I once led a cooking workshop on Muffin Madness. A dozen folks gathered for two hours, grinding wheat berries and other grains, chopping fruits and veggies, creating delicious savory and sweet Muffins.
The term muffin refers to an individual-sized quick bread. Recipes for these types of baked treats are prolific in older cookbooks, and many bakeries have developed loyal followings on their special variety of Muffins.
A savory muffin, one that is only lightly sweetened or not at all, perfectly complements a soup or salad. Think corn Muffins with pea soup, whole-wheat Muffins with fish chowder, or orange Muffins with curried turkey salad. Sweet Muffins, often prepared with fruit, may be enhanced with sugar, maple syrup or honey.
The satisfying taste in Carrot Applesauce Muffins is derived from a combination of applesauce and maple syrup. Grated over-wintered carrots provide another sweet layer of flavor, and whole grain fl our adds a nutty taste and nutritional punch.
I’ve served these Muffins warm for breakfast and as a quick and easy snack. When baked into mini-Muffins, they’re perfect for tea or cocktail sandwiches stuffed with ham or chicken salad.
For the committed localvore, here is a muffin made almost entirely with Maine grown ingredients. Interesting muffin trivia: the corn muffin is the official state muffin of Massachusetts, the blueberry of Minnesota and the apple muffin of New York. Will this win your vote for the Maine state muffin?
Carrot Applesauce Muffins
Ingredients
- 1½ cups Maine wholegrain flour
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1 cup grated Maine carrots
- ½ cup Apple Sauce
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup Maine maple syrup
- ¼ cup Melted butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin. In a medium bowl, whisk together the fl our, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Fold in the grated carrots.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the applesauce, maple syrup, eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract.
- Add to the dry ingredients, stirring just enough to combine. Do not overmix!
- Spoon into the muffin tin and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 18 to 20 minutes.