4 Weeks to Fill Your Freezer: Easy Morning Glory Muffins (Day 17)

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by Crystal on May 24, 2012

These muffins are delicious and nutritious. When my friend, Angie, brought us some one day, I took one bite and knew they were winners.

I adapted the original recipe to make it healthier, but if you’re not worrying about sugar or calories, the original recipe is really good. :)

I’d recommend using muffin liners, if you buy them, as they seem to help these be a bit more moist. However, they are still delicious with less sugar and without muffin liners.

I used pureed carrots instead of shredded carrots this time around as that is what I already had in the freezer. I think it works a little better with shredded carrots — and the batter doesn’t look so orange, either!

Easy Morning Glory Muffins

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour (can also use white flour or a mixture of whole-wheat and white flour)
  • 3/4 to 1 cup raw sugar (or sugar)
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups shredded carrots
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
  • 1 apple, peeled, cored, and shredded (or chopped)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup coconut oil, melted (or oil)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the carrots, raisins, coconut, and apples.

In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, coconut oil, and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into the carrot/flour mixture, just until moistened. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

To freeze: Cool completely and put in an airtight ziptop freezer bag.

To thaw: Pull out the desired number of muffins and thaw at room temperature for an hour or so. You can also warm them in the microwave.

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Did you do any freezer cooking today? If so, I’d love to see the results of your efforts! Link up your blog posts below or tell us about your success in the comments.

 

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{ 38 comments... read them below or add one }

  • Mary Ellen May 24, 2012 at 09:23 pm

    I made these as well a few months ago! Here is my version using apple butter to replace some of the oil.

    http://whisktogether.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/morning-glory-muffins/

  • Swappin' Spoons May 24, 2012 at 09:29 pm

    Have you ever made muffin melts? They are a favorite in our home. I am not sure how you would freeze them, any suggestions? http://swappinspoons.blogspot.com/2012/02/muffin-melts.html

  • Slides 'n Sandboxes May 24, 2012 at 09:34 pm

    Do you serve all your muffins on the top of the fence posts? :) Can’t wait to try them (muffins) out. Thanks!

    • Anna @ Feminine Adventures May 25, 2012 at 09:31 am

      Haha! Love how you’re experimenting with the camera. Or was it really a picnic?

  • grace May 24, 2012 at 09:43 pm

    I am so making these….actually im going to go make them now for in the morning…its a great way to sneak extra vegetables into the kids :)

  • Miranda May 24, 2012 at 09:52 pm

    I make these very similar except instead of the flour I use flaxseed meal and wheat bran. Healthy and delicious!

  • michelle May 24, 2012 at 09:55 pm

    These look great! Anyone know if I can replace the eggs? My son is allergic but he loves muffins and these would be great. I’m thinking applesauce? He just got diagnosed so we are new to eggless cooking :)

    • Tania May 24, 2012 at 10:41 pm

      Michelle: Flax seeds are probably your best substitution for this. You may want to try this:
      - 1 tablespoon whole flaxseeds
      - 4 tablespoons water (or other liquid)
      Process seeds in a blender to a fine meal, add liquid and blend well.

      You can make a bigger batch by increasing the ingredient amounts. Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

    • Chanda May 24, 2012 at 10:48 pm

      I know there is a little blurb on the side of the flaxseed bag about using it as an egg substitute. I’ve used it before, but I can’t remember the specifics, something like 1 Tbs flaxseed and 3 Tbs water for each egg. I have used it before in baking and it always turns out great!

      • Victoria @Snail Pace Transformations May 25, 2012 at 05:02 am

        I use to replace eggs with 1 tablespoon soy flour mixed with 2 tablespoons water. Whisk it together just like and egg before putting it in your recipe.

    • Kim May 25, 2012 at 06:48 am

      I have a friend who is vegan, so when I wanted to make her some cookies, I had to find an egg substitute. I substituted 1/2 cup mashed banana for 2 eggs and they came out great. My family actually liked the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies better with the banana.

      So, you could try 1/4 cup mashed banana for each egg.

    • Rebekah May 25, 2012 at 02:53 pm

      My only concern (if I’ll make these I’ll be replacing the egg, too!) is that 3 eggs for 12 muffins is an awful lot of egg to be replacing. Usually the flaxseed substitution works beautifully, but I’ve never replaced more than 1 egg in a single batch of anything at a time. If you do it, please let us know how they turn out!

      As a side note, I’ve noticed that the 1 T flaxseed + 3T water substitution has less volume than 1 large egg, so keep an eye out for the moistness of your batter. You may end up wanting to add a Tbsp or so more liquid. :)

  • lyss May 24, 2012 at 09:56 pm

    Mmmm…these look good. I will be tweaking them further(is that allowed?!) I guess I’m used to not-very-sweet muffins! All my recipes use more like 1/4 cup of sugar per 12 muffins. That original recipe should be called cupcakes! lol

  • Carolynn @mylittlebitoflife.com May 24, 2012 at 10:07 pm

    You can also make these Paleo!! The are my favorite Paleo recipe thus far!!

    • Colleen May 25, 2012 at 01:16 pm

      Would you be willing to share the recipe! Thanks so much!

  • Shelly May 24, 2012 at 10:11 pm

    I ran out of carrots so I could not make this recipe today. But I will be trying it in the future. But I did make pantry muffin mix. I mixed up a strawberry and chocolate chip muffin mix, zucchini and chocolate chip muffin mix and a pear and cinnamon muffin mix.

  • Michelle Zielicke Murphy May 24, 2012 at 10:35 pm

    I made chex mix today. And I made 6 different kinds. No I did not intend to, but I kept seeing such good recipes I couldn’t stop until I ran out of time and energy. hehe. I still have 4 more recipes to try. Hehe.

  • Anna May 24, 2012 at 10:36 pm

    Those muffins look so delish….I’m going to have to print the recipe!

  • Jessica May 24, 2012 at 10:38 pm

    I use a recipe very similar but use 1 cup grated carrots and 1 cup grated zucchini…so yummy!

  • Lynn in MD May 24, 2012 at 10:49 pm

    You could make these even healthier by omitting the oil and using applesauce or canned pumpkin instead. Instead of eggs try egg whites or even flax meal instead. :)

    • Jen May 25, 2012 at 04:07 pm

      Coconut oil is so good for you, and the yolks are the best part of the egg! :)

      • Lynn in MD May 25, 2012 at 06:17 pm

        Both of them are VERY high in saturated fat… so NOT heart healthy.

        • Kayla May 26, 2012 at 08:20 am

          Check out this article on healthy fats!

          http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2011/04/good-fats-bad-fats-and-why-i-eat-plenty-of-butter.html

        • cathy S. May 29, 2012 at 08:30 am

          It is now understood that saturated fats are probably not unhealthy for the heart. Although if one already has heart disease saturated fat should be controlled.

  • rebecca May 24, 2012 at 10:53 pm

    I made these many times before but added 3/4 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup oil (canola, vegetable, or whatever I have on hand but no olive). Never tried cocnut oil but will have to next time. My picky kids LOVE them and usually want butter on the muffins but they eat them plain.

  • Tracy May 24, 2012 at 10:56 pm

    These sound very yummy! I love www.allrecipes.com. I sliced up some bananas and flash froze them for smoothies. That is the extent of my freezer “cooking” today.

  • Caroline May 24, 2012 at 10:57 pm

    These look great! Excited to try them. Is the yield ~24 muffins (guessing from the pictures)? Hopefully I’m not overlooking that in your post but didn’t see it. Thanks!

  • Jessica May 24, 2012 at 11:05 pm

    Your website always inspires me – I used to make and freeze muffins frequently but I’ve dropped the habit – thanks for the reminder :) They’re such a great quick snack.

  • Jillian K. May 25, 2012 at 04:40 am

    These look great! I may have to try them after we run out of banana bread.

    I’ve been working on dinners this week, plus preserving some of the herbs that I grow. It’s been a good week!

    Thanks for hosting this!

  • Diane May 25, 2012 at 05:50 am

    Wow! so many good things in these muffins! my family will love them!

  • Find Time For Fun May 25, 2012 at 05:54 am

    You’re really becoming quite the photographer! Would you mind sharing what kind of camera you have? I’m looking at purchasing one. Thanks!

  • katie May 25, 2012 at 06:07 am

    After you posted that you were going to be making Morning Glory Muffins, I got a real hankering to make some. I checked out the recipe you used and it is almost the exact same recipe as the one I use from a bakery cafe cookbook my mom gave me when I got married. The only difference is my recipe includes 2 tablespoons buttermilk (i just use milk and a drop of lemon juice). I think it makes a difference too!

    As to the healthiness of all that sugar and oil, I like the way you tweaked them. I did the same only I replaced half the oil with mashed sweet potatoe. Next time I’ll use apple sauce. I used 3/4 c sugar and they were plenty sweet. I will say they turn out for me with a kind of caramelly crunchy outside that i love when I use the full 1 1/4 c sugar the orignial recipe calls for (if i use no liner.

    • Anna @ Feminine Adventures May 25, 2012 at 09:34 am

      Cool! I’ve got lots of sweet potato frozen and would love to replace part of the oil with it. Did they end up sticking? Would you use sweet potato again?

  • Lana May 25, 2012 at 07:29 am

    Yum! Our now 21 year old daughter called these meatloaf muffins when she was little :)

  • Amie May 25, 2012 at 09:25 am

    I have been motivated by you to be cooking all this week, though I missed the first two or three weeks :) Yesterday, I baked two chickens, shredded the meat, made a bean mix for the freezer, and packaged four lunches (3 fried rice, and 1 BBQ chicken for sandwiches). Your muffins look yummy!

  • Danielle @ CozyCakesCottage May 25, 2012 at 02:59 pm

    I’m a bit behind on the challenges (sigh), but I made the chocolate chip oatmeal cookies today. I can’t wait to try them tonight!

  • Amy May 26, 2012 at 11:26 am

    I tried your meatballs and lasagna casserole for freezer cooking this week. Can’t wait to eat them! Thanks for all the inspiration.

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