Pineapple Macadamia Nut Muffins

Welcome to Day 3 of my Greek Week celebration! (Read more here!) Today I'm featuring a recipe that uses Chobani's Pineapple Greek Yogurt. When I was brainstorming ideas of what recipes to make with each flavor of Chobani yogurt I received, I had trouble coming up with ideas of what to make with the pineapple flavor. It wasn't until I talked to my Mom about Christmas and Christmas shopping (yes, she is already starting to plan for Christmas) that it hit me to make a version of her Pineapple Macadamia Nut Bread.

Every year my Mom makes a few loaves of her sweet and delicious Pineapple Macadamia Nut Bread. She gives away some of the loaves as presents, along with dozens of homemade cookies, but I always insist that we keep at least one loaf to munch on. This bread has become a tradition at our Christmas day brunch and I always find myself craving it during the weeks leading up to Christmas.


Why, might you ask? Well this bread is actually more like a cake, and anything similar to cake is amazing in my book. This bread is more similar to cake than traditional bread/muffins because it has a fine texture that will melt in your mouth as soon as you bite into it. Also, the pineapple in the bread provides lots of moisture and sweetness, which makes this bread very yummy and quite unique. I was thisclose to whipping up a batch of cream cheese frosting and calling these Pineapple Cupcakes, but I refrained. My goal is, after all, to make my Mom's recipe slightly healthier. While I do have a soft spot for frosting, slathering on a mound of creamy and rich cream cheese frosting isn't exactly healthy.

Either way, these muffins are a great addition to any family tradition or holiday gathering. Or, if you are in the mood to spice up your usual routine of eating blueberry muffins, give these muffins a try.

Pineapple Macadamia Nut Muffins (adapted from Southern Food)
(1 loaf or 16 muffins)

3 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 Tbsp Chobani Pineapple Greek Yogurt
8 ounces crushed pineapple with juice
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour a loaf pan or line muffin tin with paper liners.

Add eggs to a large bowl and lightly beat. Add sugar and beat until well incorporated and eggs turn a light yellow. Add milk, vanilla, and yogurt to mixture; mix until combined. Stir in pineapple, pineapple juice, and melted butter. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Fold in  most of the macadamia nuts, reserving about 1/4 cup.

Pour mixture into prepared pan or muffin tin. Sprinkle remaining macadamia nuts on top. Bake for 15-20 minutes for muffins or 50-55 minutes for a loaf, or until bread starts turning golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

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Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 16
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 214.7
Total Fat: 9.8 g
Cholesterol: 40.7 mg
Sodium: 91.1 mg
Total Carbs: 28.6 g
Fiber: 1.4 g
Sugars: 12.6 g
Protein: 4.4 g

Pros:
-Easy to make
-Moist, cake-like muffins
-Good ol' southern recipe and a nice change from the usual blueberry muffin
-Great for a snack or dessert
-Can be frosted with cream cheese frosting and served as cupcakes

Cons:
-Despite substituting yogurt for some of the butter, the recipe is still high in calories and fat per serving (try decreasing amount of macadamia nuts used to reduce calories and fat)
-Eat within 2-3 days, or store remaining muffins in refrigerator/freezer (because of the high moisture content, this bread molds quickly)

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Check out some of the link parties that I shared this recipe on!