Monday, September 29, 2008

Harvest Muffins

“The true harvest of my life is intangible - a little star dust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched” ~ Henry David Thoreau

It is apple season, and I love to celebrate it with delicious desserts. Now I don't know about you, but I like lots of fruit and nuts in my muffins. Feel free to adjust the ingredients to your taste. The mashed bananas are in lieu of oil, lowering the fat content.


Harvest Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cloves
4 Apples, peeled and grated
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1 cup Raisins
1 cup chopped Pecans
3/4 cup mashed ripe banana
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs, beaten

Combine dry ingredients. Add apples, carrots, raisins and pecans and mix well. Add mashed banana, milk, vanilla, eggs; stir well. Fill paper-lined or greased muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Glaze:

Combine equal amounts of butter and honey, brush still-warm muffins

29 comments:

The Blonde Duck said...

These look so good! They look perfect for fall!

Peter M said...

Clvoes, allspice, cinnamon...they make cakes and desserts somethin' special. Very seasonal & making me very hungry.

Usha said...

These muffins look perfect for a fall treat...I love fruits in my bakes too..:)

shambo said...

These look really good. Like a trip to the farmer's market in a muffin.

OhioMom said...

Thanks BD, yes apples play a big roll in my baking this time of the year.

Peter I agree, these spices speak of Fall baking to me :)

Usha, so do I. LOL, you can probably tell by my baking :)

Sue let's see .. the apples, carrots, eggs, honey, spices and vanilla were all bought at the Coit Road market, so in every way they are a "market muffin".

Lucy said...

Oh my word... that's a great put together muffin, with all the flavors so enjoyed now and anytime!!!

ttfn300 said...

going straight to my "to-make" list :)

OhioMom said...

LOL Lucy, I just used a basic muffin recipe and then played with flavors and spices and of course fruits and nuts. I ate 2!!

TTFN

Thanks, and thank you for stopping by.

Theresa said...

What a great muffin and it sure it apples season. Great combo of spices, apples and nuts..:)

MrBrownThumb said...

They look so good. They look like halloween to me. :op

Beth said...

These look right up my street - great for breakie on the run Im sure!! A lovely seasonal recipe

Candy said...

Perfect way to use up the apples my mom brought to me!

Balisha said...

That little bit of glistening on the top....just sets them off. I have my tea right here...wish I had a muffin.

OhioMom said...

Thanks Theresa, I bet your food critic would like these, and they are low fat :)

MBT .. halloween does invoke apples, usually covered with caramel and nuts, yummy!

Thanks Beth, they are a perfect breakfast, full of all the good stuff we need in our diet.

Candy, yep apples are plentiful right now .. great time to bake apple treats.

Balisha, the honey-butter glaze does give them that little extra something.

Grace said...

these totally make me think of fall, and in the best way possible. they're glorious, and your simple glaze just makes them that much better. :)

anudivya said...

First time here on your lovely blog. Love the muffins and with the glaze, I am totally sold!

OhioMom said...

Thanks Grace :)

Thank you Anudivya, and thanks for stopping by :)

giz said...

I'm especially enamoured with the whole glaze effect on top of the muffins. You can call them glaffins.

OhioMom said...

LOL ... thanks Giz :)

perennialgardener said...

Yum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I like the addition of raisins & nuts to anything. What a great breakfast treat this would be with a cup of coffee or hot tea.

OhioMom said...

Hi Racquel

Yes they are yummy! I had one this morning with my coffee :)

lifeinrecipes said...

My do those look moist and delicious -jammed packed with all kinds of goodies in every bite!

******* said...

They look great, Ohiomom! I bet the kitchen smelled wonderful while these were baking! :)

Proud Italian Cook said...

Awesome, I love the ingredients in these. Sort of healthy too!:)

OhioMom said...

LR thank you, they are definitely jam packed :)

Thanks Maryann, I love baking this time of the year :)

Marie, definitely healthy. Rule of 'my' thumb is that if it has fruit it is health food :)

Kevin said...

These muffins look and sound really good!

OhioMom said...

Thanks Kevin :)

Dragonfly Close said...

I made these muffins yesterday. My DD #1 said they were a bit sweet for her, and I think I will back down the sugar next time. The raisins do really contribute a lot of sweetness in themselves. DD #2 said they were just right, but she has a sweet tooth. I was really surprised that with no oil or fat, they were still so moist! I also bought some whole wheat flour to use in this recipe. I am not a big fan of whole wheat, as everything I have had in the past seemed so dry, but not these! I made a mistake by putting them in cupcake papers. They would have been better without, but since I was planning on putting them in packed lunches, I used them. I also put some in foil papers. They stuck to the paper, but not a bit to the foil. My DH also took some of these to the ladies in the nursing home that he visits weekly, and they gobbled them up. I did omit the glaze due to the packablity issue. I totally loved how these muffins were packed with healthy stuff, and the flavor and texture was still oh so appealing! I spread on a bit of cream cheese and ate one for lunch. I will be making these again soon.

OhioMom said...

Thanks Dragonfly, I am glad you enjoyed them. I liked the substitute of banana for oil also, I read about this somewhere (?) but I will definitely be doing this with most of my muffins in the future. You can also substitute applesauce for oil.

I use one of those non-stick cooking sprays for my muffin tins, I don't care for the cupcake papers either.