Morning Glory Muffins

I hadn't made these muffins for years! I wanted to make some as a thank-you for a sweet friend,and I decided to double the recipe. Good thing, because the boys love them!

They are super-healthy, especially with the changes I made. They make a great breakfast with a yogurt. And if you want to take something healthy to an office potluck, take these with some honey nut cream cheese.

They do call for a lot of ingredients, so I doubled the recipe (48 muffins!). I'll freeze what we don't eat over the next day or two.

Muffin tips: Use cupcake liners, and spray them and the pan with non-stick spray for easy removal. Start muffins at 500 degrees for the first three minutes, then turn them down to 350 for the rest of the baking time. This will give muffins a nice rise (everyone loves muffin tops!). These muffins are dense because of the whole wheat flour and the vegetable and fruit add-ins, so they will never look like bakery muffins.

Morning Glory Muffins

2 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour (I substituted 1/4 c. flax seed for 1/4 c. flour)
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded carrot
1 cup shredded apple
3/4 cup raisins, golden raisins, or Craisins
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice, drained
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup apple sauce
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites or 1/4 cup Egg Beaters
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 500°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (flour through salt) in a large bowl. Stir in carrot and next 5 ingredients (carrot through pineapple); make a well in center of mixture. Combine oil and next 4 ingredients (oil through egg whites); stir with a whisk. Add oil mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

Spoon the batter into 24 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 500° for 3 minutes. Turn down the heat to 350 and bake for 15 more minutes, until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pans immediately; cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 2 dozen (serving size: 1 muffin)

Calories: 150 Fat: 5 g. Fiber: 3 g