Texas-Sized Muffins
Good top o’ the morning to ya!
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day… I’m pretty sure that’s been established. Luckily for me it is also my favorite meal of the day, and I always look forward to jumping out of bed and diving straight into that kitchen for my cup of coffee and a delicious morning treat.
Eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes – you name it, I make it. But, one of my favorite morning treats to bake is a big ol’ scrumptious muffin. I like muffins because I can get really creative with these little guys; I can add veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds…whatever my heart desires, and I can make them taste pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.
These Texas-sized muffins were inspired by a recipe that I came across on the net at Honest Cooking, the online food magazine. What caught my eye was all the tasty goodness that made up this delightful, cakey muffin.
And, what’s more is that apart from the kitchen sink, everything is in here, including carrots, apples, nuts, pork… okay, not pork, but I’m sure these would be just as good if I added some bacon to them… That’s an idea I should have tried before writing this up…*sigh*
Oh well… next time I will add crispy bacon to it and let you know how it goes.
Texas-sized Muffins – a.k.a. Morning Glory Muffins
(adapted from Honest Cooking)
You will need:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups grated carrots
- 2 apples, chopped
- 1/4 cup sweetened coconut
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup dried prunes, chopped
- 3 eggs
- 2/3 cups Canola oil
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- zest of 1 orange
- light brown sugar for sprinkling on top
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Line a muffin tin with 6 “Texas-sized” muffin paper liners. If using cupcake tin, line all 12 with cupcake paper liners.
- Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, spices and salt.
- Add in the carrots, apple, coconut, nuts, raisins, prunes, and zest; combine.
- Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl: eggs, oil, orange juice and vanilla.
- Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir until combined.
- Fill the muffin liners to the top. If using a cupcake tin, fill those all the way up, too.
- Sprinkle light brown sugar on top of the muffins.
- Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then turn them out on a baking rack.
FYI: For the vegans out there – you can veganize (is that a word?) these by using the ENER-G egg substitute. I’ve tried it and it works.
Na Zdravje!
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