CONTEST MUFFINS: Morning Glory Muffins

MORNING GLORY MUFFINS
An original recipe by BumbleBeeBoogie

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup granulated brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated carrots (4 medium-large)
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and grated
1/2 cup dried apricots, snipped into small dice
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup golden raisins or dried cranberries
1 tablespoon fresh or dried lemon zest
1/2 cup raw pecans or walnuts, chopped
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, drain and reserve juice
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda
and salt. Stir in the carrots, apple, apricot, coconut, raisins or cranberries, lemon zest, nuts and pineapple.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture; blend well. If the batter is too thick, add a little of the reserved canned pineapple juice, one teaspoon at a time, to slightly thin it.

Preheat the over at 350 degrees F.

Butter the cups of a 16-muffin-cup muffin pan, or line the 16 muffin cups with paper muffin liners. Fill each cup 3/4 full. Bake about 35 minutes. Cool the muffins in the pan about 10 minutes. Turn the muffins out on a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container. These muffins improve when allowed to ripen for 24 hours.