Morning Glory Muffins

We liked these morning glory muffins, from Eat Your Vegetables, so much that I've made them twice already!

As you can see in the above photo, I made some in a regular muffin tin, and some in a jumbo muffin tin.  I think I prefer the jumbo ones!

These babies are loaded with all kinds of goodies: almonds, pecans, apples, carrots, raisins, craisins, and coconut, just to name a few!  I like to pretend they are healthy. Veggies and Fruit = healthy right?  At least they are healthier than a bowl of Fruit Loops or a cinnamon roll.

Because they have so many add ins, they are a very dense muffin.  They rose hardly at all.  They weren't so heavy that you felt like eating a brick though.  Just keep in mind that they are not a light fluffy breakfast pastry.  These babies are substantial and will fill you up.

Now this could be because I added more things than the recipe suggested.  First I used 1/2 c of coconut pulp instead of coconut flakes.  I had made some coconut milk for Mrblocko when he couldn't have dairy.  Our blender isn't too spiffy, so I had to strain out the chunks.  I didn't want to pitch them, so I tossed them into the batter.  I thought I'd miss the coconut texture, so I added a handful of shredded coconut as well.

Next, I added 1/2 c pecans.  Sure the recipe already had almonds, but I thought it needed pecans too. You couldn't really taste the almonds, but the flavor of the pecans jumps right out at you.

I didn't have enough dried cranberries so I used 1/4 c cranberries and 1/4 c raisins.  They were a nice mix of flavors.  I'm sure you could use all raisins if you wanted as well.  I bet golden raisins would be particularly tasty.

Finally, I added 1/2 c white chocolate chips.  Because, well...just because.  I had some and thought they would be tasty.  As this recipe made 12 jumbo muffins (or 24 regular size muffins) there were only a few chips per muffin.  This was just enough to give the muffins that little extra flavor boost.  Not that they needed it.  But seriously, why not go over the top if you can?!

Morning Glory Muffins adapted from Eat Your Vegetables
1/2 c (3 ounces) dried cranberries, rehydrated in hot water and drained (or any combo of dried fruit to equal 1/2 c)
1/2 c white chips
2 c (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 c (7 ounces) sugar
2 t baking soda
2 t cinnamon
1 t ginger
1/2 t salt
2 c (7 ounces) peeled and grated carrots (Use a food processor if you have one)
1 large tart apple (6-7 ounces), grated
1/2 c coconut pulp and a handful of shredded coconut(or a heaping 1/2 c shredded coconut)
1/2 c (2 ounces) sliced almonds
1/2 c pecans
1/3 c (1 1/2 ounces) wheat germ (I used wheat bran)
4 1/2 t ener-g egg replacer whisked with 6 T water (or 3 eggs)
2/3 c vegetable oil (I have used half veg oil and half olive oil with no olive oil taste.  you can also replace half the oil with applesauce)
2 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 and lightly grease 12 large muffin cups (or 24 reg muffin cups).

In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add carrots, apple, coconut, nuts, and wheat germ.

In a separate bowl, whisk eggs or egg replacer/water, oil, and vanilla together. Add to flour mixture and stir until evenly combined. Fold cranberries and chips into batter.

Divide batter among cups and bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to finish cooling.