Delicious and Nutritious -- Gluten-Free Morning Glory Muffins

Last week, I tried my hand at creating a gluten-free (GF) muffin that was sugar-free, dairy-free, and still tasted good.  The results were surprisingly good GF Blueberry Coconut muffins.  They passed the "Honey Test," as in Honey said "These are gluten-free?!"  Most of the muffins were destined for a friend's house.  I did not realize until I arrived that this friend had not tasted a muffin in two years!  How is that possible?  I could not allow such a travesty to continue, and so this week I set about creating a new recipe.

My sister recommended a recipe for Easy Morning Glory Muffins.  Of course these have sugar, oil, and many other things in addition to fruits and veggies, so the recipe would have to be modified for my purposes.  My sister modifies just slightly, using coconut oil and rapadura, but I wondered what would happen if I was a bit more daring.

The results, you will find, are quite different from the original, and so I claim this as my own -- the twists and turns were certainly my own creation.

Please note: the ingredient list may look lengthy, but these are really quite easy!

Gluten-Free Morning Glory Muffins
Makes 18-20 muffins

• 2 c. GF flour (I used a blend of Bob's Red Mill GF all-purpose and GF sweet sorghum)
• 1 c. GF oatmeal
• 1/2 c. ground flax seed
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 1/4 + 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 2 1/2 c. shredded carrots
• 1 1/2 c. shredded apples
• 1/2 c. craisins (or other dried fruit -- I used a blend of craisins and figs)
• 1 c. shredded unsweetened coconut (we use fresh frozen young coconut)
• 1 c. honey or agave
• 1/4 c. molasses
• 1/2 c. coconut oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients.

Add shredded carrots, apples, coconut, and dried fruit to the dry ingredients and mix.

In a small bowl, mix eggs, honey, molasses, oil, and vanilla.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.  Remember, extra mixing is required for GF baked goods!

Fill batter to the top (or nearly the top) of a greased muffin tin -- this is important because GF muffins don't rise much.

Bake for 24-28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out almost clean.  Remove the muffin tin from the oven and let muffins cool in the tin for five minutes before removing and letting cool the rest of the way on a cooling rack.

Note: to make these vegan, omit the eggs, increase the flax by 1/4 c. and add 1/2 c. water.

The verdict? They passed the Honey Test!  They taste delicious -- almost like what my grandmother used to make (although hers contained a lot of sugar and vegetable oil!).  They are also a great way to sneak extra fruits and veggies into your (or your kids') diet.

Enjoy!