I am all about expanding your culinary horizons and love introducing my friends to new foods from around the world, yet there are still plenty of common American recipes that I have never tried for one reason or another.
Morning glory muffins were on that list until last week. I don’t know what I thought they were, but I was never interested until I started researching healthy muffins to bake for breakfast. I wanted something without a bunch of flour, something with fruits and vegetables worked into the mix and of course I wanted muffins that would be moist and delicious… the more I researched, the more that morning glory muffins kept popping up, so I did a deep dive on them and holy smokes am I glad that I did…
Morning glory muffins are essentially whole wheat muffins filled with tons of flavorful add ins like orange juice, shredded fruits and vegetables, nuts, dried fruit and warm spices. The flavor in these muffins is next level and they have a beautiful tender, moist texture that stays great for days!
I worked my own magic on this recipe and think they are truly perfect, but there are plenty of ways to customize these muffins. This recipe is exactly how I made mine, but I will talk more about all of the ways you can make them your own below. They are really fun to bake!
Let’s get started…
This recipe makes 6 muffins – a muffin for each day of the work week, but if you want to make a full dozen, feel free to double to recipe!
Let’s talk ingredients…
-
-
- The basics – you’ll need whole wheat flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, an egg, vanilla extract and some brown sugar
- The oil – when it comes to choosing a neutral oil, you can use vegetable or canola, olive oil, avocodo oil, grape seed oil or sunflower oil here
- The applesauce – if you don’t have apple sauce, you could swap out the same amount of mashed bananas, greek yogurt or any other fruit puree
- The citrus – I love what orange juice adds to these muffins, but you could use pineapple, grapefruit or even apple juice here if you prefer
- The shredded add-ins – this recipe calls for one cup total of shredded add-ins and I split it three ways between zucchini, carrots and apples, but as long as you maintain the one cup total, you have so many options here! You can use summer squash, pears, butternut squash, thinly slice prunes, crushed pineapple… have fun with this part!
- The dried fruit – I love dried cranberries, but you can use raisins, figs, prunes, currants, cherries, blueberries or apricots… so many great options here!
- The nuts – I used walnuts in this recipe, but feel free to swap them out for pecans, pistachios, almonds, macadamia nuts or even sunflower or pumpkin seeds!
-
Now that we’ve talked about the many ways you can makes these morning glory muffins your own, let’s get them started.
Begin by combining 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a pinch of cloves in a large bowl.
Add a large egg, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of a neutral oil, 2 tablespoons of apple sauce, a teaspoon of orange zest, 2 tablespoons of orange juice and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and mix until mostly combined.
Fold all of your add-ins into the batter until they are evenly distributed.
Divide the batter between 6 cupcake liners and add a few extra dried cranberries and walnuts over the top. Each liner should be filled to the top using all of the batter.
Bake your muffins in a 425 degree oven for 5 minutes and then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and set another timer for 16 minutes. Avoid opening the oven door until the end when you think the muffins are done and when a toothpick comes out of a muffin clean, they are ready to come out…
By the time these muffins are fully baked, your kitchen should smell fantastic!
Leave the muffins in the tin until they are cool enough to handle and then it is time to dig in…
These morning glory muffins are so fun! Beautifully moist and tender texture with little pops of dried cranberry, buttery walnuts, sweet carrots and apples and all of those warm spices. They are the perfect breakfast, mid morning treat or afternoon pick me up.
They have just a little bit of whole wheat flour in the whole batch and lots of nutritionally beneficial ingredients baked right into them.
If you are looking for a healthy treat or just want to bake something new, you have to try these morning glory muffins. You are going to absolutely fall in love with them!
Morning Glory Muffins
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- a pinch of cloves
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup of brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons of a neutral oil
- 2 tablespoons of apple sauce
- 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon of orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup of zucchini, shredded
- 1/3 cup of carrots, shredded
- 1/3 cup of apples, shredded
- 1/4 cup of dried cranberries or raisins
- 1/4 cup of walnuts or pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°
- Line 6 cupcake cavities with liners and set aside for now
- In a large bowl, whisk 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a pinch of cloves
- In a separate bowl, whisk 1 large egg with 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of a neutral oil, 2 tablespoons of apple sauce, 1 teaspoon of orange zest, 2 tablespoons of orange juice and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract until smooth and then add into the dry ingredients and mix until mostly combined
- Add 1/3 cup of shredded zucchini, 1/3 cup of shredded carrots, 1/3 cup of shredded apples, 1/4 cup of dried cranberries and 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts and fold until evenly distributed
- Divide the dough between 6 lined cupcake cavities - they should be full
- Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425° and then reduce the ovens temperature to 350° and set the timer for 16 minutes (avoid opening the oven door until the end of the baking time)
- The muffins are ready when a toothpick will come out of the muffin clean
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for several days or freeze for up to 3 months
Reader Interactions