Morning Glory Muffins

October 21, 2015

Who wouldn't say YES to a muffin they could eat for breakfast without feeling naughty?
A dear friend of mine gave me this recipe when she decided to cut down on her sugar consumption. She was super excited saying they were the greatest muffins in the world! At the time I wasn't entirely convinced as muffins tend to be a bit boring when you get down to the nitty gritty. Usually all the yummy stuff is just sprinkled on the top and the muffin itself can be dry and bland...

Well not these ones!
I can safely say that these bad boys (or are the good boys because they've got goodness in them?) are most definitely THE GREATEST MUFFINS IN THE WORLD!

And... 

*drum roll*

I'm going to give you all you need to make them!

Here goes...
To make these muffins you're going to need:
2 cups all-purpose flour which is the same as plain flour. Can you believe that every time I have to check whether all-purpose flour is plain or self-raising. You'd think after years of baking that I could just commit it to memory by now...
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups shredded carrots which I find is usually about one and a half averaged size carrots (like the one above)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 unsweetened flaked coconut which is sometimes hard to find. I have also used desiccated coconut (like you find in the store) and while the chunks aren't as large it doesn't really change much, if anything.
1 peeled, cored and shredded apple. As you can see I did not use just one apple. These apples were small so I was going to use two but the previous times I have made these muffins I had added extra apple because the apple in the muffins tastes so good!
3 eggs
1 cup honey. The recipe originally asked for a cup of agave nectar which is a sweetener that is "not sugar". After some research into what agave was I found that there are mixed beliefs on the benefits of agave and also you can substitute honey in the same quantity. So, because I am pretty lazy I have always used honey which saves an extra trip to the supermarket.
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
You can also add;
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup applesauce
which I usually leave out because I'm not a massive nut fan and we never seem to have applesauce in the house.
If you do add either of these let me know if you think it's better with them in the comments and maybe I'll give them a try next time!

Preheat oven to 180°C. This recipe makes 18 medium size muffins (which is probably 12 larger muffins) so line one and a half muffin tins with paper cases. I actually only lined on because I have these funky silicon muffin cups (I personally think silicon is one of the greatest thing to happen to baking) which I used for the rest.

To make add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and stir.
Add apple chunks. Now I don't actually peel my apples any more, nor do I shred them. Instead I use my apple corer which makes the apples into a spiral and then break them into small chunks into the bowl.
In another medium bowl add wet ingredients. Fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredients being careful not to over mix.
Put the mixture prepared muffin tins about 3/4 of the way full.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until skewer inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean. Leave them on a wire rack to cool.
Now this time I decided to ice these babies with a cream cheese frosting.
The recipe I used, which I sourced here made a lot of icing. I had at least a quarter left over (after I'd eaten a lot). 
Next time I would probably halve the recipe.

What you'll need:
1 block of Philadelphia cream cheese (8oz.) Allow this to soften to room temperature before making frosting.
1/4 cup butter of margarine
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups icing sugar
(Please note this is the full recipe not the halved one)

Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a bowl with an electric mixer until blended.
Add the icing sugar gradually beating after each addition, until all added and mixed.
When the muffins have cooled you can begin icing. 
Special credit to my brother who took photos for me. You sir get a muffin!
I used a piping syringe with a star nozzle and finished them of with a small sprinkling of flaked coconut. This was the first time I'd ever used a piping syringe. After my many failed attempts at using a piping bag it was a welcome surprise to be able to use it so easily and get decent results! Definitely my new favourite kitchen toy!

So there you have it the 'best muffins ever' recipe share with you so you to can make them at home. 

Always moist and pack full of  fruity flavours, they are a never fail recipe that are easy to make and taste absolutely scrumptious! Best eaten fresh in the first couple of days but they can be stored in a air tight container and they will last for a couple of days.
I love eating these muffins for a quick breakfast when I'm in a rush for the train and because of all the fruit and veg I know are in them I don't feel half a guilt as I probably should.

Let me know if you give these a try and what you thought of them. Send me a picture on twitter or post one on my facebook page. I'd love to know what you like baking at the moment in the comments as I always enjoy trying new recipes.
If you have any issue let me know and I promise I'll get right back.

Happy baking!
xx

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2 comments

  1. Gosh, this looks absolutely amazing. I need to make some of this asap. Hope you have a wonderful day. xo, Teng

    https://itsjustteng.wordpress.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Teng, they really are and super easy to make!
      Have a beautiful day
      xx

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