Half the Sugar Baker
These healthy morning glory muffins are the perfect wholesome breakfast or snack. They rely mostly on natural sugar from raisins, carrots, and apples, which also keeps them super moist, even with reduced fat! Plus, they are made with whole wheat flour! The shredded coconut adds even more amazing flavor and texture! (There’s also a special trick for the raisins!)
As a New Englander, it makes me happy to say that morning glory muffins are often accredited to Chef Pam McKinstry, who created these muffins in 1978. She owned a restaurant on Nantucket Island, (where I sometimes visit in the summer), supposedly called Morning Glory Cafe. The recipe was first published in Gourmet Magazine and grew popular across the country. I’m not surprised that they got so much attention because these muffins are seriously amazing! They have the perfect balance of wholesome and healthy ingredients, but they taste super rich and moist, like a carrot cake.
My favorite thing about morning glory muffins is that all of the fruits and vegetables inside makes them super moist, even with reduced butter! Also, all of the naturally sweet ingredients like raisins, apples, and carrots means that we only need to add a little sugar.
Special Ingredients in Morning Glory Muffins
Raisins: Raisins are amazing in these muffins because they offer little pockets of juicy sweetness! I used normal purple raisins, but you could also try golden raisins. If you don’t like raisins, you could substitute with other dried fruits like cranberries, chopped dates, chopped apple rings, or chopped mangoes. You could also leave them out (but I wouldn’t recommend it!) I really like to rehydrate my raisins in some hot liquid, which makes them super plump and juicy! In order to preserve all of their flavor, I prefer to soak them in the orange juice for this recipe. Simply microwave the orange juice for 40 seconds in a small bowl. Then dump in the raisins and make sure they are all submerged. Simple!
Orange juice: This recipe calls for 1/3 cup orange juice. You could use pre-made orange juice if you have it on hand, or just use the juice from one large orange. If you don’t have either, you can substitute other fruit juices or milk. I like to soak my raisins in the orange juice to make them extra plump and juicy (see above for instructions).
Whole wheat flour: This recipe can be made completely with whole wheat flour, or you could use a blend of flours. My favorite combination is 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup almond flour. The almond flour keeps the muffins super tender. If you don’t have whole wheat flour, you could also substitute all purpose flour.
Almond flour: I like to use almond flour in this recipe for a faint nutty flavor, and it also keeps the muffins super tender. If you don’t have almond flour, you can substitute finely chopped nuts or seeds. You can also substitute 2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour.
Carrots: You will need 2 packed cups of grated carrots for these muffins, which is roughly 4 medium carrots. I prefer to grate by hand because I find it gives me a better texture, and it’s pretty quick with a box grater. If you want to save some time or you don’t have a grater, feel free to pulse the carrots in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until it looks like little shreds, but be careful not to over blend because you don’t want carrot puree! You can substitute grated zucchini if you don’t have carrots.
Apples: For these muffins, you will also need 1 large apple or 1 1/2 medium apples. Either way, you will also need to grate them. I prefer to grate by hand because I find it gives me a better texture, and it’s pretty quick with a box grater. If you want to save some time or you don’t have a grater, feel free to pulse the apples in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until it looks like little shreds, but be careful not to over blend because you don’t want apple puree! If you don’t have apples, you could use 1 cup grated zucchini, grated carrots, or mashed bananas.
Shredded coconut: I really like to add some coconut shreds for texture and also on top for decoration. If you don’t have shredded coconut, feel free to substitute chopped coconut flakes, very finely chopped/ground nuts, or just leave it out!
Nuts: I think nuts add amazing flavor and texture to these muffins! My favorites are walnuts and pecans, which I think matches the flavor really nicely. You can use whatever nuts or seeds you prefer, like almonds, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, etc. You could also leave them out (but I don’t recommend it!)
Applesauce: I like to replace some of the oil with applesauce, which keeps these muffins super moist. You could substitute oil, pumpkin puree, or mashed bananas.
If you liked these morning glory muffins, you might also like…
- Healthy apple muffins
- Healthy orange cranberry muffins
- Healthy banana muffins
- Bakery style zucchini muffins
- Healthier blueberry oat muffins
- Healthy sweet potato casserole muffins
- Healthy chocolate chip quinoa cookies
Healthy Morning Glory Muffins
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup 87g orange juice (pre-made or from 1 orange) or sub milk
- 1/2 cup 71g raisins
- 2 cups 227g whole wheat flour see above for substitutions
- 1/4 cup 24g almond flour or very finely chopped nuts optional
- 1/2 cup 100g brown sugar or 1/3 cup for less sweet muffins
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger optional
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups 198g carrots (around 4 medium), peeled and grated
- 1 large apple, cored and grated around 1 cup
- 1/2 cup 43g shredded coconut see above for substitutions
- 1/2 cup 57g nuts chopped
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup 65g vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup 160g unsweetened applesauce see above for substitutions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease well. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, microwave the orange juice for 40 seconds. Then add the raisins and make sure they are submerged. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, almond flour, sugar, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt. Then roughly stir in the grated carrots, grated apple, shredded coconut, and nuts. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla extract. Then pour in the orange juice along with the raisins. Whisk until combined.
- Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture. Also add the applesauce. Stir everything together until just combined.
- Divide the batter among the 12 prepared muffin cups (they will be VERY full). Bake the muffins for 26 to 29 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Once done baking, let cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan. Then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Baking.
These are lovely and full of good things. They make these at the coffee shop down the road from us. I keep going and the muffins are all gone. So I’m so pleased I can make them for is all at home. Can I freeze these muffins?
Hi Caroline, I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins! Yes, you can freeze these muffins in an airtight container for up to a month. Allow the muffin to thaw and then reheat in a 350F oven for 5 minutes. You can also store them for up to a week in the fridge!
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