#semihealthy

Muffins made with a bevy of tasty ingredients.! These muffins are tender and delicious!

I have to tell you I’m not always up for baking. For example this morning I knew I needed to recipe test this again and wasn't totally up for it. I didn't have any more raisins so I substituted with dried cherries. And I couldn’t find the nutmeg. Frustrating. Then I realized I didn’t thoroughly spray the muffin cups so they were a little sticky. Note to self: Thoroughly spray muffin cups with oil because there is no oil in this recipe. 

So with all that I made this recipe for the third time and it is delicious. Have I told you that my favorite cake is carrot? Oh yes, every year my favorite goes out of his way to get carrot cake for my birthday. Thank you, sweetie! 

The batter comes together in about 10 minutes and that includes collecting all the ingredients. So it’s not too bad. The recipe for the cream cheese frosting is a smaller batch because in our house we collectively don’t care for too much frosting. But if you do just double the recipe. I looked at a bunch of candied pecan recipes before I made these and settled on the easiest way to make them. Throw everything in a pan and heat. Done. 

One of my taste testers had over some friends today and these were a nice surprise for her group. 

Makes 12

INGREDIENTS FOR MUFFINS

1 cup ground oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup raisins

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup shredded carrot

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt ( I used whole milk yogurt)

1/2 cup milk ( I used 0% fat-free milk)

2 large eggs

INGREDIENTS FOR CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

4 ounces cream cheese softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1-2 tablespoons fat-free milk

INGREDIENTS FOR CANDIED PECANS

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon water

1/2 cup pecans

DIRECTIONS FOR MUFFINS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

To a bowl add ground oats, all-purpose flour, baking powder, raisins, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Mix to combine and set aside. 

To a separate bowl add carrots, honey, brown sugar, greek yogurt, milk, and eggs. Blend together with a whisk. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and blend together with a wooden spoon. 

Prepare a muffin tin or muffins cups by spraying generously with oil. Spoon batter into muffin tin using a 1/4 cup scoop. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean. Let cool 15-20 minutes. 

DIRECTIONS FOR CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Meanwhile to a bowl add softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, almond extract, and milk. Blend together with a whisk until mixture is creamy. Set aside. 

DIRECTIONS FOR CANDIED PECANS

For candied pecans place brown sugar, water, and pecans in a saucepan and heat over low medium heat 2-4 minutes stirring constantly. Let cool.