Dairy, Egg and Nut Free Morning Glory Muffins

Most people have their favorite version of The Morning Glory Muffin. Different varieties may include carrots, raisins, pineapple, coconut, apple and even nuts. Of course, mine doesn’t have nuts, but it doesn’t have too many of the other ingredients either. Once again, I am guilty of keeping my recipes simple. Yet, this particular one is easily adaptable to fit your family’s likes and dislikes. My son doesn’t care for coconut or pineapple so I omit it. My daughter isn’t crazy about raisins but will tolerate them in small numbers, hence my scant addition of them in the recipe.

But your family might love all these things so please, by all means, add or remove what you want from the recipe. It won’t turn out exactly as mine, but it will come out pretty close. I also decreased quite a bit of the oil and sugar in this version, because there’s nothing worse than a heavy, greasy and overly sugared up muffin. I love that these muffins are full of flavor yet not too heavy. They have the perfect balance of sugar and spice. The other thing I love about them is that they taste even better the day after you bake them. In fact, they last several days tightly covered, making it the perfect breakfast muffin on busy mornings or as a lunchbox treat.

Happy Baking everyone!

DAIRY, EGG AND NUT FREE MORNING GLORY MUFFINS

• 1/2 c. canola or vegetable oil
• 1/2 c. soy or rice milk
• 2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 T. water
• 2 c. unbleached all purpose flour
• 3/4 c. brown sugar, packed
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c. shredded, peeled carrots
• 3/4 c. shredded, peeled apples (I use Granny Smith, but any variety will do)
• 1/2 c. raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 12-cup muffin tin with dairy free baking spray. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the oil, soy milk, vanilla and water with a wire whisk. In a medium bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt with a wire whisk. Add the soy milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Stir in the grated, peeled carrots and apples until completely mixed. Stir in the raisins.

Use a cookie scooper to divide muffin batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake 18-22 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely and store in an airtight container for several days.