The other night I wanted to make something healthy. I always want it to be delicious, but I wanted to contrast the chocolate buttercream frostings and cheesecakes as of late, and I wanted to try something new. That’s how I found myself making Carrot Spice Muffins. And I’ll tell you right now to read on, because they are not only good for you, they’re super delicious. I’m eating one right now and it’s healthy enough for breakfast but tastes like dessert. Awesome.
I started by grating the carrots.…until I took a second look at the recipe and realized it said SHREDDED carrots, not GRATED carrots. “But my other carrot muffins have grated carrots,” I thought, “and that works out just fine.” I took a look at the other recipe. It said grated carrots. This one? Shredded. So I switched from the grater to a shredder. And made a mess.
That done, I got the dry ingredients together: whole wheat white flour, natural sugar (which I’ve been using anyway, but this recipe specifically called for it), and ground flax seed, which has become an ingredient that I already have on hand.
After that, spices. I increased the cinnamon and ginger, by about half a teaspoon, and added cloves and salt. I whisked.
Then I whisked together the wet ingredients: agave nectar, applesauce, water, vanilla, and yogurt. The recipe had soy yogurt in it, but I figured regular yogurt was fine.
Then I poured the wet ingredients into the dry.
I was supposed to add carrots and raisins, but raisins in baked goods are disgusting, so I just added carrots.
I folded them in, then spooned the batter into a muffin pan, lined with cute little paper cups with polka dots on them. The recipe said to sprinkle vanilla sugar on them, but I didn’t have any, so I added a little sparkle and crunch with Turbinado sugar.
They were done in about 15 minutes, maybe a few more.
They smelled wonderful. I let them sit in the pan for a few minutes, then moved them to a wire rack. Once they were cool, we tasted them.
What a great recipe. These are delicious, with a perfect cakey texture and a guilt-free sweetness. Perfect.
This shot is from a different batch, which is why the tops look different. I’ve made these a bunch now!
CARROT SPICE MUFFINS RECIPE (original)
My version of Carrot Spice Muffins (adapted from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen)
ingredients:
1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup natural sugar
1 tablespoon ground flax seed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup shredded carrots (about 3)
Optional topping: Turbinado sugar
directions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray or use muffin liners.
Mix together all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk.
In a small bowl, combine the liquid ingredients. Whisk!
Add the liquid to the dry and mix just long enough to incorporate. Fold in the carrots until well combined.
Spoon the batter into the muffin cups–it will be very thick. Sprinkle with Turbinado sugar, if desired. (It adds a lovely crunch and sparkle to the top.)
Reduce oven temperature to 400 and bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them sit in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool.
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