I love muffins. Connor and Ian love them just as much–probably more, even. I’m pretty sure this has something to do with the fact that these breakfast treats are suspiciously similar to that ever-popular dessert of a comparable shape and size…..yes, I’m talking about the cupcake. It seems to me that the average muffin and the average cupcake are so similar that if not for the time of day, and the frosting (or lack thereof) giving us a clue, I doubt most of us (myself included) would know the difference. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I have a huge sweet tooth, so I’m not exactly disappointed that most muffins taste pretty much like cake. Still, I don’t feel great about serving such super-sweet fare for breakfast as a regular, everyday thing. So, I’ve recently worked up a recipe for muffins that are not too sweet, and have enough good stuff in them that I’m happy for the boys to enjoy them daily. And that is exactly what they have been doing.
Everyday Apple-Carrot Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2 eggs
1/4 cup sunflower seed oil (canola oil or regular vegetable oil will also work)
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots, lightly packed
1 1/2 unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
Directions:
1.) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin tins.
2.) In a large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and all spices. Mix well, then set aside.
3.) In a separate mixing bowl, combine eggs, oil, honey, shredded carrots, apple sauce, chopped walnuts, and raisins. Mix thoroughly.
4.) Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix gently to combine the liquid and dry ingredients. Do not over-mix! (It’s OK if you find an occasional little clump of flour in the batter.)
5.) Spoon the batter into the muffin tins. Bake muffins at 400 degrees for 16-20 minutes. Allow muffins to cool slightly before removing them from the tins. Enjoy!
Jeffery
July 29th, 2014 at 05:23