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These delicious morning glory muffins, brimming with wholesome ingredients like pineapple, carrots, apples, and walnuts, make the perfect breakfast or healthy snack. Plus, learn how to make these into beautiful TALL bakery style muffins!
The smell of morning glory muffins baking in the oven is the perfect way to start a morning. Healthy morning glory muffins are the perfect quick breakfast, a great addition to your child’s lunchbox, the perfect afternoon snack, or you get where I’m going with this… they’re the perfect any time food!
Making this morning glory muffin recipe and these egg muffin cups is an easy way to meal prep for the week! As a mom, I am a huge fan of anything that makes my busy weekdays a little easier, and tastier too)!
Origin of Morning Glory Muffins
Morning Glory muffins originated from the Morning Glory Cafe on Nantucket Island. They were created by the owner, Chef Pam McKinstry in 1978, and in 1981, Gourmet Magazine printed her recipe. The original recipe has been tweaked over the years, but the idea is the same! These breakfast muffins will be popular with the whole family, and they’re great for making treats for your neighbors and friends!
Why You’ll Love These Morning Glory Muffins
- Quick and easy to make
- Kid-friendly
- Great for meal prep
- Easy to customize
What You’ll Need
These hearty muffins branch out from the typical muffin ingredients, and you’ll be surprised how delicious they are! Get the detailed ingredients list and instructions for this recipe in the recipe card below.
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Sweetened coconut: Make sure to get shredded coconut.
- Raisins: Light or dark raisins will work.
- Large apple
- Crushed pineapple: Make sure they’re drained!
- Shredded carrots: It’s best to use a box grater to shred your own so they’re nice and thin.
- Pecans or walnuts
- Large eggs
- Vegetable oil
- Vanilla extract
How to Make Morning Glory Muffins
This will become one of your favorite recipes! Healthy ingredients packed into a perfectly sweet, fluffy muffin, you can’t go wrong! Get the full recipe in the recipe card below.
Prep fruit. Grate the apple and measure out ¾ cup. Next, wrap the grated apple in a few paper towels and squeeze out the excess liquid. Discard the juice and set the grated apple aside. Be sure to drain the crushed pineapple as well, and discard the juice.
Combine baking ingredients. In a large bowl combine the flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir with a spoon to combine and set aside.
Combine nuts, veggies, and fruits. In a larger, separate bowl combine shredded coconut, raisins, grated apple, drained crushed pineapple, grated carrots, and chopped nuts. Stir with a spoon to combine and set aside.
Combine wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Stir to combine with a fork or spatula for 20 seconds.
Combine all. Gradually mix in the dry flour mixture and the fruit mixture, mixing by hand just until combined. The muffin batter will be very thick!
Rest. Cover the bowl with a towel and allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 425ºF.
For bakery style muffin tops, line a 12-count muffin pan with 6 muffin liners, meaning you’ll only fill every other muffin well with batter. Filling every other well allows the muffins to spread and dome without running into each other. For this recipe I used tulip muffin liners, you can find them on Amazon. Tulip liners naturally produce a taller muffin so you don’t need to do the every other muffin method. If you’re using regular muffin liners, I recommend filling every other muffin well.
Fill muffin tins. Fill the paper liners in muffin cups full of batter. Use a butter knife to smooth the tops of the muffins if lumpy. Top the muffins with additional raisins, pecans, and shredded coconut.
Bake, cool, and serve. Place one pan in the center of the oven and bake for 7 minutes at 425ºF, then keep the muffins in the oven, and turn the temperature down to 350ºF and bake for 13-17 minutes for regular liners and for 19-21 minutes for tulip liners, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing. Repeat with the remaining batter, making sure to bump the temperature back up to 425ºF.
How to Create Bakery Style Muffins
Bakery style muffins are known for their domed tops. Plus who doesn’t love them? I used a few techniques to help “lift” these muffins so they would have domed tops.
1. THE REST PERIOD
Let the batter rest for 15 minutes after it’s mixed and before you scoop it into the muffin pan. During the resting period, starch molecules in the flour are absorbing the liquid in the batter, causing them to swell and giving the batter a thicker consistency (ref the kitchen whisper). Our 15 minute rest is just a quick rest.
2. BAKE AT HIGH TEMPERATURE INITIALLY
Bake the muffins at a high temperature (425ºF) initially then lower to 350ºF. Starting the muffins off at a higher temperature causes the batter to rise rapidly, producing a domed shape.
3. FILL THEM TO THE TOP
Fill your muffin liners to the top with batter. Yes, this goes against everything you’re heard but it’s important in helping the muffin gain that height.
4. FILL EVERY OTHER MUFFIN CUP
This tip has been a game changer if you’re using regular paper liners! For bakery style muffin tops, line a 12 count muffin pan with 6 muffins liners, meaning you’ll only fill every other muffin well with batter. Filling every other cup allows the muffins to spread and dome without running into each other. This technique also encourages the muffins to brown, creating a golden muffin top. *Note: For this recipe I used tulip muffin liners, which naturally produce a taller muffin so you don’t need to do the every other muffin method. If you’re using regular muffin liners, I recommend filling every other muffin well.
Storing & Freezing Morning Glory Muffins
This morning glory muffins recipe is great for eating fresh or making ahead of time and freezing. To store fresh muffins, let them cool completely on a wire rack. Use an airtight container to store them on the counter for 2-3 days. You can also store them in the fridge, and they may last a couple more days.
These muffins can also be frozen and thawed as needed. Before freezing, let the muffins cool completely. Wrap each muffin individually in plastic wrap, then place them all in a freezer-safe container or freezer bags. These will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw, remove from freezer and warm in the microwave in 15 second intervals.
How to Properly Measure Flour
The most accurate way to measure flour is to use a kitchen scale, weighing it in grams.
If you don’t have a kitchen scale, follow this method.
- Aerate the flour with a whisk or spoon. Flour becomes heavy and compact as it sits. Aerating is the same as fluffing the flour, but not the same as sifting it. Do not sift the flour unless the recipe specifically calls for it.
- Use a spoon to sprinkle the flour into the measuring cup. Do not tap the cup against the counter, as this will compact the flour.
- Use the back of a butter knife to level off the excess.
More Muffin Recipes
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Morning Glory Muffin Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour, 360 grams
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ cup sweetened coconut, shredded
- ¾ cup raisins, light or dark
- 1 large apple, peeled, cored and grated (measure 3/4 cup)
- 1 cup 8 ounces crushed pineapple, drained
- 2 cups grated carrots
- ½ cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Grate the apple and measure out ¾ cup. Next, wrap the grated apple in a few paper towels and squeeze out the excess liquid. Discard the juice and set the grated apple aside. Be sure to drain the crushed pineapple as well, discard the juice.
- In a mixing bowl combine the flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir with a spoon to combine and set aside.
- In a larger mixing bowl combine shredded coconut, raisins, grated apple, drained crushed pineapple, grated carrots and chopped nuts. Stir with a spoon to combine and set aside.
- In a larger mixing bowl combine the eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Stir to combine with a fork or spatula for 20 seconds.
- Gradually mix in the dry ingredients and the fruit mixture, mixing by hand just until combined. The batter will be very thick!
- Cover the bowl with a towel and allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes. During this time, preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- For bakery style muffin tops, line a 12 count muffin pan with 6 muffins liners, meaning you’ll only fill every other muffin well with batter. Filling every other well allows the muffins to spread and dome without running into each other. For this recipe I used tulip muffin liners, you can find them on amazon. Tulip liners naturally produce a taller muffin so you don’t need to do the every other muffin method. If you’re using regular muffin liners, I recommend filling every other muffin well.
- Fill the liners full with batter. Use a butter knife to smooth the tops of the muffins if lumpy. Top the muffins with additional raisins, pecans and shredded coconut.
- Place one pan in the center of the oven and bake for 7 minutes at 425ºF, then keep the muffins in the oven, and turn the temperature down to 350ºF and bake for 13-17 minutes for regular liners and for 19-21 minutes for tulip liners, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing. Repeat with the remaining batter, making sure to bump the temperature back up to 425ºF.
This is a definite keeper recipe for sure! So jam packed full of goodies yet still fluffy. A must try!
Morning Glory muffins. My absolute favourite. These do not last long. 😋
Hi Beth,
Your Morning Glory muffin recipe is simply delicious! Thank you for sharing.
Cheers,
Lin
These muffins turned out beautifully, very delicious recipe just as written.