Pineapple Upside Down Muffins

 allrecipes.com Pineapple Upside Down Muffins

I LOVE these muffins!

They are so tasty, and they have carrots in them! You'd never know it! Kids and adults alike will gobble these up!

Don't be put off by the ingredient list. I know it looks intimidating, but these are really easy to make. I give some good tips in the recipe, so be sure to read that through first before making these

I made some slight changes to the original recipe as follows:

Ingredients

2 (8 ounce) can pineapple slices in juice, drain and reserve the juice

2 tablespoons brown sugar, divided

1/2 cup regular rolled oats

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 eggs

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons reserved pineapple juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple

1 cup grated carrot

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray 12 muffin cups with cooking spray. Stack the pineapple slices and  cut them in 1/2 and then in 1/2 again so each slice has 4 wedges. You'll have a few extra, but cutting them into quarters they fit nicely into the bottom of a muffin cup.
• Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar into the bottom of each muffin cup, and then place 2 wedges of pineapple into each cup. Set aside.
• In a large bowl stir together 1/2 cup oats, 3/4 whole wheat flour, 3/4 all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
• In a separate bowl whisk together 2 eggs, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup canola oil, 2 tablespoons reserved pineapple juice, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry just until moistened. The key to making great muffins is not over mixing the batter, so mix by hand just until the flour is moistened (shouldn't be more than 10 seconds). Be sure to have your crushed pineapple and grated carrot ready to go. Once you mix the wet and dry ingredients, the liquid will activate the baking powder, so you want to bake them right away for best results. Fold in the 8 ounce can of crushed pineapple and 1 cup of grated carrot.
• Spoon mixture evenly into prepared muffin cups and bake for 15 minutes or until tops bounce back when lightly pressed. 
• While muffins are still hot, run a knife around the edge of each one to loosen from pan and invert onto a serving tray so that the sliced pineapple wedges are on top. Enjoy warm or at room temperature. They are delish either way, but I prefer them slightly warmed!