With a little planning, carrots are a great crop to plant in the fall and harvest throughout the winter. They get sweeter with the colder weather. When carrots are abundant, I like to shred them, measure out 2 cups, and vacuum seal them using my FoodSaver vacuum sealer. Then I pop the shredded carrots into the freezer to have them on hand for when the baking mood hits me. We like this recipe for carrot muffins. They make a great, quick breakfast and after-dinner snack.
Healthy Carrot Muffins
Carrot muffins are a great breakfast for quick mornings. Coconut oil and Greek yougurt help these muffins are more heart healthy while staying moist.
- grater
- muffin tin
- cupcake liners
- mixing bowl
- whisk
- 1 3⁄4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 cups carrots (peeled and grated)
- 1/2 cup walnuts (chopped roughly)
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. If necessary, grease all 12 cups on your muffin tin with butter or non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Blend well with a whisk. In a separate, small bowl, toss the raisins with 1 teaspoon flour so they don’t stick together. Add the grated carrots, chopped walnuts and floured raisins to the other ingredients and stir to combine.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oil and maple syrup and beat together with a whisk. Add the eggs and beat well, then add the yogurt and vanilla and mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a big spoon, just until combined. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins turbinado sugar. Bake muffins for 13 minutes, or until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
- Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool. If you have leftover muffins, store them, covered, at room temperature for two days, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Freeze leftover muffins for up to 3 months.