Pineapple, Orange & Banana Muffins w/ Orange Glaze

I'm kind of funny about "muffin-tops". I'm not fond of them hanging over the tops of my pants and I really don't like them on my muffins............ you know, when you open the oven in anticipation, to check your muffins ................. and the tops have risen and spilled up, out and all over the edges of the muffin cups and...........made a big mess.............. I hate that! ...............

I haven't mastered the problem yet on me.............. when I wear my favorite skinny jeans.......  but I definitely have a great trick for the muffins! More on that later, but first let me tell you a bit about these delicious wintery muffins.

I've been working on this recipe for a few days now. I wanted to create a seasonal muffin that would shine with the wonderful flavors of oranges, bananas, pineapple and coconut. The first batch tasted quite delicious but fell smack dab into the ugly duckling category - nope, nothing blogworthy (besides the flavor) of those boys! My second attempt, came out of the oven looking like a winner, but were so crumbly that they made a huge schweinerei before they even got to our mouths!

I was getting a bit discouraged, but I'm happy to present to you today a definite "keeper" recipe which results in golden, crumbly-topped, high-domed, just plain old yummy muffins, studded with delicious bits of fresh pineapple, mandarin orange and sweet banana. These make a tasty breakfast, a wonderful midday snack and a fabulous addition to any brunch buffet. They're great with or without the orange glaze. I served them with fresh fruit and my Goat Cheese, Fontina & Arugula Quiche w/ a Crispy Hash Brown Crust (yesterday's post). You might need to make a double batch as they'll disappear right before your eyes - just like magic!

Oh, and that brings me back to the magic trick with the muffin tops; it's simply a matter of putting the unruly muffins "back in their britches". Check out this blog post from last summer where you'll see pictures of exactly how to do it - the written instructions are also below. Just remember - you're the boss here, not the muffins! Have fun and enjoy!

Pineapple, Orange & Banana Muffins w/ Orange Glaze

Ingredients for muffins:
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 large egg
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 medium banana, diced (not green, but not overly ripe, like you would use in banana bread)
½ cup diced fresh pineapple
½ cup diced, canned mandarine oranges
¼ cup shredded coconut
Ingredients for topping:
⅓ cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Ingredients for glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Directions for muffins:
1. Place diced pineapple and diced mandarin oranges on several thicknesses of paper towels and spread out to allow to drain. If paper towel becomes saturated replace with dry toweling until most of the moisture is drained.

2. Grease 12 muffin pan cups. Preheat oven to 400.

3. Beat butter and sugar. Add egg and beat well. Combine milk and sour cream and set aside.

4. Combine dry ingredients and add alternately with milk mixture beating just until combined. Gently fold in bananas, pineapple and oranges and coconut.

5. Divide mixture evenly into greased muffin cups. Cups will be quite full.

 Directions for crumbly topping and glaze:
6. Combine sugar, flour orange zest and cinnamon. Add butter and stir with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping evenly over muffins.

7. Place muffins in oven and immediately reduce temperature to 350˚F. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden and springy when gently touched on the top. ATTENTION: this is where you perform the magic trick if the tops of your muffins have spread out over the top edges of the the pan and form "muffin tops". Working quickly with a small plastic scraper or a blunt table knife, go around the edge of each muffin and gently push the unruly tops back into the pan. This has to be done while the muffins are hot or they will start to "set" and they will not budge. If they begin to cool before you're finished, return muffins to oven for 1-2 minutes and then finish your job for perfect rounded muffin tops.

8. Cool for 10 minutes in pan.  In the meantime, prepare glaze by mixing powdered sugar and orange juice until smooth. Remove muffins from pan with a table knife and drizzle with glaze. ENJOY!

PRINTABLE RECIPE