Tag Archives: muffins

Triple Coconut Doughnuts (or Muffins)

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Veronica

I’m not much of a doughnut girl, but when I get a hankering for one, it’s usually on a Saturday. I had one such a hankering this last Saturday, and decided to see if I could throw some together with the ingredients I had on hand. I found some coconut in the pantry and threw these together real quick, amplifying the coconut flavor with coconut milk and coconut oil, topping with a coconut glaze and a sprinkle of toasted coconut. And…perfection! Dense and moist, the perfect doughnut or muffin texture, and they keep well to enjoy leftovers the next day.

Triple Coconut Doughnuts or Muffins

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

¼ cup virgin coconut oil, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut milk, or whole milk
¾ cup sweetened, shredded coconut

Glaze
2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil, melted
1 cup powdered sugar
Coconut milk or heavy cream, for thinning

½ cup sweetened, shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease doughnut pan(s) and/or line muffin pans with paper or foil liners; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream coconut oil and sugar for two minutes. Add egg and extracts and beat another minute. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a separate bowl. Add it alternately to the creamed mixture with the milk, starting and ending with the flour. Fold in the coconut.

Spoon into doughnut or muffin pans, filling ¾ full. Bake doughnuts 10 minutes, muffins 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

While they are baking, toast the coconut and make the glaze. Place the 1/2 cup coconut in a skillet and toast over medium heat, stirring frequently until golden. Remove from heat and prepare the glaze by mixing the oil and powdered sugar together as well as possible with a fork in a small bowl. Add coconut milk or cream a little at a time until glaze consistency.

Once doughnuts and/or muffins are done, turn out onto wire rack and spoon glaze over the top. If they are cool enough to handle, you can also turn them upside down to dip into the glaze while they are warm. After glazing each, sprinkle with coconut while the glaze is still wet. Enjoy warm or allow to cool. For storing leftovers, allow to cool completely before storing in a Ziploc bag with the air pressed out.

Veronica’s notes: while the doughnuts came out of the pan with ease, perhaps due to the shorter bake time (sugar hadn’t had time to caramelize onto the pan), this batter tends to stick to even the most nonstick muffin pans and I highly recommend using liners if baking in a muffin pan. Also, the almond extract in this tends to flavor it as much as, or a little more than, the coconut. It is a nice compliment, but if you’d like the coconut flavor to come through more, especially if using cow’s milk instead of coconut, use 1/4 teaspoon or replace with more vanilla. Last, please do NOT substitute coconut milk beverage (found in the refrigerated non-dairy section) for coconut milk. Use the full-fat canned stuff.

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Posted in Bread, Breakfast and tagged baked, coconut oil, doughnuts, glazed, muffins, recipe, toasted coconut, triple coconut. Bookmark the permalink.

Things I Like Thursday: USA Pans

Posted on July 2, 2015 by Veronica

I’m starting something new! Things I Like Thursday. TILT. I like it. :) I hope you like it too.

First off, I’m a thrifty person, as we are a family of four (don’t forget the dog – she is almost as expensive than the toddler!) living on one small income, so I try to buy things that are lower in price. However, I am also willing to save and pay more for something that is really good quality because I’ve learned over and over, the hard way, that you almost always get what you pay for. Not always, but usually. And you actually do end up saving money, and getting better results, by paying more for high quality pans that last a lifetime than paying for $5 pans over and over and over.

Which leads me to my favorite pans. I have bought a lot of cheap pans and the results I got with them were OK, not great, but I’m a good baker, so it wasn’t terrible. I finally decided, after the state fair judges told me for the millionth time not to grease the sides of my pans (and finally disqualified me for doing so after many warnings), that it was time to buy some really killer pans that baked goods would actually come free of, even if I didn’t grease the sides.

I did some research, comparing different brands, and I was swayed by the overwhelmingly positive reviews on Amazon for the USA pans. So despite them costing more than I’d usually like to pay, I used some of my state fair winnings money several years ago to purchase a loaf pan and two muffin pans.

USA Pans 6-Piece Bakeware Set

Oh my wow, people. These pans are amazing. I actually had previously purchased an even higher priced Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch Nonstick Loaf Pan with a gift card I got for a birthday, and these pans beat the pricey Goldtouch pans out of the park. Yes, the Goldtouch pans are nicely nonstick, and they give breads and muffins an excellent rise, but they also consistently over-browned the sides and bottom of my baked goods. And dark brown on the sides, golden on the top is just not a good look for baked goods. State Fair judges are definitely not fans of that look. The pans also tend to collect yucky stuff in the corners that was a lot of work to get out with a toothpick.

USA Pans 9 x 5 x 2.75 Inch Loaf Pan, Aluminized Steel with Americoat

The USA Pans are not only fabulously nonstick, and give your baked goods an excellent rise, but they do not over-brown the bottom and sides of your baked goods, and do not collect gunk in the corners. I have also had no problems with rust, and my pans are still in the same condition they were when I bought them two years ago.

USA Pans 8.5 x 4.5 Inch Aluminized Steel Loaf Pan with Americoat Loaf Pan

I can now present my quick breads to the judges without having the “fry line,” as they call it, on the sides, and last year I was not disqualified. In fact, my Black Walnut Banana Bread got third place. (Yes, the blue ribbon STILL eludes me! One day, people, one day. Here is the main part of my Banana Bread adventures if you’re unfamiliar with my epic quest for a blue ribbon and want to catch up.)

USA Pans 5-1/2 by 3-Inch Mini Loaf Pan, Set of 4

I will say that the one drawback with the muffin pans is that they won’t fit side by side in a regular-sized oven if you want to bake two dozen muffins or cupcakes at once. Which I often do. It hasn’t slowed me down though, I just put one in the middle rack on the far right, and one on the very top, far left. The bottom one gets done first and I move the top one down to finish, or sometimes just leave it up there to slowly finish. It really upset me when I discovered they wouldn’t fit side by side, but I don’t mind it at all now. Since it bothered me so much, though, I wanted to make sure to mention it so you guys don’t have any surprises if you decide to buy them! They are definitely my favorite muffin pans, even with the unfortunate size problem.

USA Pans 12 Cup Cupcake/Muffin Pan, Aluminized Steel with Americoat

I highly recommend USA pans to anyone that enjoys baking. They are definitely “Things I Like.” :)

Check back next Thursday for another kitchen edition of TILT! After that I might get all wild and crazy with posts on cloth diapers and essential oils. I be so crunchy! :D

Full disclosure: I’m not being paid to provide this review, nor was I provided with anything free to do it. I just really LOVE these pans and want to spread the word. There are affiliate links contained in this post, and I will earn a commission if you decide to purchase any of these items through the links I provide, but again, the thoughts and opinions stated here are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting my blog! :)

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Posted in TILT and tagged baking, baking pans, best, best baking pans, breads, cupcakes, loaf pan, muffin pans, muffins, nonstick, review, USA pans. Bookmark the permalink.

Favorite Blueberry Muffins

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Veronica

These are currently my favorite blueberry muffins. For me, the best blueberry muffins are stark white (no brown sugar or cinnamon, please) to contrast the pretty purplish blue of the bursting berries, a little dense, and quite sweet. My perfect blueberry muffin is also leavened with baking powder, as baking soda tends to give the blueberry juice a greenish tinge and the color appeal is very important to me in a blueberry muffin. In essence, my ideal blueberry muffins are blueberry cupcakes disguised as breakfast by the heaviness of the crumb and a lack of frosting. Though a nice crumb topping is certainly not out of the question. :)

Thanks to Carolyn of Inner Chef for introducing me to this fabulous recipe! It’s now my go-to, though I desperately need to make a batch with the crumb topping, as I’m sure I’ll love it even more. Thanks for helping me using up some of my Grandpa’s blueberries, Carolyn! (I inherited 16 pints back in March in a very strange way–I really need to share the story!) Thankfully, between several batches of these muffins, eating the blueberries straight, and this pound cake, not a single pint had to go to waste. :)

Favorite Blueberry Muffins

Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture

1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
⅓ cup vegetable oil
1 egg
⅓ cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries*

Crumb Topping (optional)
½ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup butter, cubed
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

*I used 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, which made each muffin bursting with berries (we loved this). 1 cup will give you a more typical blueberry muffin.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper liners.

Combine 1 ½ cups flour, ¾ cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together ½ cup sugar, ⅓ cup flour, ¼ cup butter, and 1 ½ tsp. cinnamon. Mix with a fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in center (not into a blueberry) comes out clean.

Recipe source: Inner Chef

Note: I photographed my muffins the day after I baked them, so the blueberries had withered up a little as the juices absorbed into the muffins, making them crazy moist. Although we enjoyed them more after storing 8 hours in an airtight container (I baked them the night before), rest assured they will be beautiful and not withered when you take them out of the oven.

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Posted in Breakfast, My Favorites, Sweets and tagged bakery, baking, best, blueberry muffins, Breakfast, muffins, sweet. Bookmark the permalink.

Easy Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Cookies/Muffin Tops {3 Ingredients}

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Veronica

This is one of those super easy recipes that many people seem to know about, but no one knows where it originated. While there are many online sources for the recipe, I got mine from my friend Teri, who just spouted off the short list of ingredients during a conversation about holiday baking, and I decided I had to try them myself.

Teri calls these cookies but I call them muffin tops because they truly are the texture of a muffin, not a cookie. In fact, I’ve seen people (hi, Jorie!) use this same recipe (with and without the chocolate chips) to make full-blown muffins, so there you go. Bake them whichever way you like and no matter what you call them, they’re delicious, and a great last minute treat to add to your holiday spread.

Easy Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Cookies

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1 (18.25 oz) box spice cake mix
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 (12 oz) bag semisweet chocolate chips (I used mini because I made small cookies)

Preheat oven to 350F and line cookie sheets with parchment or silpat mats.

Empty cake mix into a mixing bowl and whisk well until there are no lumps. Mix in the puree, then stir in the chocolate chips. Use a cookie scoop to portion the dough out onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes until just firm. Remove to cool on a wire rack and repeat with remaining dough.

Recipe source: Teri B.

*******

I hope you guys have a happy Thanksgiving and if you are traveling for the holiday, travel safe! I don’t think I’ve mentioned it before, but this is the first year since meeting my husband that we are not going to his parent’s house for Thanksgiving. His cousin Mike (who was his best man at our wedding) got married in Jamaica and their wedding reception is this Saturday…and I’m making the cake! It’s been crazy trying to get it baked without taking time off but I will have all Thursday and Friday to finish it so it’s all good…still…please pray for me!! lol! If you know my track record, you know I need every bit of help I can get. :) (If you don’t know my track record, you can see both my wedding cake failures here.)

One last note, I’m ending the fundraiser for Suzie on Saturday because she now has her hospital & doctor bills from her first hospital stay ($9,600 total) and not all of them are accepting payments–some are threatening to send her account to collections if she doesn’t pay in full. So I’m ending it a little earlier than I planned so she can get at least enough to cover those that are threatening her. If you wanted to help but forgot or weren’t able to before, if you are able to give even a few dollars before the fundraiser ends, I would so greatly appreciate it. I would love it if we could reach $2,000 by Friday night! And my offer for the carrot cake recipe still stands–I will email everyone who makes a minimum $5 donations my top-secret blue ribbon carrot cake recipe! You can click here to make a donation.

Again, happy Thanksgiving! Have an extra bite of stuffing for me…and pecan pie too. :)

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Posted in Cookies and tagged baking, Cookies, easy, fall, holidays, muffin tops, muffins, pumpkin chocolate chip, thanksgiving. Bookmark the permalink.

Carrot Cake Protein Muffins {Vegan}

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Veronica

You may remember these from the roundup of all my fair entries. The challenge was to make a heart-healthy muffin using at least one soy product (the contest was sponsored by the Kansas Soy Commission) and I created these beauties using four: soy flour, soy milk, tofu, and soy “cream cheese.”

These were so delicious, I had high hopes of coming home with the $75 prize for first place. There was just one problem. Two, actually. I didn’t notice, until it was too late, that these were supposed to be “fruit muffins” and one of the judging criteria was “ease of preparation. I gave a sigh of relief over the “fruit muffin” thing because although these are mostly a vegetable muffin, there are raisins in them and so they might pass the “fruit muffin” test. My heart sank at the second oversight, however, because these really aren’t simple to prepare. They’re not horribly difficult, but you don’t look at a list of ingredients this long and with this many steps and call it “easy.”

Well, that’s exactly what the judges wrote on my judging paper. “Very healthy ingredients. Wide variety of ingredients. They taste wonderful & attractive. We are looking for ease of preparation & thought this muffin, though wonderful, has too many ingredients.”

Shoot. The real kick in the butt was my soy yeast bread, though (pictured above). It didn’t rise as well as I would have liked, and thought the judges must have found it too dense because it didn’t place. Well, this is what they wrote on that paper: “Beautiful bread-the cinnamon with the raisins is fantastic. I loved it! HOWEVER: due to the facts listed in the State Fair Rule Book, this entry was to be entered on a “sturdy white plain paper plate” & had to be disqualified. I am sorry. Please pay close attention to the listed rules.” (Wasn’t she sweet about? Aw!)

I entered my bread on a foil-wrapped piece of cardboard because that is what I used for all my other breads for the regular contests. But the special contests apparently have special rules too. DRAT! Oh well, maybe next year I’ll get it right.

One thing I did get right is the moisture (so moist!) and taste (like dessert!) on these muffins. They are just SO good you would never guess they don’t have any eggs or dairy–even the soy “cream cheese” filling tastes nothing like soy. Honestly, they hardly even taste “healthy” because they are so good. I froze the leftovers and have been enjoying them slowly. I have only a precious few left and even after almost two months in the freezer, they are still as wonderful as the day I made them!

Carrot Cake Protein Muffins

Printable recipe
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Filling
8 oz. Toffutti Better Than Cream Cheese
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Muffins
1 cup white whole wheat flour
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup soy flour*
½ cup rolled oats
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ tablespoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ginger
1 ½ teaspoons salt
16 oz. silken tofu
½ cup orange juice
½ cup soy milk
¼ cup agave nectar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 ½ cups finely shredded carrots
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup raisins

Topping
¼ cup chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Mix the filling ingredients together until smooth; set aside. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners and set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, rolled oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside. In a blender, combine tofu, orange juice, soy milk, agave nectar, and canola oil. Blend until smooth, then add the orange zest and pulse once to combine. Pour into the bowl with the flour mixture and stir until moistened. Fold in the carrots, walnuts, and raisins. Divide half the batter between prepared muffin cups, then spoon about 1 ½ teaspoons of the filling mixture over the centers before covering with the remaining batter. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the center no longer looks wet and feels done when touched in the middle (a toothpick will not come out clean because of the filling so go by the look and feel). Remove to cool completely on a wire rack.

*There’s no need to go out and buy soy flour if you don’t have it, just use a full cup of all-purpose flour and omit the soy flour.

Recipe source: adapted beyond belief from Healthy Happy Life

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Posted in Bread, Breakfast, Vegetarian & Vegan and tagged allergy friendly, baking, dairy-free, egg-free, healthy, muffins, protein, recipe, vegan. Bookmark the permalink.

Honey Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Veronica

My Dad used to make what I thought was one of the most delicious meals ever out of torn Ezekiel bread pieces, a sliced banana, and natural peanut butter all mixed up in a bowl together and drizzled with honey. Sweets were a rarity in our home so when he let me try this, I was thrilled because I felt like I was eating dessert. This was how I was introduced to the trifecta of banana, peanut butter and honey and I’ve been a fan ever since.

I first made these muffins in miniature form almost a year ago when I had a single overripe banana and wanted to use it in something before it started growing white stuff. (I’ll include that recipe too for those interested.) It was only natural for me to reach for the peanut butter and honey, and I was really pleased with the result. I’ve made many subsequent batches, adapting it on a larger scale to make the standard dozen since the small batch doesn’t last long enough to suit us.

This is a straightforward recipe, no fancy ingredients, naturally sweetened, and it’s all mashed and mixed together in one bowl using a single fork. The result is a moist and flavorful muffin with the perfect balance of banana, peanut butter and honey.

By the way, these healthy, low-sugar muffins are dog tested and approved! My Jessie is such a treat snob that when she approves something I’ve made, you can bet your pup will most likely dig it too. For doggies, you can bake them up in mini-muffin tins, depending on the dog’s size. Or just share yours, which is what I like to do. That way I feel justified when I reach for a second one, since I didn’t eat all of the first. :)

Honey Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

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3 medium overripe bananas
¾ cup peanut butter
¼ cup honey
½ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons chopped nuts (for topping)

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with papers or spray with oil.

Peel bananas and place in a large mixing bowl. Mash with a fork (you should have about 1 ¼ cups of mashed banana), then mix in the peanut butter with your fork until well blended. Next mix in the honey and once the mixture is uniform in color, stir in the milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Measure in the flour and baking soda, and stir with your fork just until mixed. The batter will be thick but try not to overwork it to get it mixed. It’s OK if a few lumps remain. Using an ice cream scoop, divide batter between muffin cups, filling 3/4 full. Sprinkle nuts in the middle of each muffin (nuts will spread out as the muffins bake). Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean, and remove to cooling rack. Leave in tin for five minutes, then remove to cool completely.

Makes 12 muffins

Per muffin: 196 calories; 9 g fat; 26 g carbohydrates; 2.4 g fiber; 6 g protein; 5 Points Plus

Honey Banana Peanut Butter Bites

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1 medium overripe banana
¼ cup chunky peanut butter
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
¼ cup buttermilk
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 12 mini muffin cups.

Mash the banana in a medium bowl an stir in the peanut butter, honey, and buttermilk. Stir in the remaining ingredients just until moistened. Divide between muffin cups, filling about 3/4 full. Bake for 15 minutes (or until done) and remove to cooling rack. Leave in tin for five minutes, then remove to cool completely.

Makes 12 mini muffins.

Nutrition Info (per muffin): 66 calories; 3 g fat; 84 mg sodium; 77 mg potassium; 9 carb; 1 g fiber; 2 g protein; 2 Points Plus

Recipes by Veronica Miller

**Veronica’s note: to make these into vegan muffins, replace the honey with agave nectar, the buttermilk with non-dairy milk, and the baking soda with baking powder. I have done this and they are equally delicious, though I do prefer the honey flavor with banana and peanut butter.**

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Posted in Bread, Breakfast, Dog Treats, Lighter Fare, Vegetarian & Vegan and tagged banana, diet-friendly, dog friendly, dog muffins, dog treats, honey, honey banana peanut butter muffins recipe, low-sugar, mini, muffins, natural, naturally sweetened, peanut butter. Bookmark the permalink.

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Veronica

I’m so excited to share this recipe with you! I’m very proud of this creation because, like with the Banana Peanut Butter Bites (shared on my weight-loss blog), it’s all my own–I didn’t even do an internet search for recipe inspiration before throwing it together. This is very unlike me because baking is an exact science and if you don’t get the liquid to dry ratio right, you can end up with a dense, dry, or mushy result. I think I’ve finally been baking long enough that making my own recipes is becoming intuitive. This makes me happy.

I made this recipe with two goals in mind. I wanted it to be as healthy as possible while still being as tasty as possible. I’ve found with baking, the healthier you make a recipe, the more unpalatable the taste. Muffins, however, seem to be a lot easier to healthify without getting too healthy-tasting.

These muffins are low-fat, cholesterol-free, naturally sweetened, and are still moist and delicious. The only concession I made for taste/texture over health was using more all-purpose flour than whole wheat because it yields a nicer, less dense & dry, crumb. The ripe mashed banana keeps the muffins moist without a lot of added fat and I chose to use agave nectar to sweeten them, since it’s natural and the flavor is so mild that it wouldn’t compete with the chocolate & banana flavor like honey or maple syrup might. I also left out the egg since I had success with it before, and actually liked the texture better than when I had tried it with the egg, giving an added bonus of making the recipe cholesterol-free.

You could certainly turn this recipe fat-free and use more whole wheat flour, and I have done both (I have made three batches of these so far, each with a different amount of fat and liked the one here best). It results in a more rustic, dense muffin but we had no problem eating them up in less than a week. They are great in the morning with a steaming cup of coffee and I find that one muffin, especially with coffee or milk, keeps me satisfied for hours.

Let me know if you try these and what changes you made. I’d love your feedback!

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
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Dutch process cocoa gives these muffins their deep dark color & chocolate flavor. You can find it online and in specialty stores, or you can get Hershey’s Dark cocoa powder at most supermarkets.

Dry ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet ingredients:
1 cup mashed overripe banana (about 3 medium bananas)
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon banana extract

And just for fun:
1/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips + 2 tablespoons for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside. Sift dry ingredients together into a medium bowl and stir to mix. Whisk wet ingredients together in a large bowl. Stir dry into wet just until moistened, then fold in 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips. Divide batter between prepared muffin cups and sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon chocolate chips in the very center of each muffin (chips will spread out as the muffins bake and rise). Bake about 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of one. Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container (I use a large Ziploc bag). These freeze very well–I like to take one out of the freezer before my shower in the morning and by the time I’m done getting ready for work & am ready to eat, it has thawed. If you are in a hurry, about 15-30 seconds in the microwave will thaw and warm your muffin for you.

Makes 12 muffins.

Nutritional Information (per muffin): 171 calories; 5 g fat; 33 carb; 3 g fiber; 3 g protein

Recipe by Veronica Miller

These are from the fat-free batch with 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup white. They were more dry and dense, but still yummy.

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Posted in Breakfast, Lighter Fare and tagged banana, cholesterol free, double chocolate, healthy, low-fat, muffins. Bookmark the permalink.

Carrot Cake Breakfast Muffins

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Veronica

These are the best tasting wholesome muffins I’ve ever made. Made with whole wheat flour, honey, apples, carrots & walnuts, they are not only good for you but have a very moist and tender crumb (this surprised me) and are really delicious (this surprised me too). They are so good, in fact, that I replaced my dinner with them tonight!

[OK, fine. Here’s the full disclosure. I meant to only have one as a snack (I baked them in the afternoon) and it was so yummy, I nabbed another. And another. Then I had to break one apart to take a picture of the inside so I figured I may as well eat that one too. By then I no longer wanted dinner!]

I plan to store them in the freezer and pop one or two into the microwave on busy mornings. I think they’d be wonderful with a cup of black coffee.

Carrot Cake Breakfast Muffins
Recipe adapted from An Edible Mosaic
Makes 12 large muffins

Muffins
2 eggs
1/3 c canola oil
1/4 c 2% milk
1/2 c honey
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 large finely shredded carrots
1 large or 2 small sweet apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped (I used Fuji)
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Glaze
1 oz Neuchâtel cheese (low-fat cream cheese)
1 1/2 tsp honey

Preheat the oven to 350F and put paper liners in your muffin pan.

Beat together the eggs, oil, milk, honey, and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Lightly stir the wet ingredients into the dry, then fold in the carrot, apple, and nuts. Fill the muffin tray (the batter will come up to the top and mound in the center) and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

To make the glaze, warm the Neuchâtel in the microwave, then stir in the honey. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cooled muffins with a fork, or put it into a Ziploc bag, cut the corner, and squeeze it over the muffins while sweeping the bag back and forth.

Nutritional Information (per muffin): 224 Calories, 11g fat, 37mg cholesterol, 225mg sodium, 29g carb, 3g fiber, 4g protein