Morning Glory Muffins

These muffins are what I would consider a "healthy" muffin. But they're still really, really good. They're also a great way to sneak some vegetables in your your kids' diet. (Oh, who am I kidding? I have to sneak vegetables disguised as muffins into my own diet, too.)

Morning Glory Muffins

(from allrecipes.com)

1 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1 1/4 c. sugar

1 Tbs. cinnamon

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 c. grated carrots

1 apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

1 c. raisins (or dried cranberries)

1 egg

2 egg whites

1/2 c. applesauce or apple butter

1/4 c. oil

1 Tbs. vanilla

2 Tbs. chopped walnuts

2 Tbs. toasted wheat germ

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 18 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, applesauce, oil, and vanilla.

3. In a large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in carrots, apples and raisins. Stir in applesauce mixture until just moistened. The batter will be very thick. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling them about 3/4 full.

4. In a small bowl, combine walnuts and wheat germ. Sprinkle over the muffin tops.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and spring back when lightly pressed.

Muffins That Taste Like Donuts

I like to eat donuts in the fall so when I found this recipe from Tasty Kitchen, I decided to give it a try. I think they do taste just like cake donuts, but Dave thinks they taste like snickerdoodles. Either way, they are good and a nice change from my regular muffin recipes. The girls had fun dipping the tops in the butter and cinnamon/sugar.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup oil

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

Topping:

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions:

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon; set aside. Combine oil, sugar, egg and milk. Add dry ingredients and stir only to combine. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a bowl. Combine the white sugar with the cinnamon in another bowl. Shake muffins our while still hot. Dip muffins in butter, then into the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Let cool. Makes 12 regular muffins or 24 mini muffins.

Double Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients:
1 C. cocoa
3 1/2 C. flour
2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 C. buttermilk or milk soured with 1 tbs. vinegar
1/2 C. sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla
1 C. butter
2 C. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
3 tbs. oil
Chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin pans. Cream butter, sugar and eggs. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowel. In another bowel, mix buttermilk, sour cream, vanilla, and oil. Add alternately with drying ingredients to creamed mixture. Add chocolate chips. Bake 25-30 minutes.

Banana Crumb Muffins

These are my favorite banana muffins. Once again, from allrecipes.com. Here's the link: Banana Crumb Muffins.

I've made these several times without any substitutions, following the original recipe. But, I have made them with a few variations, too. I've substituted applesauce for the butter and they were still really good, just a little more "healthy" tasting. This last batch I made, I substituted 1/2 c. whole wheat flour for 1/2 c. flour. They were great! I don't think they tasted any different. I also like to add cinnamon or a little nutmeg to the batter.