Morning Glory Muffins

A muffin cut in half to show the carrots, apples, and raisins.

Our Morning Glory Muffins are moist, tender, and packed with flavor. We included warm spices of cinnamon, ground ginger, and cloves with healthy carrots, apples, raisins, dried ginger bits, and crunchy nuts. One of these delicious muffins will make the perfect breakfast. or mid-day snack.

This recipe makes 18 standard-sized muffins or 8 jumbo-sized muffins.

5 from 12 votes

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Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 45

Servings: muffins

Calories: 290kcal

Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

3 large eggs
1 cup light or dark brown sugar 200 grams
⅔ cup vegetable oil 132 grams
¼ cup buttermilk 57 grams
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups grated carrots 200 grams
1 large tart apple cored and grated (100 grams)
2 cups all-purpose flour 240 grams
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut 86 grams
½ cup raisins 80 grams
½ cup crystallized ginger bits 90 grams
½ cup walnuts or pecans chopped (57 grams)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425°F and line either a standard-sized muffin tin or a jumbo-size muffin pan with cupcake papers. (See Notes)
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla until well combined. Stir in the grated carrots and apple.
In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt into a medium bowl.
Add the coconut flakes, raisins, ginger bits, and nuts to a small bowl and toss them with 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture. This is an optional step but it helps prevent the raisins and nuts from sinking to the bottom of the muffins.
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring gently with a wide spatula just until a few streaks of flour are still showing. Gently fold in the nut and raisin mixture.
Scoop the batter into the lined muffin cavities, filling to the top, then transfer to the oven.
Bake at the 425°F temperature for 5 minutes.
Reduce the oven to 350°F and bake an additional 15-20 minutes for standard-sized muffins or an additional 25 to 30 minutes for jumbo muffins. If you insert a toothpick into the center, it should come out clean or with a few crumbs remaining.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and finish cooling on a wire rack.

Notes

Don't overmix the batter. Use a wide spatula and gently fold the flour and nut mixture into the wet batter. If you overmix the batter you will develop the gluten and make the muffins tough.
You will have enough batter for 16 to 18 standard muffins or 8 jumbo muffins.
If you make jumbo-sized muffins, you will have enough batter to fill a 6-count jumbo muffin pan plus enough leftover batter to fill two 6-ounce souffle cups.
Fill the muffin tins all the way to the top.
Substitution add-ins: Dried cranberries instead of raisins, drained crushed pineapple instead of an apple. Sunflower seeds instead of nuts.
If you add too many additional ingredients like pineapple as well as grated apple, the muffins will become dense and heavy.
You can also add 1/3 cup wheat germ, or 1/3 cup ground flaxseed if you want extra fiber. Adding wheat germ and flaxseed will make the muffins dense and heavy.
We recommend using a kitchen scale, if you do not have a scale and measure the flour, stir the flour then lightly scoop it into a cup and level off. If you scoop the flour directly into the flour container, it will pack the flour down and you will end up with too much flour and a heavy, dense muffin.
You can substitute melted butter for the vegetable oil but the muffins will be firmer in texture.
If you can't find crystallized ginger bits, you can chop up large chunks of crystallized ginger.
Peeling the apple is optional.

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