Morning Glory Muffins

When I formerly ate wheat, I used to have carrot "Morning Glory" muffins at camp in the mornings when they were available. The muffins were quite good, but they were very oily and not very healthy. When I discovered I needed to be gluten free, I eventually got around to finding a new recipe for them.

I believe that I originally found this recipe online at Whole Foods. I have adapted it a little to my taste and to make it more healthy. I cannot say more of these muffins! They are moist, not overly fluffly or heavy, and have lots of yummy ingredients in them. The photo does not do them justice! It was taken maybe a year ago on my older camera, which never turned out good photos.

Morning Glory Muffins

adapted from here - I must say the picture there isn't very appetizing- that isn't how they come out. Makes about 18 muffins.

3 eggs

1/2 cup cane sugar - I usually use 1/2 cup maple syrup for sweetner and reduce flour by 3T

1/4 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1/2 cup potato starch - you could try arrowroot probably instead

2 tsp each baking soda, cinnamon and xanthan gum

1/2 tsp sea salt

mix ins:

1 tart red apple, unpeeled cored and finely diced - I am going to try shredding/grating them next time

1 cup grated carrot

1 cup grated zucchini

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts, raw or roasted

1/4 cup coconut flakes

To make your muffins:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the wet ingredients in a large bowl, whisking by hand to incorporate air into the mixture about 1 minute.

3. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add to the wet ingredients gradually.

4. Add the mix-ins last, gently folding with a spatula till combined.

5. Scoop into paper lined regular sized muffin tins.

6. Bake, cool, eat, enjoy.

My mom is especially crazy about these muffins! I love these muffins too, but I do not really love that they use so much white flour. I may experiment and make them with better gluten free flours like teff, or sorghum, flours that aren't as starchy and "empty" calorically. Now that my diet has improved over the years, I have learned that grains are not the best thing for our bodies. Coming soon I will redo the recipe with more healthful flours, like coconut and almond.

These muffins freeze well for a few months, but past 6 months is pushing it for ANY baked gluten free good and so I do not recommend it. Also, be sure to store your gluten free frozen goods in a freezer that does not have defrost cycle. This will damage the product quickly and it will not keep as long. Of course, if you have family or lots of friends that love muffins, they will be gone in flash and you won't have to worry about freezing them!