I used to make these muffins ALL the time back  in the day (I sound like I am ancient lol), but when I say “back in the day” I mean before my Personal Chef business came into existence, when I was purely a made-to-order baker.  I would make these muffins for different “health fairs/expos.” I am glad I stumbled across this recipe the other night, I forgot how dang good these babies are!

These muffins are “magical” because they are full of healthy ingredients like carrots, apples and cholesterol-friendly oats. They are wheat/gluten-free, contain whole grain oats, omega 3-rich walnuts and have just enough heart-healthy extra virgin olive oil – less than 1 tsp. per muffin! They are naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup (only 1 tsp. per muffin) and are loaded with fiber from the carrots, apples, coconut, flaxseed and oats!

Not going to lie – these muffins are a little time consuming and contain a lot of ingredients, so when you are making them you might as well make a few batches and freeze some, they are totally worth the time and effort!

Magical Morning Muffins

Yields 16-24 muffins,

OR one 9×13 cake, OR 2 loaves

Ingredients:

2 1/2 Cups oat flour*

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/4 tsp. nutmeg or allspice 1 Tbs. ground flaxseed

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1/2 Cup pure maple syrup (you can use agave or honey in a pinch!)

1/2 Cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

3 1/2 Cups grated carrots

1 large apple, grated (you can leave the skin on for added fiber)

1/2 Cup dried currants or raisins

1/2 Cup walnuts, chopped (or nut of choice! or omit if nut allergy)

1/2 Cup dried unsweetened coconut, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl combine the first 6 ingredients (oat flour – salt).
2. In separate bowl combine wet ingredients (maple syrup – eggs), add to dry ingredients and mix until all ingredients are well blended; add in rest of ingredients (vanilla – coconut) and gently combine.
3. Pour the batter into greased or paper-lined muffin tins (or use a 9×13 cake pan, or two standard loaf pans). If you have any extra coconut, sprinkle some on top (looks nice!).
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes (if using cake pan, bake for approximately 1 hour).
5. Set on wire rack to cool for a few minutes, and then turn out the muffins on to a wire rack to cool completely. For Cake: run knife around the edges of the pan to loosen, and then turn cake out on wire rack to cool.

*If you can’t find oat flour, make it by grinding rolled oats in a food processor or spice grinder. Make sure to add in an extra 1/2 cup of oats then re-measure after they are all finely ground to get 2 1/2 cups oat flour.

Click here to download a printable copy of the Magical Morning Muffins Recipe