Carrot Muffins

Yes, I have made carrot muffins before (with a recipe for carrot cake, see it here) and those were YUMMY but these are… I don’t know, different? Take my word for it, you want to make these. AND you can eat more because they are even better for you than my previous version. ½ whole wheat flour! Just over 200 cal each! Your whole house will smell amazing, and when they are hot just out of the oven, there is NOTHING like them. What are you waiting for? Try these NOW!!!

I saw a version in the new Sunset Magazine (yes, I do read it as well as collect the old books!) for “Miracle Carrot Muffins” and it reminded me of an old recipe from 1960’s “The Sunset Cookbook” in particular because I wanted to make healthy carrot muffins, but I hate raisins. I recalled a yummy recipe for Prune Bread, but… well, we’re not always in the mood for prunes, I get it. Instead, dried cherries. And while they sound great with cream cheese and orange zest, you seriously do not even need that. Seriously.

This prune bread is really good, but these muffins are perhaps more "accessible"

The technique is the same: soften the dried fruit in hot water, but this new version is easier and (shocking) you don’t even need a mixer. Got totally off the grid, man!

Grating carrots smells SO GOOD! but... use a food processor, duh!

No mixer, just "whisk" the flours. OK.... 

Softening the dried fruit while melting the butter - this smells HEAVENLY and very fall-like. Who needs scented candles???

Going into the oven...

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups sugar

¼ cup butter (in you want to make these vegan, use margarine)

1 ¼ cups shredded carrots (food processor, hello!)

1 cup dried cherries (or raisins, eww)

1 tsp. each salt, cinnamon, and ground allspice

¼ tsp. ground cloves

1 cup each all-purpose and whole wheat flour

1 tsp. each baking powder and baking soda

4 oz cream cheese

1 Tbsp. orange zest

Method: 

1.       Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put sugar, butter, carrots, raisins, salt spices and 1 1/3 cups water in a medium saucepan. Heat over high heat, stirring occasionally, just until mixture comes to a boil.

2.       Whisk flours, baking powder and baking soda together in a medium bowl. Pour in warm carrot mixture. Stir to combine, but do not overmix.

3.       Spoon mixture into greased muffin cups.

4.       Bake until browned and a toothpick comes out clean, about 15 min. Let cool on a rack.

15 min later = YUM!

5.       Blend cream cheese with zest and serve with muffins (optional)

Carrot Cake

 

What do you do with an over-abundance of carrots because your juicer quit working? Why, you make carrot cake! (Or in this case, delicious little carrot cupcakes.) Because come on, who wants to juice when you can eat cake instead?

(Did I mention I had a lot of carrots?)

I googled a recipe for a low-cal version of carrot cake, and also found a low-sugar version in one of my hippie cook-books, the 1976 “Bake Bread” by Marguerite Bencivenga. Between the two, I came up with something not too sinful that still tastes like cake rather than like a hockey puck – success! I should point out that I made a straight up, regular, full fat and sugar, cream cheese frosting. Because I might substitute part whole wheat flour and use less oil, but I will NOT MESS WITH FROSTING.

I’m not giving a traditional recipe here, because you can find those easily (and for about 500 calories a piece!) but do try this version. I made cupcakes, which require less baking time – and pay attention so they don’t become dry! As soon as you can smell them, they are close to done. Since there is much less oil than a traditional recipe calls for (1 cup or more less!) you need more carrots (on average one more cup) to increase the moisture, but it will never be quite as moist. That’s why you NEED the good frosting! However, if you omit the frosting (WHAT!?!?!?) then it is “carrot bread” and you can pretend you’re eating health food. Sure…..

Carrot Cake

4 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 cup all purpose white flour

1 cup all purpose whole wheat flour

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

3 cups grated carrots

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

·         * Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch pan (or place cupcake papers into cupcake tins – approx. 18)

·        *  In a bowl, beat together eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in carrots; fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.

·        * Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes (30 min for cupcakes), or until you smell the cake and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

·        *  Frost when cooled. (see below)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 box powdered sugar

3 oz cream cheese

2 Tbsp milk

½ lemon

·        *  Cream the cheese and ½ box of powdered sugar, and add milk and juice of lemon

·        * Add sugar till taste and consistency are right; beat till smooth. You may not need the whole box of sugar. (Oh come on, who am I kidding? Of course you will!)

·         * Frost cooled carrot cake or cupcakes.  

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting, topped with Pecans. YUM!!!