Pineapple Muffins with Coconut Crumble

In honor of LiveSTRONG Day I wanted make something to participate in the Taste of Yellow event hosted by Winosandfoodies.com. The rules are to make some kind of yellow food and include a heart in the picture of the item. While I was thinking over what I could make, I found a heart shaped muffin tin that I had bought years ago, unused and in its original packaging. So I decided to make some type of yellow cupcakes or muffins. I'm not a big cupcake fan so I went with muffins. I turned to my trusty Cupcakes from the Cake Doctor cookbook and narrowed it down to either lemon or pineapple... pineapple won.

I have loved every recipe that I have ever made from Cupcakes from the Cake Doctor so I had high expectations. This recipe didn't let me down. It's really easy to whip up a batch of these and the coconut crumble which you top the muffins with really makes these special. And the smell of toasting coconut while the muffins bake makes the whole house smell great too.

Pineapple Muffins with Coconut Crumble Makes 12 muffins Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan Coconut Crumble ½ cup packed light brown sugar 2 tablespoons self-rising flour 1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature ½ sweetened flaked coconut Muffins 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature ½ cup granulated sugar 1 large egg 1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, undrained ½ cup milk ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 cups self-rising flour

Place the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Mist the bottom of 12 muffin cups with the vegetable oil spray. Set the pan aside.

Prepare the crumble: Place the sugar, flour, and butter in a small bowl. Work the butter into the mixture using a fork. Stir in the coconut and set the crumble aside.

Prepare the muffin batter: Place the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until the mixture is creamy, 30 seconds. Add the egg, pineapple and juice, milk, and vanilla and blend on low speed until just combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Fold in the flour with a wooden spoon or the rubber spatula, 25 strokes. The batter will still be a little lumpy. Spoon or scoop 1/4 cup batter into each prepared muffin cup, filling it two thirds of the way full. Sprinkle a heaping teaspoon of crumble topping on each muffin and gently press the topping into the batter. Place the pan in the oven.

Bake the muffins until they are lightly golden and just spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the muffins, lift them up from the bottoms of the cuts using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. The muffins are ready to serve.

Hawaiian-style Sweet-and-Sour Roasted Pineapple and Bell Peppers

It's worth making a batch of this whenever you can get your hands on some fresh pineapple. I wish I had know about it all summer! But I just got around to flipping through the May/June 2010 Vegetarian Times magazine recently and that is where I saw this recipe for Hawaiian-style Sweet-and-Sour Roasted Pineapple and Bell Peppers. Luckily I saw a big box of pineapple at my recent visit to Costco so I snagged it so I could try out this recipe.

Roasting these fruits and vegetables together with a touch of sesame oil is pure brilliance. The taste is so scrumptious that it's hard to explain. The magazine article recommended serving over rice, but I got a bit more creative. With my first batch I served it over broiled tilapia for dinner. Then I ate it with some leftover barley for a super healthy breakfast! I'd also serve it over pork chops and mixed in with leftover asparagus. So many good options.

Hawaiian-style Sweet-and-Sour Roasted Pineapple and Bell Peppers Serves 6 3 cups cubed fresh pineapple 1 medium red bell pepper, cubed (1½ cups) 1 medium red onion, cut into thin wedges (1½ cups) 1 Tbs. toasted sesame oil 1 Tbs. vegetable oil 1 Tbs. dark or light brown sugar 1 Tbs. sweetened coconut flakes, optional 1 Tbs. lime juice

Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange pineapple cubes, red bell pepper cubes and red onion wedges on ungreased rimmed baking sheet.Drizzle with toasted sesame oil and vegetable oil, sprinkle with brown sugar, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Toss to coat.

Roast pineapple mixture on center oven rack 30 minutes, or until lightly browned, turning once. Remove from oven and sprinkle with sweetened coconut flakes, if using, then drizzle with lime juice. Remove to serving bowl and toss well to combine. Serve hot or at room temperature.



For other great healthy recipes check out Slightly Indulgent Tuesday every week.

Pineapple-Cashew Salad

This recipe for Pineapple-Cashew Salad is a dessert, not a light meal. Soaking it in the wine actually ends up quite a strong alcohol taste, almost like one of those chocolate candies filled with rum. I don't usually like that in my desserts, but for the people who do, this is really a unique dessert that would be fabulous to serve at a dinner party.

Pineapple-Cashew Salad (4 servings) 1/2 cup sweet white wine, such as Riesling or ice wine 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 golden pineapple, peeled, cored and diced (about 1 1/2 cups) 1/2 cup roasted cashews 4 mint leaves, finely shredded

Pour the wine into a medium bowl and add the sugar, stirring until it is dissolved. Add the pineapple cubes. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

To serve, stir the cashews into the pineapple. Divide among serving bowls and sprinkle with the mint.

Pineapple Muffins with Coconut Crumble

I originally bought the fixing for these muffins to participate in the Muffin Monday blogging event. The problem was that I didn't get to make them in time. So i decided to make them Sunday morning for breakfast.

The smell of the coconut baking is amazing. But the best part is getting at the crumble while it is still hot. These muffins didn't last too long as leftovers. They become to moist, maybe due to the pineapples. By the second day of leftover I had to throw them out.

Pineapple Muffins with Coconut Crumble Crumble: 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 2 tablespoons self-rising flour 1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut Muffins: 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 large egg 1 can (8oz.) crushed pineapple, undrained 1/2 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 cups self-rising flour

Preheat over to 400 degrees. Spray the bottom of 12 muffin cups with vegetable spray.

Prepare the crumble: Combine sugar, flour and butter in a bowl. Work the butter into the mixture using a fork. Stir in the coconut and set aside.

Prepare the muffin batter: Place butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric miser on medium-high speed until the mixture is creamy, 30 seconds. Add the egg, pineapple and juice, milk and vanilla and blend on low speed until just combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Fold in the flour with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, 25 strokes. The batter will still be a little lumpy. Spoon or scoop 1/4 cup batter into each prepare muffin cup, filling it two thirds of the way full. Sprinkle a heaping teaspoon of crumble topping on each muffin and gently press the topping into the batter.

Bake the muffins until they are lightly golden and just spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 180 to 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cook for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the muffins, left them up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack and cool for 15 minutes. The muffins are ready to serve.

#76: Crispy Pineapples, Apples and Apricots

"real fruit, real taste, nothing else!"
I went digging for a midnight snack last night. I wanted something somewhat light so I tried the Crispy Apricots I received earlier that day from Crispy Green. My package from them included the 6-pack of Crispy Apricots and 6-pack of Crispy Pineapples that I ordered. It also included one package of the Crispy Apples that they provided as a free sample (unlike Kate at Kate in the Kitchen who received 2 free samples!). These Fruit Chips are really dehydrated fruit. I found them because they were listed as #76 on Food & Wine's 100 Tastes to Try.

My first taste of the Crispy Apricots was a bit disappointing. The natural apricot flavor is there for sure, but I felt a bit tricked when eating these. They are crispy and LOVE crunchy snacks but there is no follow through. The fruit disintegrates on your tongue and I finished them feeling unsatisfied.

This morning I tried the Crispy Pineapples and I like them 10x better. They are somehow more fulfilling than the apricot. And pineapple is one of my favorite fruits. I became more excited about this product because the Crispy Pineapples are definitely something I would bring to work as a snack when I'm in a "healthy eating" mood. And since I am attempting to taste everything on Food & Wine's 100 Tastes to Try, I tried the Crispy Apples next.

I really enjoyed the Crispy Apples. I think they are my favorite of the three I tried. They somehow keep the apple consistency after you chew them and they do not disintegrate as easily as the apricots. It may be that I am more familiar with apple being "crispy" because there are so many other apple flavored products out there.

Overall, I think these would be really good for someone who likes to bike or hike or camp alot. They are very tasty and would be a really great snack to throw in your backpack. They are as healthy as fresh fruit because all the nutritional value is retained in the freeze-drying process. I suppose anyone on the go alot would appreciate these, I however would rather have a granola bar or something else as a snack.

note* Each package of crispy fruit is 1 Weight Watchers point. Actually, you can have two packages and it still counts as only 1 point.