Carrot, Walnuts, Coconut and Raisins Muffins

There are so many recipes for carrot muffins, but it’s seems there’s always room for one more…

In this one, I tried to lower the amounts of sugar and fat by reducing the quantity of sugar by almost one cup, and by replacing half of the amount of oil with unsweetened apple sauce. Half of the white flour amount was replaced with whole wheat flour and chopped walnuts, golden raisins and shredded unsweetened coconut were added for additional flavor and textures.
The result are these dark, moist, flavorful and not overly sweet muffins, that I’m sure you’ll enjoy.

* The muffins are great on their own, for breakfast or as a snack. For more impressive presentation, pipe THIS tasty butter cream on top, or spread with a simple cream cheese icing. The muffins freeze well (without the butter cream or icing) for up to 1 month, so no need to hesitate to make a large batch. If it’s still too large quantity for your needs, simply cut all the amounts by half.

Makes: 24
Prep time: 25 minutes
Baking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
4 cups grated carrots (from about 12-14 carrots)
4 XL eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup oil
½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Dash salt
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts
½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
½ cup golden raisins
Butter cream from THIS recipe (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Line two muffin pans with baking cups.
2. Peel and chop the carrots roughly in a food processor. Place the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk lightly and add the brown and white sugar. Mix well. Add the oil and apple sauce, and mix again.

3. Add the carrots and mix. Add both types of flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and vanilla and mix well. Add the walnuts, coconut and raisins and mix briefly with a spatula.

4. Fill the baking cups up to ¾ of their height. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick interested into the center of one cupcake comes out almost dry.
5. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve as is, or top with icing, if using.