Carrot-Cake Muffins

My husband had to work late tonight, so I decided to fix him an extra-special breakfast before he left so we could eat breakfast as a family, instead of dinner. I found a cupcake recipe on Foodtv.com from Ina Garten, and did some healthy substitutions to come up with this delicious muffin. It was a wonderful breakfast.

Carrot Cake Muffins

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup white bean puree
• 1/3 cup oil
  
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup white flour
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3 cups grated carrots (less than 1 pound)
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

  For the frosting:

  nocoupons

8 oz low fat cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat the sugar, white bean puree, oil, and vanilla together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Add the grated carrots, raisins, and walnuts to the remaining flour, mix well, and add to the batter. Mix until just combined.

Line muffin pans with paper liners. Scoop the batter into 22 muffin cups until each is 3/4 full. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and cook for a further 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

For the frosting, cream the ingredients together until smooth.

When the muffins are cool, frost them generously and serve.

Pumpkin wheat muffins

These muffins are lightly sweet and make a great side dish for dinner, or a tasty breakfast. Try switching up add-ins like nuts, raisns, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, etc. I substituted 1/3 cup canned, pureed pumpkin for the oil to reduce fat and up flavor.

Whole Wheat Muffins

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp . baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I substituted canned, pureed pumpkin)
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1/2 cup chopped prunes (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 and prepare 12 muffin cups with liners or with non-stick spray. Like any traditional muffin batter, mix together the dry ingredients: flours, salt, baking powder, and brown sugar. Separately, mix together the wet ingredients: milk, eggs, and oil/pumpkin. If you use the pumpkin, add 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp ginger. Mix the dry and the wet, only about 20 seconds or until just moistened. Add nuts and prunes or raisins if desired. Pour into muffin pan, evenly distributing between the cups. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean.