Carrot Raisin Walnut Muffins

I've been making a lot of soups lately, partially because it's so cold and partially because it's so easy.  Most simple soups start out the same way: with onions, celery, carrots and maybe some garlic all chopped up and softened with some olive oil in the bottom of a large pot.  Then comes the broth (or even water) and the rest of ingredients.  Boil it until it reduces to your liking and ta-da! Great tasting homemade soup. But I digress.

So it was my new soup making craze that led my eye to some rather good looking carrots in the grocery store a few days ago.  Normally, I never give carrots a second look but this soup kick along with their particularly vibrant orange color and suspiciously symmetrical shape caused me to plop them right into my cart.  And that's when it hit me: Carrot Muffins! I love Carrot Cake, so Carrot Muffins sounded just right.  My desire was further confirmed when I was reading Kath's blog and she pictured a lovely Carrot Raisin Walnut Muffin her husband had brought home from work- Carrot Raisin Walnut, now that sounded perfect.

Since I wanted to make muffins, not cupcakes, I knew I also wanted them to be healthy and I had the perfect recipe in mind.  I have been craving  the flavors from that cinnamon-y Zucchini Bread I made over winter break since I got back.  So, I decided to adapt that recipe to fit the extra ingredients I wanted to incorporate into these muffins.  

And they came out perfectly.  They are a moister muffin without the crumbly topping that some people see as essential to a good muffin, but I am not some people.  In fact, I don't mind at all because they lack nothing in flavor or texture.  The moistness is actually very pleasant especially with the textural interest of the raisins and walnuts.  The spiciness of the cinnamon complements the subtle vegetal sweetness of the carrots while the walnuts add crunch and the plumped raisins provide an unexpected complexity, as well as an added burst of syrupy sweetness.

Carrot Raisin Walnut Muffins

makes about 18 muffins

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch of ground ginger
pinch of ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce [I think plain yogurt would also work nicely]
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups shredded carrots

3/4 cup raisins

3/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spray 18 muffin tins with oil (you could also butter them or use cupcake liners).  Sift first 9 ingredients into a medium bowl.  Stir in the carrots until they are well coated with the dry mixture.  Beat sugar, oil, applesauce, eggs and vanilla to blend in large bowl.  Add dry ingredients and combine well.

Transfer batter to prepared muffin tins. Fill each muffin tin 3/4 of the way.  Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Cool muffins in pan for about 10 minutes and then remove using a thin knife if needed.  Place onto racks and cool completely.