Morning Glory muffins: they did not brown

7 years ago

This was my first time making these from scratch. I used to use a frozen tub of batter from GFS marketplace and those were always very brown, rich: a lot like carrot cake (They stopped carrying that item). I have had them from bakeries before too: usually a deep brown in color; nice crust, brown inside as well.

Despite all the good ingredients in these, they are barely brown on the surface and the inside is only light brown. When they were not brown at the right time I kept them in an additional 8 minutes, with hardly any change. They were testing “done” so I judged any additional time would have just dried them out.

Texture is good. The most prominent flavor, though, is the coconut. Nice, but to me: not a Morning Glory muffin.

Could it be that baking at 350 F is not high enough?

I scanned the other recipes I have copied and they are very close to the one I used. I am no food scientist (it seems like I say that a lot lately). What would make one recipe brown and rich and another not? Molasses? Brown sugar? Melted butter instead of oil? Some other magic?

I’m wondering if it is worth tweaking this recipe or start over with a recipe that looks different.

Morning Glory Muffins

1/2 Cup Raisins

2 Cup Flour

1 Cup Sugar

2 Tsp Baking Soda

2 Tsp Cinnamon

1/2 Tsp Salt

2 Carrots Grated; to equal 2 cups

1 Apple, Green; Grated

1/2 Cup Almonds, Sliced (I subbed walnuts)

1/2 Cup Sweet Shredded Coconut

3 Eggs

2/3 Cup Vegetable Oil

2 Tsp Vanilla

Soak raisins in hot water to cover for 30 minutes; drain thoroughly. Preheat oven to 350.

Mix flour, sugar, soda, cinnamon & salt in bowl.

Stir in raisins, carrots, apple, almonds & coconut. Beat eggs with oil & vanilla to blend. Stir into flour mixture until just combined. Divide into muffin cups.

Bake until golden brown & tested, 20 - 22 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pan.

12 Servings

Featured Answer

jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

I just made a fabulous blueberry muffin recipe that calls for starting at 425 degrees for 5 minutes and dropping to 350 degrees, I made the mistake of baking them for an extra 10 minutes at 425 so I cut off 5 minutes of bake time at 350 and they came out unbelievably moist and delicious....and brown. (I didn't do the streusel top - just brown sugar).

I think maybe 350 degrees is a little low for those Morning Glory muffins. I would try again but with a higher temperature. If they start browning too fast, you can put some foil on top of the muffin tin. Blueberry Muffins

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Comments (9)

annie1992
7 years ago
I can see that those muffins would not be very dark, as you have no "dark" ingredients.

I use the one from King Arthur flour, and they are darker, but it calls for brown sugar (I use dark brown) and whole wheat flour, as well as some additional wheat germ or sunflower seeds and I use the wheat germ. So, more whole grains, darker sugar and those heartier ingredients helps cut the sweet of the coconut, I think. It also calls for orange juice and I like that little added flavor.

If you like the one you have, I'd try some brown sugar, especially if it's only the color that's not "right". If you aren't satisfied with the flavor or texture I think I'd just try another recipe to see if you can get closer to the muffin you want.

Annie
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago) thanked annie1992
plllog
7 years ago
The orange juice is a conditioner for whole wheat flour. You should actually stir the juice into the whole wheat flour, perhaps with some of the other liquid, and let it set for 8 hrs. or more to neutralize antinutrients.

Baking soda enhances surface browning, so that's okay. So does butter. So does sugar.
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago) thanked plllog
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carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
My basic muffins recipe calls for 400F, and the recipe @ kingarthurflour.com calls for 375F, FWIW...
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago) thanked carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
chloebud
7 years ago
I've seen some recipes for muffins that start at a higher heat, such as 425, then lower it to 350. I don't recall ever doing it, but I think the idea is a higher rise.
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago) thanked chloebud
lindac92
7 years ago
That's pretty much the recipe I use for carrot cake.....and it's brown inside and out....the cinnamon and the carrots help and the apples oxidize and help.
Since the recipe calls for baking soda....which needs acid to rise...which could be supplied by the apples...
But I would try half light brown sugar and half white.....and try it again....they should be brown...I suspect you forgot an ingredient.
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago) thanked lindac92
plllog
7 years ago
Chloebud, the recipes that start high and lower temperatures after about 10-15 minutes are mostly for older ovens that didn't preheat well. There are also a few recipes that want a heat shock at the very beginning then lower the temp for the rest to bake properly, but I don't know if that actually works or is also just a hold over from older ovens.
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago) thanked plllog
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks. I went back and checked to see if I had copied the recipe wrong. It came from someone on this forum. I did not leave anything out. I then did a search for recipes on the forum. This exact same recipe I saw over and over.

It’s more than browning that’s missing. It’s a good muffin but I’d call it a coconut muffin. It has ¼ the volume of coconut vs. carrots: yet that flavor stands out the most.

I did find another that calls for 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 ½ c white flour. (It also calls for subbing applesauce for the oil: perhaps a legacy from when recipes were trying to cut out fat thinking that was unhealthy)

A good thing about it is I always have all of those ingredients on hand. Muffins I usually make spur of the moment.

I’ll try another recipe and look for one with pictures so I can see if they are brown. Whole wheat flour is normally something I don’t have on hand, thinking it will spoil. I’ve probably thrown out more than I’ve ever used.
plllog
7 years ago
You can freeze the whole wheat flour to keep it fresher longer. Just squeeze out as much air as possible.

Morning Glory muffins: they did not brown

jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)

Comments (9)

annie1992

plllog

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Morning Glory muffins: they did not brown

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