Morning Harvest Muffins

I based this on a allrecipes.com recipe.  One of our favorite NOLA bakeries has Morning Harvest muffins that I love, packed with carrots and apples and zucchini, I think.  These didn't turn out quite like those but they were still pretty yummy.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut
• 1 apple - peeled, cored and shredded
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 
2. Grease muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners.
3. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. 
4. Stir in the carrot, raisins, nuts, coconut, and apple.
5. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, oil, and vanilla. 
6. Stir egg mixture into the carrot/flour mixture, just until moistened. 
7. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean. 

 I ended up doubling the recipe and got 33 nice sized muffins.  I've put them all in the freezer and will defrost a few at a time or breakfasts and snacks.

Oat Bran Muffins (with honey)

I liked the last batch, but Charlie's been wanting oat bran muffins similar to those we used to get at our bakery, Laurel Street Bakery.  They were made with honey. 

I found this recipe at the Joy of Baking.  Of course I didn't have everything so there were some omissions and substitutions. I've noted each.  Pretty good, but still not quite what I'm looking for.

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup (130 grams) whole wheat flour (didn't have wheat so used all purpose)
• 1 cup (150 grams) oat bran 
• 1/3 cup (75 grams) light brown sugar 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (omitted, I'm picky about cinnamon use)
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest 
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten 
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) unsulphured molasses or mild flavored honey (used honey)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 2 tablespoons canola oil (used vegetable oil)
• 1 1/4 cup (300 ml) milk 
• 1/2 cup (70 grams) raisins or currants (omitted because Charlie is not a fan of raisins)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place rack in center of oven.
• Line or spray 12 muffin cup pan.
• Mix dry ingredients into a bowl.
• In a separate bowl lightly beat egg.
• To the beaten egg, add honey, milk, vanilla, and oil and mix.
• Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing gently. Batter will be thin.
• Fold in raisins (I think I will make another batch with raisins for Freddie and me next time.)
• Ladle into 12 muffin cups.
• Bake 16-20 minutes.  (Mine were done in 12 minutes!)

Oat Bran Muffins

I am on the hunt for some new muffin recipes.  This one was pretty good, and very easy.  It would have been better with raisins or cranberries but Charlie doesn't like either of those.  I plan on trying a few other oat bran muffin recipes over the next few weeks.

I got this one from allrecipes.com.  (Although I think the recipe on the back of the oat bran box was identical.)  There are lots of suggestions on how to tweak the recipe to your liking but I tried it as written.


Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups oat bran
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup chilled applesauce
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 
2. Line or grease 12 muffin cups.
3. Blend together brown sugar, oat bran, flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. 
4. Add eggs, chilled applesauce, and vegetable oil. 
5. Mix until well-blended. 
6. Spoon batter into muffin cup and let stand 10 minutes.
7. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Nutritional info according to allrecipes:  Calories: 182 | Total Fat: 6.4g | Cholesterol: 35mg

I'm really looking for a yummy morning harvest muffin recipe; something that includes carrots, raisins, apples, and maybe zucchini.