healthy muffin recipe |

It is no secret that I love to bake muffins. Who doesn’t love a fresh warm muffin with their morning coffee? Adding veggies to muffins is a great way to get those required veggies into your diet (or your toddler).

I decided to mix it up this time and make it an inside out piece of carrot cake. It is a lightened up recipe, using a mixture of whole wheat and all-purpose flour, golden raisins, oats, carrots, yogurt and applesauce. Using substitutes like applesauce and yogurt creates gives the muffins a nice, sweetened taste and moist texture. However, the consistency of these muffins will be a little chewier than a fluffy oil, flour and butter muffin.

These muffins would be just fine without the frosting middle, but for a little extra fun and a tiny bit of effort (and calories) it is well worth it!

Carrot Cake Muffins
1 C shredded carrot (about 2-3 medium-sized carrots)
1/2 C rolled oats
1/2 golden raisins, chopped
1/2 C whole wheat flour
3/4 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 C applesauce
1/2 C plain yogurt (regular or Greek-style)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon zest
1 8 oz package 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
2/3 C powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Add oats and raisins until combined. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, whisk eggs, applesauce, yogurt and vanilla. By hand, add carrots and lemon zest. Mix until combined.

Fold wet mixture into dry mixture until just combined.

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until fluffy.

In a greased muffin pan, add one tablespoon of batter to each cup. Top with about one teaspoon of cream cheese frosting. Top with another tablespoon of batter. You will likely have a little bit of frosting left over.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes, turning pan half way through. Remove from oven and cool slightly on cooling rack.