Ginger-Carrot Muffins

This recipe comes from the August 2007 issue of Cooking Light magazine. I made a few small changes, using fat free milk instead of 1% and raisins instead of currants. Also I only had 3 carrots which turned into 2 cups when grated and you can see they are definitely full of carrots, so don't give up if you don't have enough for the full three cups. The recipe still made 18 muffins even without the extra cup of grated carrot. When I make these again I would like to add some fresh grated ginger for even more ginger flavor. They were still delicious and they freeze well.

Ginger-Carrot Muffins

Makes 18 Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 oz.)

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup fat free sour cream

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup 1% lowfat milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large egg whites

1 large egg

3 cups grated carrot (about 6 medium)

1/2 cup dried currants

1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Place 18 paper muffin cup liners in muffin cups and coat liners with cooking spray.
• Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Make a well in the center of mixture. Combine sour cream and next 5 ingredients (through egg), stirring well with a whisk; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Add carrot, currants, and pecans; stir just until combined.
• Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in the center. Remove muffins from pans immediately and place on a wire rack to cool.

These are 143 calories each according to Cooking Light. If you make them exactly as I did, they turn out to be 135 calories per muffin.

In other news, Baby Cookie is coming along just fine. I feel great most days and most of the time all I can think about is when I'll finally get to hold my sweet little baby. Only 8 weeks until my due date! I'm starting to feel the pressure of really needing to get things done. About every other week I spend a couple days cleaning and organizing like a maniac, then I get tired and have to take a break from it for a while. I have this fear that I'll have to bring the baby home to a dirty/disorganized house and then I'll never get ahead (most people think my house is always clean but I can be a little OCD at times)! At least now I'm at the point where there isn't really much left I can organize and I just have to keep up with the routine cleaning and laundry. I've started making a list of foods I can make and freeze for later. It won't take much to fill up my dinky little freezer, but my goal is to have enough food on hand that requires minimal preparation so it won't be necessary to cook or shop for food for at least two weeks after the baby is born. Today I made a double batch of banana bread from a new recipe I'll have to share later. I hope everyone is having a great summer! It seems like time is just flying by for me.

Pumpkin Muffins

The recipe for these muffins came from a November 2006 issue of Cooking Light Magazine.  They are quite different from the Pumpkin Oat Muffins I posted previously.  I have to say, I think I like these better, but I didn't really give the other ones a fair chance with all the substitutions I made.  I'm hoping these will freeze well so we can enjoy them from now through Thanksgiving Day.  The recipe says they can be made up to two days ahead.  Tip:  to make your own pumpkin pie spice, follow this link.  I used recipe #4. 

Makes 18 muffins

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (about 10 ounces)

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup golden raisins (I used dark raisins, since that's what I had)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/3 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup canola oil

1/4 cup molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Prepare enough muffin tins for 18 muffins by coating with cooking spray.  
• Spoon flour into dry measuring cups, leveling with a knife.  Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, ginger, and salt in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk.  Stir in raisins and make a well in center of mixture.
• Combine brown sugar, canned pumpkin, buttermilk, canola oil, molasses, vanilla, and eggs, stirring well with a whisk.  Add sugar mixture to flour mixture, stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.
• Spoon batter into 18 prepared muffin cups.  Sprinkle with granulated sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Remove muffins from pans immediately; cool on a wire rack.  

These muffins turned out perfectly when baked for exactly 15 minutes in my oven.  I forgot to spinkle the granulated sugar on top, but I didn't miss it.  They were delicious!  They are 200 calories per muffin.

Pumpkin Oat Muffins

Tonight I decided to try a pumpkin muffin recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks Moosewood Restaurant Low-fat Favorites. I have made quite a few changes to the original recipe, not because I didn't like it or thought I could make it better, but because I just wanted to use the ingredients I have. So I will post the original recipe here with my substitutions/additions in pink. Makes 12 muffins.

1 1/4 cups unbleached white flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup rolled oats
1 whole egg
1 egg white
3/4 cup pumpkin, winter squash, or sweet potato puree (I used Libby's canned pure pumpkin)
3/4 cup evaporated skimmed milk (I used reduced fat cultured buttermilk)
1/2 cup unsweeted pineapple juice (I used unsweeted orange juice)
2 tablespoons canola or other vegetable oil
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
4 to 5 tablespoons apricot preserves (I used my own homemade apple butter)
1/4 cup currants (or you could use raisins, or nuts or whatever you like)
2 tablespoons demerara cane sugar or other coarse granulated sugar

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a standard muffin tin with paper liners, cooking spray, or a light coating of oil. Put currants to soak in a cup of warm water for about 10 minutes. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Whirl the oats in a blender or food processor until they reach the consistecy of cornmeal and add them to the flour mixture.
• In another bowl, lightly beat the whole egg with the egg white. Stir in the pumpkin puree, evaporated skim milk (or buttermilk), pineapple juice (or orange juice), oil, and brown sugar. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Drain the currants and stir into the batter.
• Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin and dot the center of each muffin with a scant teaspoon of apricot preserves (or apple butter). Sprinkle the top of each muffin with coarse sugar. Bake 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean and dry. Cool in muffin tin for about 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

I am very pleased with how these muffins turned out. They are moist and only mildly sweet with a little pumpkin flavor and a touch of orange flavor. The apple butter really tops them off nicely. The original recipe did not suggest adding any dried fruit or nuts, but I had some currants to use up and I think they go well in these muffins. I would caution against using paper liners, I had trouble with the muffins sticking to the paper even after they were cool. Greasing the muffin cups and using no liners or maybe spraying the liners lightly with cooking spray should solve this problem. I would also like to try the recipe the way it is written sometime, I think the apricot preserves would be delicious. These muffins are 150 calories each the way I made them.