The plan this morning was to make some good ol’ healthy bran muffins. However, the bran flakes I had on hand just weren’t going to do. Improvisation at it’s best and glad the pantry could accommodate, I found this fantastic recipe for Carrot Spice Muffins from Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook “Baking – From My Home to Yours.” I’ve made some healthful adjustments and added 2 tablespoons of old fashioned oats. If you have her cookbook and haven’t tried the recipe, I encourage you to give it a try. They smell absolutely wonderful when about ready to pull from the oven. There’s great use of spices, raisins and coconut. Also, I sprinkled some raw sugar on the tops of each muffin before baking, which gave the muffin crowns a fantastic subtle crunch texture and a hint of sweetness.
The recipe I’m sharing below are with my modifications and some suggestions I will try next time (like maybe adding pineapple to the batter).
- Used half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour.
- Added 2 tablespoons old fashion oats (not instant).
- Use low-fat milk instead of whole milk.
- Vegetable oil instead of canola oil.
- Sprinkle the tops with raw sugar for sweetness and great textured muffin tops.
- Baking time 18-20 minutes.
- Increase nuts to 1/2 cup.
- Suggestion for next time: Adding pineapple chunks.
source modified from Baking – From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
Makes 12 Muffins
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup low-fat milk (2%)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup shredded carrots (about 2 1/2-3 carrots – peeled and trimmed before shredding)
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Raw sugar for sprinkling
Place oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat muffin pan for 12 muffins with non-stick spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together flours, oats, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and salt. Stir in brown sugar, removing any lumps.
In another bowl, whisk oil, eggs, milk and vanilla together until combined. Make a small well in middle of flour mixture and pour liquid mixture in well and blend until combined. Do not over mix, there may be a few lumps in the batter. Stir in carrots, coconut, raisins and nuts. Divide batter evenly amongst 12 muffins wells. Sprinkle raw sugar on top of each muffin.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer pan to a rack to cool for 10 minutes before removing muffins to continue cooling.
Muffins’ flavor will further intensify when cooled. Store in an airtight container.
As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received Pyrex measuring cups and spoons.
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
I love muffins…more so if they are blended with natural ingredients like carrots which is so healthy and full of antioxidants.
Love the shredded coconut with the carrots in your muffins, they really look delicious for breakfast:) I see homemade muffins in my future baking plans!
How could I not like these muffins…they got all my favourite ingredients.
Your adjustments Cristina make good wholesome sense ;o)
Thanks for sharing one of Dorie’s recipes…and now one of yours too!
Ciao for now,
Claudia
These muffins look wonderful! Love the addition of coconut, raisins, and walnuts. With all that’s been happening right now, maybe some baking will do me good. Thanks for the retweet on my Yokan post :)
Cristina, these muffins look wonderful…nice use of ingredients on hand :)
And love the ingredient photo (well I love them all, but especially that one)
these look irresistable:) … wish i had one right now. thank you for sharing.
These muffins sound so wonderful with the combination of carrots, coconut and raisins, yum!
Looks so yummy! Pineapple sounds like a nice addition, maybe some candied ginger would be nice too!
Pigpigscorner…I absolutely luv that idea of adding candied ginger! I have a muffin I did during the summer called Carrot-Zucchini Muffins with Candied Ginger and they are hands-down one of my favorite because of the candied ginger. Mmmm. Please let me know if you try it with the candied ginger! :)
Oh these carrot oat spice muffins look sooo delicious! I love how you just improvised and what a fantastic end result. I’m definitely going to try your recipe out. YUM!
Lindsey …you’re gonna luv these! :)
delicious flavours
Yum! I adore muffins of any kind. As usual, I’m loving your photos! I wish you lived nearby and could give me some photography lessons. :)
Kristi – you’re sweet, thank you for the compliment on the photography. Hubby at first thought it odd that there were raw carrots in the main shot. :o)
Some great adaptations here! I love taking recipes and making them a bit healthier (I feel less guilty when I indulge in three or four servings!) I adore carrot cake, and I imagine that these muffins would taste very similar without all the grease and fat. Thank you for sharing!
I have that book (love it) and I will try it. Love reading your “Teenie Notes”. I think they’re so helpful, particularly your more healthful suggestions here. Thanks for posting these beautiful muffins. :-)
Carrots are one of my favourite kind of muffins! Those and banana muffins.
Oh I love this recipe! So healthy and light!
My daughter adores muffins, and I’m sure she’d absolutely love these! Gorgeous photos!
I love Dorie’s muffin recipes! Just sweet enough without veering into cupcake territory. These look super tasty!
I think that healthy muffins are such a wonderful way to start my day, these look great, great adaptions and I think pineapple would be quite delicious in these muffins!
What a great improvisation! These muffins look fantastic!
These are beautiful photos, Cristina, and these muffins look delicious! I bet they smelled just as amazing as you described. Some of my best dishes come from improvisation, too! Improvising – at least when it works out – inspires you to keep getting creative in the kitchen!