Carrot cake slathered with a sweet cream cheese frosting. Dreamy and inviting, just the sound of that makes your tongue tingle. But save that thought for another day: Muffin Monday has decided to go healthy this week.
A low-fat recipe for a perennial favorite? Carrot Spice Muffins! Tantalizing your taste buds and staying eternally memorable. Packed with spices and shredded carrots, these muffins are great for breakfast on the go or as a late-morning snack. Make that any-time snack.
A moist, light and delicious muffin full of freshly grated carrots, loaded with fiber and flavored with warm spices of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
My variation: I used a combination of whole wheat and rice flour and added 1/4 cup of shredded coconut in the batter. Topped with toasted shredded coconut and used cranberries in place of raisins.
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup rice flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt (optional)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon allspice
- ⅓ cup honey or ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk or ½ cup yogurt
- ⅓ cup oil or ⅓ cup melted butter or ⅓ cup applesauce (I used rice bran oil)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1½ cups grated carrots
- ½ cup raisins (I used cranberries)
- ½ cup chopped nuts
- Preheat the oven to 400F
- In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients- flour, soda, powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice.
- In another bowl, mix together wet ingredients- honey/brown sugar, egg, buttermilk/yogurt, oil, vanilla and the carrots, raisins and nuts.
- Gently wet and dry ingredients together until just moistened.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean
Muffin Monday: Round Up
Happy Baking!
Love the healthy version of your muffin! I want to try the coconut and cranberry addition as well. I am interested in joining Muffin Monday, I’d love to know if I can!
Of course. We would love to have you join us. Will email you details for next week. :)
Oh look at you all getting into the rice flour :) Adds a nice level to the texture, doesn’t it? Great recipe…is it bad mine didn’t end up so healthy?!
I love your version! now i am hungry for one..
i missed this week’s muffin monday but i promise to be back next week!
I think most of us had the same idea this week that carrots + coconut = delicious! Love your healthy version with the rice flour and cranberries. Perhaps next week we can do something, um, less healthy? ;-)
I love carrot cake but have never thought to make carrot cake muffins. Lovely idea and I love the spices and coconut.
the muffins look so good. Yum! Great round up as usual. Should be baking with you guys next week.
Healthy, yum and gorgeous little treats!
Yummy looking little ones.
As usual you came up with a nice variation on a classic recipe. And this is where the greatest fun is in cooking, when you create your version … and then see many peoples using it and enjoying it.
Really sorry I missed the roundup this week :( Those look great. I love toasted coconut! :)
I love the addition of coconut in the muffin. Great texture and flavour enhancer!
Someone told me that they imagined that Otis Spunkmeyer must be as big as a house. His muffins pack a walloping 23 grams of fat or more in them.
Unlike Otis, I feel that the high fat content is not a requirement for delicious muffins, as illustrated very well in this blog post. I will have to dig out my rice flour and try these. Great post.
Pingback: Muffin Monday: Carrot Spice Muffins! « Chef Pandita
Mmmm…coconut! Beautiful photos of your muffins. I bet they tasted great!
Lovely muffins! Mmmhhhh, what a heavenly combination.
Cheers,
Rosa
What pretty muffins and I love that they are made with whole wheat flour. These would be perfect to tuck in inside my kids’ lunch boxes.
whoohoo for healthy muffins! yay for using rice flour and whole wheat flour :). you have so many new bloggers now for muffin monday! how come chef pandita isn’t linked here?
Thanks Junia! Baby Panda is back! She’s now a part of the round up.
I’ve been looking for a great carrot muffin recipe so I was thrilled to see this on twitter. How does one join your muffin monday crew?
Thanks Erin! Would love for you to join us. Will email you the details for next week soon.
Thanks so much — looking forward to it!
Healthy never looked so warm, delicious and tempting. What a recipe! What a muffin!
Love your Carrot Spice Muffin version ! Those sweet flakes on top make it so irresistable! Thanks for the roundup and organizing the event, An ! Cheers to many more sweet Muffin Mondays!
Gotta love a healthy muffin
I love the flavors you have going on here!
Nice initiative…Like that you pick muffin recipes which are both healthy and decadent !
Nice initiative…Like that you post muffin recipes that are both healthy and decadent ! Keep up the great work !
I LOVE the addition of toasted coconut – what a great idea! Dresses these up nicely, too! Another great recipe, An, and another great week baking with you :) Thanks!
:( so sorry I missed these:((( And the jam ones!:((( Back in the game from next monday! can’t wait! Monday’s have not been as fun:(
I love carrot and coconut together and the cranberries sound GREAT!
My husband would love these! He’s such a fan of carrot cake and these are a great light version to enjoy without the guilt.
I love the addition of coconut especially how you used some to put on top. Rice flour is something I have to start sneaking in to baked goods. Thanks for another great recipe.
That is indeed such a healthy recipe..love the use of rice flour and spices…I must try it this winter!
I like your version, too! ;-) My son ate two (2) muffins, and I baked full size muffins this week! That is a wonder since he is a light eater and prefers savory treats.
Thanks, An!
A low fat carrot cake muffin!?! Thank you; thank you; thank you!!! These look delicious!