I’ve added some notes and modifications to this recipe from Melissa Clark (NYT - Lunchbox Harvest Muffins). I considered calling these “delusional” muffins. Because they contain a carrot, apple and zucchini, they have become my guilt-free snack at coffee break time. Baked in a mini muffin tin, I have one, and often two. The recipe makes 2 dozen, and I freeze what I don’t eat on day one. The “delusion?” Ideally, I should eat one apple, one carrot and one zucchini per day. Stretching that out over 10 days, while guilt-free, is admittedly nothing to brag about. Nonetheless, I’ve been making these regularly.
While baking is considered to be the kitchen skill demanding perfect measurements, this recipe is rather forgiving. Even if I don’t get exact amounts of the carrot, apple and zucchini, it somehow works out. I make some substitutions, which I’ll list in Notes (bottom of screen) along with those suggested by Clark. You can mix this by hand - no need for a mixer.
Getting Ready:
flour - Clark suggests whole wheat flour, but I don’t always have it on hand. This works fine with regular all-purpose.
regular or dark brown sugar
dried fruit and shredded coconut
apple, carrot and zucchini
Grease 2 mini-muffin pans
Preheat oven to 350 F
140 grams flour (1 cup + 2 TB)
5 grams (1 tsp) baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk these dry ingredients together - by hand - in a medium mixing bowl.
Spray the baking tins so you can use them right after mixing the ingredients.
2 large eggs
1/2 cup olive oil
1-2 TB honey (ideally liquid honey)
70 g (1/3 cup) packed dark brown sugar
55 g (1/3 cup) dried fruit (chopped if necessary)
In a large bowl, using a hand whisk, combine the eggs, olive oil, honey, and brown sugar. (Honey? start with 1 TB and go up to 2 TB in your second batch if you’d like the muffins to be a wee bit sweeter.)
The original recipe suggests raisins, but I prefer currants. These tend to be a bit dry, so I “de-clump” them and add them to this wet mixture to soften a bit while I grate the fruit/vegetable.
You may want to do the same if using craisins, or dried cherries or dried apricots (cut into small bits).
1 small apple, grated (1/2 cup)
1/2 c grated carrots
1/2 c grated zucchini
40 g (½ cup) unsweetened shredded coconut
Grate the apple and veggies. I clean but do not peel the apple or the zucchini. I almost always use my food processor for grating, but found it hard to do that when aiming for a precise measure - 1/2 cup of each. So use a box grater, medium holes and take care.
To the wet mixture from the previous step, add the grated apple (including the wee bit of juice that may result from grating) and the grated vegetables and gently combine.
Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients and the coconut into the wet mixture until just combined.
Using a 20 ml cookie scoop (mine is purple) fill each muffin cup 3/4 full. Bake for about 15 to 18 minutes (in my oven 17) for mini-muffins. Test for doneness - when an inserted toothpick comes out clean. These freeze well. I zap them in a microwave for around 10 seconds.
Notes and Tips...
Flour - original recipe suggests whole wheat. I use all-purpose.
Brown sugar - original recipe suggests dark brown - I use light if that’s all I have on hand
Dried Fruit - the original recipe suggests raisins, but I prefer currants. You could also use craisins, dried cherries, or dried apricots (cut into small pieces).
Grated vegetables - original recipe suggests grated carrots or butternut squash or parsnips. I’ve only tried carrots. You can substitute zucchini with beets. Haven’t tried that either.
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