Morning Glory Muffins {Fall Version}

My breakfasts have been suffering lately. I usually like to be awake for an hour or two before eating, so on days where I have to be on the road before the sun comes up it's difficult for me to eat. Sometimes I'll force feed myself a yogurt or maybe a bowl of cereal, but I'm ravenous an hour later.

I found these muffins during the summer, and thought they would be perfect to have in the freezer so I could grab one or two and eat it later on when I'm actually ready to eat my breakfast. I finally got around to making them about a week ago, and they are just as moist and delicious warmed from the freezer as they were fresh.

I had a bit of fun making these, as I improvised a lot. The ingredient list is crazy long, so use what you have! I used the original recipe as a guide, but put a fall spin on it. I substituted pumpkin for half of the oil, used dried cranberries in place of raisins, and apple cider in place of orange juice (though orange juice would be awesome...reminds me of my favorite muffin). I also used a combination of chia seeds and ground flax seeds in place of the wheat germ.

 

I'm glad I have these waiting for me in my freezer for those cold, early morning drives!

Morning Glory Muffins {Fall Version}

 

Ingredients

 

1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins

2 cups white whole wheat flour

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups peeled and grated carrots

1 large tart apple, peeled, cored, and grated (or leave the peel on, your choice)

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup chopped pecans, or nut of choice

1/3 cup combiniation of chia seeds, ground flax seed, wheat germ, etc. (optional)

3 large eggs

1/3 cup pumpkin

1/3 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup orange juice or apple cider
 
Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin, or line it with papers and spray the insides of the papers.

In a small bowl, cover the cranberries/raisins with hot water, and set them aside to soak while you assemble the rest of the recipe.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, spices, and salt. Stir in the carrots, apple, coconut, nuts, and seeds/wheat germ etc. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, oil, vanilla, and juice. Add to the flour mixture, and stir until evenly moistened. Drain the cranberries/raisins and stir them in.

Divide the batter among the wells of the prepared pan (they'll be full almost to the top; that's OK). Bake the muffins for 25 to 28 minutes, until they're nicely domed and a cake tester inserted in the center of one of the inner muffins comes out clean.

Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes in their pan on a rack, then turn out of pans to finish cooling. Wrap any leftovers airtight, and store at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.

Recipe Source: adapted from King Aurthur Flour