Applesauce and crushed pineapple combined to make sweet and tangy muffin in this simple but special recipe my grandma taught me.

3 cups pastry flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 egg whites (room temperature)
1 cup crushed pineapple
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 tart apple (cored, peeled, and diced)
½ cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a muffin tin with nonstick spray or line the cups with paper.

In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg whites on medium speed, until frothy. Whip on high until soft peaks form.

In another large bowl, stir together the pineapple, applesauce, vanilla, apple, and milk. Fold in the egg whites. Add about a third of the flour mixture to the pineapple mixture, then fold the ingredients together. Keep adding the flour mixture a third at a time, folding it in gently, until all the ingredients are just combined.

Pour the batter into the muffin tin, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Place the muffin tin on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tin, then turn out the muffins onto a wire rack and cool completely.

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