Katie's Morning Glory Muffins

Living in an apartment over the garage of my daughter's home has its advantages, especially that I get to see Katie and her family pretty much every day. I work a lot, and they are busy enough, that we are not always in each others' faces, and I am especially sensitive to their needs as a family for some Grandma-free time. There are plenty of opportunities for dinners together, and for mornings, evenings and weekend time with my boys Henry and Peter (now 5 and 2 1/2). It's nice knowing they're there, close-by. Even with that, I miss those little guys when they are away, or when I am gone for a while. I always looking forward to that lovely "Hi Meena!" from little Pete or that tight hug from big-boy Henry which comes whether it's been just a few hours or a few days since we've seen each other. As Grandma, I savor every second with these precious boys, moments I was sometimes too busy to acknowledge with my own children growing up. Grandchildren are indeed a reward for growing older!

"My Boys" at a recent mini-golf afternoon
 at Pirate's Cove in Lake George!

Another advantage to living so close to my daughter's family is that she is a very good cook and baker. They're away camping in the Adirondacks this weekend with friends, and she cooked and baked for a couple of days in preparation. (BTW...Camping is A LOT of work for women!) Today I am sharing one of the recipes she made for the camping trip. It is for Morning Glory Muffins, a recipe she adapted (with barely any changes) from Eating Well. Katie decided to reduce the cinnamon from 1 tablespoon to 1 teaspoon, and skipped the sprinkling of nuts/wheat germ on the top. I was lucky enough to try a sample yesterday morning before work. It was great! As Eating Well explains on its website, replacing butter with apple butter cuts down on fat significantly.With whole wheat flour, fresh carrots and apples, apple butter, canola oil, walnuts and wheat germ, this is one healthy muffin! As my photo illustrates, it is also a beautiful muffin. You can find the original recipe as well as nutritional information by following this link. With only 3/4 cup sugar for 18 muffins, these muffins are sweet enough and a "glorious" way to start your day!

You can see the chopped apples, raisins, and carrots throughout!

KATIE'S MORNING GLORY MUFFINS

from Eating Well

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon*

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups grated carrots (4 medium)

1 apple, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 cup raisins

1 large egg

2 large egg whites (or dried egg whites reconstituted to equivalent)

1/2 cup apple butter (replaces butter)

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts or pecans

2 tablespoons toasted wheat germ
*original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of cinnamon - seemed like too much

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Coat 18 muffin cups with cooking spray.

Whisk flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in carrots, apple, and raisins. Whisk egg, egg whites, apple butter, oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full. Combine walnuts and wheat germ in a small bowl; sprinkle over the muffin tops.

Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown and spring back when touched lightly, 15 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Loosen edges and turn muffins out onto a wire rack to cool. 

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I'll be back tomorrow with Katie's other muffin recipe for her camping trip: Blueberry Maple! Till then, have a glorious Saturday!

Recipe Source:  http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/morning_glory_muffins.html