Ingredients
Scale
- ½ cup (72.5 g) raisins
- 2 cups (240 g) whole wheat flour
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 medium carrots, peeled and finely grated, excess moisture squeezed out (about 2 cups)
- 1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and grated, excess moisture squeezed out (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup (46.5 g) shredded sweetened coconut, or unsweetened
- ½ cup (58.5 g) walnuts, roughly chopped
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- ⅓ cup (73 g) vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 medium orange, zested and juiced (1 teaspoon zest, ¼ cup juice)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin liners and set aside. This ensures your muffins will bake evenly and won’t stick to the pan.
- Soak the raisins: Add raisins to a small dish and cover with hot water. Set them aside to soak for 10-15 minutes while you prepare the muffin batter. Soaking the raisins rehydrates them, making them plump and juicy in the finished muffins.
- Combine dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. Mixing these ingredients thoroughly ensures even distribution of the spices and leavening agents.
- Add fruit and nuts: Add carrots, apples, coconut, and walnuts to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine. This step coats these mix-ins with flour, preventing them from sinking to the bottom during baking.
- Mix wet ingredients: In a separate medium bowl whisk together the eggs, oil, vanilla, orange juice, and orange zest until fully incorporated. Whisking these ingredients separately ensures they’re evenly blended before combining with the dry ingredients.
- Combine wet and dry mixtures: Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture and stir together until just incorporated. Overmixing can lead to tough muffins, so stop stirring as soon as no dry flour is visible.
- Add raisins: Drain the liquid from the raisins, and gently fold them into the muffin batter. You will have about 4 cups of batter. The gentle folding motion preserves the air bubbles in your batter, contributing to lighter muffins.
- Fill muffin cups: Fill each muffin cup with a heaping ⅓ cup of muffin batter. Each muffin liner will be filled to the top. These muffins don’t rise as much as some others, so filling to the top is appropriate.
- Bake the muffins: Bake muffins for 22-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. (A few crumbs are okay.) The muffins should be golden brown on top and spring back slightly when touched.
- Cool before serving: Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool to room temperature before serving. This cooling time allows the flavors to meld and the texture to set properly.
Notes
- Store these muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- For a healthier version, reduce the sugar to ¾ cup and use unsweetened coconut.
- The muffins can be made dairy-free as the recipe is written.
- Make sure to squeeze out excess moisture from grated carrots and apples to prevent soggy muffins.
- For added texture, sprinkle some oats or a streusel topping before baking.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 280g
- Sugar: 25g
- Sodium: 270mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 43g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 45mg