Glorious muffins have carrots, apples, walnut—every bite delicious

They did help usher in a glorious morning—several of them, in fact. I made these Morning Glory Muffins for Easter weekend. Hubby and I enjoyed them both Saturday and Sunday.

They are packed with goodness—shredded carrots, chopped walnuts, grated apple, and chopped dried apricots. The recipe, which hailed from a recent Kroger grocery flyer, called for dried chopped cherries, but I had a small package of apricots that I needed to use. The substitute worked great. We loved the addition of a little coconut to this nutty muffin that is jammed with healthy things.

Having these delicious gems awaiting us over the weekend was a great addition to our holiday. The muffins also freeze well, so I stored away several for a future Saturday when I want a breakfast muffin but don’t have time to stir up one.

Morning Glory Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar (or sugar substitute)

2 teaspoons baking oda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

2 cups shredded carrots

1/2 cup dried cherries roughly chopped (I used dried apricots)

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

1 apple, cored and shredded with a cheese grater

3 eggs (I used 3/4 cup egg substitute)

1 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 12 muffin cups or line muffins pan with paper muffin liners. In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in carrots, dried cherries, nuts, coconut, and apple. In a separate bowl beat together eggs, oil, and vanilla. Stir egg mixture into the flour/carrot mixture just until the latter is moistened. Pour batter into each prepared muffin cup; fill about two-thirds full. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin emerges clean. Makes 12 muffins.