right away because I didn’t have all the ingredients, but eventually I bought them and I baked them yesterday. I had to do some substitions: I couldn’t find the can of pineapple in juice, so I took the syrup away and added pineapple juice; my shredded coconut was not sweetened, but my dried pineapple was; and I think I used half all-purpose and half whole wheat flour (I did step #2 a few weeks ago, hihi, so I’m not sure)
I really liked how they turned out, but I have a question I’m not sure if it can be answered. Is it really sweet or is it my substitutions?
I’ll try it again because all those ingredients make it really healthy (perhaps I’ll reduce the amount of some of the sweetened ingredients).
Thank you for the recipe!
made the muffins, thought they might turn out dry, but that was not to be, they were very moist, substituted dried apricots for the dried pineapple. turned out awesome, love you brown eyed baker.
I love these muffins!! They are delicious. Thank you.
These muffins turned out great…the recipe made 18 muffins for me. When I drained the pineapple and apple I only got 1/4 cup of liquid, so I did. It reduce it over the stove. I will bake these again soon!!
It’s been way too long since I’ve made muffins. This sound fabulous! When I was in school my mom had to beg me to eat breakfast. Now I eat it everyday and skip lunch.
I emailed my mom this recipe last week and she made them today and invited me over for brunch. These muffins are TO DIE FOR. Seriously–the texture is heavenly, and the flavor. Oh my!
These muffins are delicious!! My non-raisin eating boyfriend scarfed them down. I had made a double batch so brought 18 to work and they were gone in an hour! I will be making them again soon. Thanks for another great recipe!
Oh.My.Goodness! These are some of the best muffins I’ve ever had. I was a bit put off by the long list of ingredients and the amount of prep, but they are TOTALLY worth it! I am so glad I made them. I’m planning to take a few to share at work tomorrow. (Hope they make it there safely!) :)
Any tips for keeping the dried pineapple from sticking to the knife when you’re chopping it?
Hi Christy, You could try spraying the knife with non-stick cooking spray before chopping, it may help. I have the same issue, it’s the worst when I chop dates!
I find using kitchen shears to cut dried fruit works great. It’s still sticky, but very easy to cut. Works especially well for cutting dates. ;)
Had them for breakfast this morning. Yum! Thanks for all your great recipes.
Hi Michelle,
Do you have a go to green smoothie recipe? I’m always looking for one that can jumpstart my day.
Thank you!!
Hi Desiree, I do! I make this one pretty much exclusively, using either all spinach, all kale, or a mix of the two: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2012/01/04/green-smoothie-recipe/
I could make these right now only I don’t have dried pineapple ,do you think I could just omit it? Or should I replace it with something?
Hi Cathy, You can omit it or replace it with another type of dried fruit.
I absolutely have to eat breakfast – always have, always will! However, I’m transitioning away from gluten and toward Paleo, so my breakfasts are usually eggs (hardboiled on work mornings, scrambled on days off) and sometimes turkey bacon, sometimes g/f toaster waffles… and always coffee. Has to be portable – I eat during my commute! I think I’ll try these next time I need a new breakfast option – they look delicious and easy to freeze for quick mornings!
Yummy! You have just solved my problem of what to do with leftover crushed pineapple from a can I opened for another recipe this weekend, and hubby was just drooling over a carrot cake mix at the store today! Some coincidence, huh?
Amazing looking muffins! They look like dessert for breakfast but without the guilt!
I can’t turn down a muffin that’s like carrot cake for breakfast! Love the add-ins!
sound wonderful but way too complicated for me! thanks
MMMMMMM! Don’t know why I haven’t heard of these before …but thank you!
These are incredible! I’m a total breakfast lover – it’s what I look forward to most upon waking. What a great looking recipe – love all the add-in’s!! :)
Totally love these! My recipe is slightly different but I might try yours for a little change up. I’ve made the recipe into a bundt cake for brunches and breakfast meetings–and never brought home leftovers. You absolutely right–they’re healthy and indulgent–with addition of cream cheese–like a kiss to my taste buds!
Hey Michelle, these are awesome. Do you think there’s a way to make them flour-free or gluten-free? I’d love to try to make them for breakfast during Passover. Thanks!
Hi Rachel, Unfortunately, I don’t do much in the way of gluten-free baking, so I’m not sure what your best bet is for converting this recipe. Perhaps you could use some type of gluten-free flour substitute?
While I have not tried the substitution in this exact recipe, I have recently been doing alot of gluten-free baking due to allergies. I have had success substituting equal parts oat flour (ground oats) for all-purpose flour. Hope this helps!
Just want to know if the texture of the product changes when you substitute ‘oat flour’ for APF. I’ve been substituting some ground flax and/or wheat germ for part of flour but not 100 percent ‘yet’. Afraid to get a very heavy and denser texture if I do this. Feedback from your experience will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I am most definitely a breakfast person and these are unreal looking. Yum!
I am definitely a breakfast person! But I totally understand wanting the extra sleep! I eat it at work, so it doesn’t interfere with my sleeping :) These muffins are the perfect breakfast though! They look delicious, and are full of healthy things. I would certainly like some cream cheese frosting for them though…yum!
I’m the same way about breakfast… But like you, I could totally get on board with breakfast for these muffins! Delicious!! :)
http://www.appetitesanonymous.com
My sister isn’t a breakfast person, either. It’s like pulling teeth to try and get her to eat in the morning — usually I make her a raw smoothie for breakfast, which she totally loves. I’m definitely the breakfast type, though. Some kind of slightly-sweet muffin or bread or oatmeal with a cuppa tea and I’m a happy girl.
These muffins look delicious! My dad totally loves morning glory muffins, so I’m definitely going to have to make this recipe for him sometime.
Pinning!
These sound like an even more delicious version of a muffin I had last week. Can’t wait to make them!
Michelle, what do you think of sub. walnut oil for the butter? Just looking for more ways to amp up my omega-3’s.
Hi Fay, I would not sub oil for the butter, as it will definitely change the texture of the muffins.
I am a breakfast person, but also a person who likes to sleep. My mornings start at 5:30am. I make 5 to 6 smoothies at a time and freeze them. I am sure that is not the best thing to do. I put the smoothie in the microwave for a minute and 32 seconds while it is defrosting I get dressed grab my smoothie and drink it in the car on the way to work. No time is wasted eating and I get an extra 15 minutes of sleep a day.
Wish I had one of these for breakfast right now!!
I have to omit the walnuts because of allergy issues….Do you think by omitting them I should increase the amounts of the coconut or just leave the recipe the way it its. Thanks for posting.
Hi Lori, Because the ground walnuts and coconut are added to the flour mixture, I would substitute the walnuts with more coconut or another type of nut, if you are able.
As a definite ‘breakfast person’ I will be adding these to my repertoire!
Love these – thanks for the recipe :)
The Macadame. xx
http://www.creamstop.com
Hey, Michelle, count me in, too, because these both look and sound fantastic, and any recipe that has even the most minute amount of coconut listed as one of the ingredients always has my name on it. Umm, you wouldn’t happen to know what the carb content is in one of these babies, would you?
Hi Valerie, I have absolutely no idea how many carbs are in these muffins, sorry!
Hi, I added these to myfitnesspal.com, and it calculates out to 55 carbs for each muffin (if you make 12 of them). Cal: 303; Carbs 55g (2g fiber, 33g sugar): Fat: 8g; Protein: 6g; Chol: 63mg; Sod: 373mg.
I have always wanted to make these! They’re one of those staples from the 1980s that I had eaten but never made. I remember the episode when Chris Kimball and I believe it was Julia made these on their show. Yours are absolutely so cheery and look delish! And Im a ‘not’ breakfast person but these would make anyone change their mind!
I love breakfast but I love sleeping in as well, which is why I love cooking a big breakfast for dinner sometimes. However I’m always on the look out for recipes that I can make ahead for my husband to grab heading out the door! I’m definitely trying these!
I am definitely one of those “not breakfast people”. My husband is the opposite! He constantly wants me to make a good breakfast when I would rather just starve and wait to eat a nice, big lunch! :) Love these muffins…these I can definitely get behind!
I love morning glory muffins and yes please to a slather of cream cheese frosting!