How to Make Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins

You’ll feel good about snacking on these delicious muffins. They’re tender and moist, with just the right degree of sweetness. Enjoy them for breakfast or serve them as an after-school treat.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 2 cups bran-flake cereal
• 1 cup skim or 1 percent milk
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 11/2 cups peeled, grated carrots
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup raisins or craisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, gently stir together bran flakes and milk; let stand.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine all-purpose flour, wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

4. To the cereal-and-milk mixture, add the grated carrots, brown sugar, beaten egg, and oil; stir in the raisins or craisins and walnuts.

5. Add the carrot mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until dry ingredients are incorporated. Scoop batter into prepared muffin pan, filling each cup about two-thirds full.

6. Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack or eat while warm.

Tips & Warnings

• These muffins do not keep for long on the countertop but they freeze very well. Any muffins you don't plan to eat in a day or two should be stored in the freezer.
• If you are not baking these all at one time, keep the batter in the refrigerator between batches. For best results, bake all the batter within an hour.
• Be careful not to overmix the batter or muffins will be flat.

[marthathomson]

on 5/22/2009 This recipe is great the muffins taste great. However, for those people out there who like their muffins a little sweeter add a little honey or a little extra brown sugar.