C is for…

Carrots! And oh my, have I grated some carrots yesterday… Today was Matheus’ show and tell at school and the letter of the week is C, so we decided to make some carrot cookies to share with his friends.
However, even with the best of intentions our cookies did not came as expected. The first batch was a little too cakey and crumbly at the same time (is there such thing possible?!). Plus, in a tentative to get them a tad crispier I ended up burning the second batch… oh well, definitely not a “cookie day” here. So I lost half of it and, besides not being enough, the other half was breaking apart so easily that there was no way they would get intact to school.
I have no idea why that happened since I followed the recipe exactly as written, baking at the right temperature and all. All that said, they tasted great and the non-burnt ones were quickly devoured. I even took a picture of the three that were left this morning, and am going to post the link for the recipe in case anyone wants to give it a try.
Cookies aside, I got one of my “handy-dandy-never-fail” recipes and we baked “Carrot Cupcakes” for our letter C day! Technically they are muffins, but Matheus wanted cupcakes as it also starts with C… so they were called cupcakes today!
This is another of our favorite muffin recipes here, referred by the husband as “the tasty ones”. This together with the oatmeal and the banana-bran (both previously posted here) are the muffin staples at our house!
They are moist and healthy muffins, filled with carrots, apples, and raisins. The cinnamon in them infuses the whole house with such a nice aroma while baking, and whole-wheat flour makes them hearty and good for you! The ingredient list may look big, but they are very easy and simple to make, and I bet you may have most of the ingredients in your pantry already.
It is actually an Eating Well recipe from Sept/Oct 94, called Morning Glory Muffins, which I adapted to suit our taste. I am posting the original recipe bellow, and the way I always make ours is: using 1 cup all-purpose and 1 cup whole-wheat flour, ¾ cup sugar, ½ cup raisins, 2 whole eggs, ½ cup apple sauce (instead of apple butter). The topping I add if I have the ingredients at home. The recipe says it makes 18, but since we like nice and plump muffins I fill my muffin tins to the top and usually get 14 at the most. (Today I made them in mini muffins and got 36)
These muffins freeze well, so go ahead and make the whole batch ‘cause I think you are going to like them!

Ana

Morning Glory Muffins
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups sugar (I use 1/2 cup sugar, add more to your taste)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated carrots
1 medium apple -- peeled & shredded
1 cup raisins
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup apple butter (I always use applesauce!)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Topping:
2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts or pecans
2 tablespoons toasted wheat germ

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Spray 18 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in carrots, apple and raisins. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, egg whites, apple butter, oil and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened (don't over mix).
Spoon the batter into prepared muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full. In a small bowl, combine nuts and wheat germ; sprinkle mixture over muffin tops.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and spring back when lightly pressed.
Eating Well Magazine Sept/Oct 94

Here are the cookies and the link for the recipe. (My cookies came out soft/crumbly, and I know they are supposed to be “cake cookies”, but the ones in the website picture look a little crispy, don’t they?)
http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=recipe1209&contentGroup=MSL&site=living