20-Mile Carrot Cake Muffins

We finished, too =) Today was Project Bread’s 20 mile Walk for Hunger and 4 friends and I absolutely killed it. We set out on the course at 7:50 am and I was home at 3:00. Thank you to all of the volunteers who kept the route safe and cheered us on until the very end! The walk organizers supplied us with plenty of water, as well as a great lunch, and we could not have asked for better weather. Exactly the sort of day you should spend entirely outdoors.

We walked up our front steps just in time for a carrot cake craving to strike. Next best thing to carrot cake (by which I really mean cream cheese frosting)? Carrot cake muffins!

Do not be intimidated by the seemingly endless list of ingredients. These are a cinch to throw together (hey, I did it on wobbly legs after 7 hours of walking) and are absolutely worth it.

Carrot Cake Muffins

makes 12 large muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
• 1/2 cup raisins, soaked in hot water
• 1/2 cup fresh pineapple, diced
• 2 large carrots, grated
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup safflower oil (any neutral oil will do)
• 1/2 cup milk (nondairy fine)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350*. Grease or line 2 12-cup muffin tins.
2. Put the raisins in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, sugar, salt, spices and flax. Stir in the pineapple, carrots, and coconut.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, milk and vanilla. Add to the dry mixture and stir until fully combined. Fold in the raisins.
5. Spoon a 1/4 cup of batter into every other muffin tin space, filling 6 per tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center of one muffins comes out clean.
6. Cool for 5 minutes in the pans and then transfer to a wire cooling rack.

These would be absolutely scrumptious with a shmear of cream cheese but, sadly, we are all out and these weary legs are certainly not going out again tonight.

They will keep for several days in an airtight container but with the juicy, caramalized bits of pineapple and the subtle notes of spice and nuttyness, I’m not sure they’ll last that long…

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