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One of my favorite muffins to enjoy during the middle of the week when I need some extra energy and don’t want to give myself oodles of sugar, but still something sweet is the Morning Glory muffin. One of our local bakeries here in Bend makes a wonderful Morning Glory muffin, but it is not offered each morning and you never know which morning you will find it available.
Being a particular muffin eater, last year I found a handful of recipes and started to explore and experiment with my own Morning Glory muffin, and then I neglected to share what I discovered (*face-palm*). It wasn’t until last Saturday when Norman and I were returning from our morning paddle, and I thought about stopping by my local bakery to pick up said muffin. But then I remembered I would likely have to stand in line for about 30 minutes due to the current health restrictions, and I considered what I had available in my épicerie already to make my own – I had everything I needed!
Tickled to have a well-stocked épicerie for this baking occasion, I went about making my recipe, using approximately half of the batter to make six muffins and froze the rest. In 45 minutes, I was sitting down with a teapot of Twinings English Breakfast tea and a warm-from-the-oven Morning Glory muffin smothered with salted Belgium butter. Feet up, a deep sigh of relaxation and the boys napping away.
There are many things I love about the Morning Glory muffin. To begin with, it has far less sugar and is void of white flour. The healthy ingredients such as flax, carrots, apples (feel free to swap with pears) and nuts as well as raisins all add a multitude of variety when it comes to texture as well as fresh deliciousness regarding the fruit and vegetables. There are many recipes that have you adding coconut flakes as well as pineapple, so really, it is what you have in your pantry and what you enjoy eating. As I shared above, I had what I needed in my épicerie, but there is no reason to not make it if you don’t have nuts or don’t have an apple. The key is to balance the moist ingredients with the dry ingredients in equal proportions, AND do add the listed amount of cinnamon. Add the warmth of this spice in such a generous amount will add a flavor profile your tastebuds will love and your guests (should you share) won’t be able to figure out, but will love. So long as you tend to these key components, you will have delicious and healthy muffins in the morning to enjoy with a hot cuppa.
Morning Glory Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt, fleur de sel
- 2 cups grated carrots I use a food processor, adding the rough chopped carrots into the machine and pulsing until all is chopped evening and well (but not mush – you still want to know you have carrots in your muffin).
- 1 apple apple of your choice, grated (peeled and cored) I use what I have in the kitchen at the time. Using a box grater, I peel, core, quarter and then manually grate.
- 2/3 cup canola oil or sesame oil or vegetable oil NOT olive oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup roasted and chopped nuts of your choice I used almonds and hazelnuts (pecans work well also)
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/8 -1/4 cup flax seed
- 1/2 cup unsalted almond slices roasted or unroasted (as they will be baking with the muffins in the oven; however, I have used roasted, and they are just as lovely, even more crunch, but not over-cooked)
- 1/4 cup pepita pumpkin seeds (the edible seed of a pumpkin – green in color)
Instructions
Prep
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Find your muffin tin and parchment liners.
Batter
- Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, flax, .brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and soda and salt.
- In a second mixing bowl (or the stand mixer's bowl) stir together the carrots, apple, oil and eggs. Add the flour mixture, stirring until just combined.Stir in the nuts and raisins
- Using a large spoon or scoop spatula or large ice cream scoop, place the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
- Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top of each muffin. Having not added this extra touch in previous attempts, I highly recommend for added texture and delightful bites of soft and crunch combined – yum! :))
Bake
- Bake for 25-29 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean from the center. Don't overbake as part of this muffin's goodness is being slightly moist and full of texture. Let cool for just a few minutes, and enjoy warm. I serve it with salted butter – my favorite is seen here from France.
Notes
~Parchment Tulip Muffin Liners (as seen in today’s post)
I think this is the perfect baking adventure for me and my 3 granddaughters (ages 2,3 and 9) this weekend! I was planning on making muffins with them and this fits the bill! Thanks!
My pleasure! Very simple and keep in mind the batter will be moist – that is the sign of a delicious Morning Glory muffin. Have fun. ?
I, too, prefer a less sweet muffin and these sound the perfect thing to enjoy with a nice cuppa. Saved to my desktop recipe box, thanks, Shannon!
I do think you’d enjoy them, and make to your taste – more nuts, more crunch, more carrots for more texture, etc. ?
Shannon… they are delicious…I made a couple of substitutions ( used sucanat instead of brown sugar) and added pumpkin seeds. They are delicious…. thank you for the Morning Glory muffin recipe ! Enjoy your summer too.
Barb, thank you for both of these suggested ingredients! Will be looking into adding them myself. Thanks again. ?
Lovely! I don’t have a muffin tin right now (long story), but I think I’ll try this as a loaf of two and see what happens.
These sound wonderful! Will try them this weekend.
In a town I lived in many years ago the little coffee shop made excellent Morning Glory muffins. I can’t wait to try this recipe and see how it compares.
Please share! I am always looking to improve and get new ideas to try. This really is in many ways an épicerie muffin. 🙂
Looking forward to trying the recipe. Thank you!
Can you sub butter in for the oil?
I have never tried that, but you can give it a go!
What a lovely name for a breakfast muffins. Isn’t it so satisfying to know you can cook something straight from the pantry. Always on the lookout for healthy bakes. I have a batch of healthy chocolate chip muffins on the go but as soon ad they’re gone I’ll be whipping these up. I’ll definitely be swapping some of the ingredients to suit my needs. Thank you Shannon?
Oh, thank you! These look marvellous. My husband & I stopped eating baked goods of every description 2 years ago after discovering how much better we feel without them — I mean, to the degree that it isn’t even arguable! A few weeks ago I made a batch of bran muffins (no white flour, no sugar) as an experiment & we both nearly swooned at the sheer joy of it, PLUS we have felt no negative side effects. I still have some locally ground organic WW flour left, plus all the other ingredients for these muffins, so tomorrow — Morning Glories it is! I’m going to thank you in advance on behalf of both of us 🙂
They sound delicious! I printed the recipe and will make them, or a very similar version, soon. Thank you, Shannon
Do you have the Nutritional Facts?
Unfortunately, no. Please look at the ingredients and based on what you choose you use, you can make your own calculations. Thank you for stopping by. 🙂
You can also use actual morning glory seeds and trip balls. That would be fun!
Thank you!
These sound wonderful ! I love that you can use whole wheat and oats…I think I will substitute low sugar Craisins for the raisins . Going to make them this weekend – Thank you for sharing!
I made them yesterday and it turned out delicious ? just the right amount of sweetness ! Thank you for sharing ?
So good to hear! Thank you very much for sharing Anuju. ?
Delicious! I absolutely love these! Like others, I made a few little adjustments to my taste – a little less oil, sugar and salt, then sprinkled a cinnamon brown sugar mix on top right before baking. Given that we are entering zucchini season, I think I’m going to try incorporating some of that into this recipe 🙂
Thank you Adaira for sharing how you made it your own! 🙂 Sounds delicious.