Morning Glory Muffins

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Standard 12-cup muffin tin
• •Paper muffin liners
• •Box grater with large holes
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Spring-loaded ice cream scoop (optional)

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare your pan

   Position a rack in the center of your oven and heat to 350°F. Line a standard twelve-cup muffin tin with paper liners. The liners matter here because the high sugar content makes these muffins prone to sticking.

   Dark metal pans bake faster than light ones. If yours runs dark, check the muffins three minutes early.
2. 2

   Combine dry ingredients

   Whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. The spices should be evenly distributed, with no pockets of cinnamon waiting to surprise an unsuspecting bite. This takes thirty seconds of real whisking, not a lazy stir.

3. 3

   Shred the vegetables

   Use the large holes of a box grater to shred the carrots. You want long, thin strands, not the stubby bits a food processor produces. Peel and core the apple, then shred it on the same grater. Work quickly once the apple is cut. It will brown, but that's purely cosmetic.

   Choose a tart, firm apple like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp. Soft apples turn to mush during baking.
4. 4

   Add the chunky ingredients

   Toss the shredded carrots and apple into the flour mixture. Add the coconut, raisins, and chopped pecans. Use your hands or a spatula to distribute everything evenly, coating the fruit and vegetables with flour. This prevents them from sinking to the bottom of the batter.

5. 5

   Whisk the wet ingredients

   In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until the yolks and whites are fully combined. Add the oil in a steady stream while whisking, then the vanilla. The mixture should look slightly emulsified, uniform in color and texture.

6. 6

   Bring it all together

   Pour the wet ingredients over the dry. Use a large spatula to fold everything together, scraping the bottom of the bowl to catch any dry pockets. Fold until just combined. The batter will be thick and chunky, more like a fruit-studded dough than a pourable mixture. This is correct. Stop the moment you see no more dry flour.

   Overmixing develops gluten and produces tough, domed muffins. Twenty strokes should do it.
7. 7

   Fill the cups generously

   Divide the batter evenly among the twelve muffin cups, filling each nearly to the rim. Use a spring-loaded ice cream scoop if you have one. Press a pecan half gently into the top of each muffin. It will sink slightly during baking and emerge golden and toasted.

8. 8

   Bake until golden

   Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. The muffins are done when the tops spring back when gently pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The edges will pull away slightly from the paper liners, and your kitchen will smell like cinnamon and promise.

9. 9

   Cool properly

   Let the muffins rest in the pan for five minutes. They're too tender to handle immediately. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for at least fifteen minutes before eating, though I've never met anyone with that kind of patience. The flavors improve dramatically after a few hours, and even more overnight.

   These muffins are actually better the next day, after the spices bloom and the moisture distributes evenly throughout.

Chef Tips

• •Shred your carrots by hand. The food processor produces short, stubby pieces that don't integrate well. The hand grater gives you long strands that become part of the muffin's texture rather than interruptions in it.
• •Toast your chopped pecans in a dry skillet for three minutes before adding them to the batter. This extra step intensifies their flavor and keeps them from getting soggy during baking.
• •These muffins freeze beautifully. Wrap each one individually in plastic, then store in a freezer bag. They'll keep for three months. Thaw overnight at room temperature, or warm in a 300°F oven for ten minutes.
• •For a less sweet version, reduce the sugar to one cup. The muffins will still have plenty of sweetness from the carrots, apple, raisins, and coconut.

Advance Preparation

• •The dry ingredients and wet ingredients can be prepared separately up to one day ahead. Store the dry mixture (without the shredded vegetables) in an airtight container and refrigerate the wet mixture. Shred vegetables fresh before combining.
• •Baked muffins keep at room temperature in an airtight container for four days, improving in flavor for the first two.
• •Muffins freeze for up to three months. Thaw in their wrappers to prevent condensation from making them soggy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 muffin (about 60g)