This is a significantly healthier and–in my humble opinion–tastier version of a recipe I sourced from allrecipes.com some years ago. Whole wheat flour and ground flax seed replace the white flour; maple syrup replaces the white sugar; and yogurt and extra virgin olive oil stand in for vegetable oil. Pop leftovers into the freezer for a super quick breakfast, snack or addition to your kiddo’s school lunch.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (regular whole wheat will do in a pinch)
  • 1/2 cup ground flax seed
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 2 cups finely grated carrots (about 3-4 carrots)
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1 apple peeled and coarsely grated
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup plain unsweetened yogurt
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup softened cream cheese
  • 1/4-1/2 cup maple syrup (warmed briefly in the microwave)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 12-cup muffin tray with non-stick spray, or line with baking papers.
  2. Whisk together flour, flax seed, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large boil. Add carrots, raisins and apples and stir to combine. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, maple syrup, olive oil and vanilla. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined. Do not over-mix or muffins will be tough and won't rise properly.
  3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin and bake in preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until tops begin to brown and a toothpick inserted in the muffins comes out clean. Transfer muffins to wire rack to cool.
  4. For the glaze: whisk the warm maple syrup into the cream cheese until you get a nice runny consistency (you may not need all of the maple syrup depending on the consistency of your cream cheese). Drizzle over the cooled muffins.

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