Pineapple Muffins

I just cannot get enough of muffins for breakfast, and I am always thrilled when I hear of a new flavor that sounds interesting to me.  When I first saw this muffin recipe I could not wait to try it.  I LOVE pineapple, and I love baked goods involving yogurt because I think it gives them incredible texture.  But I was forced to wait.  You see, of the 5,683,452 yogurt flavors my grocery store carries (okay, so I may have a tendency to exaggerate), only ONE of them involved pineapple at all, and it had enough other fruits in the combination that I was sure the pineapple wouldn’t come through after baking.  I was very disappointed.  You can imagine how THRILLED I was when I was shopping at Super Target and found the exact brand of yogurt used in the original recipe!  Anything predominantly pineapple would have been fine, but this was even better.  (Plus, I really wanted to try several of these Rachel’s Yogurt flavors – there are several very unique ones.)

So, I came home with several containers of the mango-pineapple-passion fruit, as well as one of each of the other flavors.  I tried them all, and I really liked most of them (although some were a little to bizarre for my taste).  After tasting them all, this is definitely my favorite, so I was excited to use it in muffins.  These have a great tropical taste to them.  The yogurt flavor comes through very well, even after baking, and the glaze on top helps pump it up a notch.  I considered skipping the glaze altogether but I am glad I decided to try it – it’s delicious!  I have been keeping the glaze in a container in the refrigerator and then pouring it over the muffins individually as we eat them, since it is primarily yogurt and that would not do so well stored at room temperature.  The only changes I intend to make next time will be to add some shredded coconut to enhance the tropical flavor, and I may try adding fresh pineapple chunks (or, at the very least, larger chunks of canned pineapple) because I like a large amount of pineapple in each bite.  But these are scrumptious as is, so if you can find any pineapple sort of yogurt at your grocery store you should make them today!

Recipe Rewind: tried and true favorites I’ve made recently
Cheesy Beer Bread

Pineapple Muffins
Yield: 14 muffins

Ingredients:
For the muffins:
2 (6 oz.) cartons Rachel’s Exotic Mango-Pineapple-Passion Fruit yogurt (or other pineapple yogurt)
1 egg
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 (8 oz.) can crushed pineapple (or 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

For the glaze:
1 (6 oz.) carton Rachel’s Exotic Mango-Pineapple-Passion Fruit yogurt (or other pineapple yogurt)
2/3 cup brown sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Butter/grease muffin pans (or line with paper liners).

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 2 cartons of yogurt and egg.  Mix until combined.  Add the oil, brown sugar and pineapple to the bowl and mix until combined.  In a separate medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just incorporated.

Fill the prepared muffin cups with batter and bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

To prepare the glaze, mix the remaining container of yogurt with the brown sugar until smooth.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and drizzle over the top of the muffins just before serving.

Source: adapted from The Pioneer Woman