Good Morning Muffins

rise and shine...it's muffin time!

Many of us will be hosting this holiday season and along with that comes the need for easy breakfast and/or brunch recipes. And that's just what I'll be providing for this rainbow series. To start off I've made muffins packed with fruit and veggies. These are both good and good for you.

My inspiration for these muffins came from zucchini bread. I love the idea of adding in veggies where they don't seem to belong. My muffins not only have zucchini but shredded carrot too, along with fresh ginger, dried fruit, and nuts. These muffins are packed full of nutrition but will appeal to even the pickiest of eaters. Be the hostess with the most-ess...make these tomorrow morning. Here's how...

Ingredients - Makes 18 muffins
2 Carrots, peeled & shredded
1 Small Zucchini, shredded
1 inch Fresh Ginger, finely grated
1/2 C Dried Fruit (such as cherries, cranberries, raisins, figs, plums, etc.)
1/4 C Walnuts, chopped
2 C Flour
1 T Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/2 C Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 C Milk (low-fat okay)
6 T Vegetable Oil
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Cooking Spray
Sugar in the Raw (optional)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line or grease 2 muffin pans (18 spots) with cooking spray.

Begin by adding the dry ingredients to a large bowl: flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Whisk together until combined. In a separate bowl add the wet ingredients: eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet. Stir until partially combined. Add in the carrots, zucchini, ginger, fruit, and nuts and stir until just incorporated. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pans. Fill the cups about 3/4 the way full. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean. NOTE: if using the sugar in the raw, 3 minutes prior to the muffins finishing their cook time, sprinkle a little sugar over each muffin and finish cooking.

Remove the muffins from the oven and allow to cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Serve warm or cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an air-tight container for up to 1 week. I suggest refrigerating them after 2 days. Enjoy!