Morning Glory Muffins

A few days ago, I was in a muffin making mood, as I often am, and knew that Morning Glory Muffins would be perfect for my newest baking experiment.  These muffins came back into my life this past weekend when I was visiting one of my old college roommates (and best friends, hi Pamela!).  I had a vegan Morning Glory at a lovely lunch spot in Nashville and though it was good, it wasn't quite as transcendent as the surely less healthy one I'd had in Nantucket last summer.  Oddly enough, in doing some research online (yes, I do muffin research... it's very technical), I found that Nantucket is where these muffins originated. 

If you haven't heard of Morning Glory Muffins before, I suggest you listen up; they're jam packed with all kinds of healthy ingredients from carrots to apple to pineapple to raisins, and coconut, and walnuts-- quite a mouthful, literally.  The only problem is that the traditional muffins, and probably the one's you'll find in most bakeries, hide all these wholesome ingredients under too much sugar, refined flour, and oil.

I set out to make a more wholesome Morning Glory and I think I was pretty successful.   I love all the different flavors and textures present in these muffins.  Sometimes, when I eat them, I seek out the plump golden raisins, other times, it's the tiny chunks of pineapple.  My only complaint would be that they could have been slightly more moist, so I've added a bit of almond or coconut milk into the recipe below. 

I also sort of wished I could taste the pineapple a bit more.  I used 3/4 cup of canned crushed pineapple and while I could taste it, the flavor wasn't as strong as I'd hoped, perhaps using fresh would have yielded a stronger flavor?  Nevertheless, I really like these muffins and I don't feel guilty about eating them.  They're full of fruits and vegetables, relatively low in sugar (all of which is natural), made with 100% whole grain flours, and have hardly any added fat.  They also taste just wonderful toasted and topped with a smear of coconut oil.  Yum.

Morning Glory Muffins
Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup whole spelt flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/3- 1/2 cup sucanat (depending on how sweet you want them)
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/3 cup raw walnuts, chopped
1 1/2 cups carrots, grated (about 3 medium)
1 large apple, grated [I used a Fuji]
3/4 cup crushed pineapple, drained [make sure to get a variety that's packed in juice, not syrup. You could also use fresh pineapple and chop it finely]
2/3 cup golden raisins
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons grade B maple syrup
2 1/2 tablespoons oil of choice [I used sweet almond oil]
1- 3 tablespoons almond milk or coconut milk (add as needed)

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare a muffin tin.

Mix the first eight ingredients together in a large bowl until combined. In a medium bowl add the carrot, apple, pineapple and golden raisins and set aside. In a small bowl, mix the eggs, vanilla, maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon almond milk.

Pour the fruit and vegetable mixture and the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until evenly combined. If the mixture seems too thick, add 1-2 tablespoon more almond or coconut milk.

Spoon batter into muffin tins so that each one is 3/4 full-- should yield about 16 muffins. Place in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes.