Zucchini Carrot Muffins

Courtly's Note:

This recipe was entered into a muffin contest. It's from taste of home. It was entered by Loretta Blaine. I think this sounds delicious! It was in the top 12.

• Total Time: 37 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 22 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 18

• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1 cup chopped peeled apple
• 3/4 cup flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Gently toss together carrot, zucchini, apple, coconut, almonds and orange peel; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking sida and salt.
3. Combine eggs, oil and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened (batter will be thick). Fold in carrot mixture.
4. Fill greased or paper-lined muffins cups two-thirds full. Bake at 375 for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
5. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to wire rack.

Reviews

[eedison]

My 1.5 yo daughter and I made these muffins. They are wonderful! I made only a half batch. I omitted the almonds and did equal parts carrot and zucchini. I decreased the oil by two tablespoons (remember I am making a half batch), and added 1 T almond butter and 1 T applesauce. I also decreased the sugar 1/2 cup instead of 3/4. Just to make give it a bit of extra nutrition power I added 3 T toasted wheat germ. YUM!

[Mouskawitz]

Just made these with my 3 year old "helper" :) and they make the house smell so great! This seems to be a very nice and adaptable recipe, since many people have enjoyed them as posted, and I made a number of personal adjustments, and found them to be very nice and yummy! I can't wait to let the kids try them! For those who may be interested, I used 3/4 C whole wheat flour, 1/4 C spelt flour, 1/2 C almond flour, 1/2 C quinoa flakes 1/2 tsp Xantham Gum. I also added 2 Tbsp each of oat bran and ground flax. As well, I reduced the sugar to 1 C (2/3 brown, 1/3 white), and reduced the oil to 1/4 C with 1/2 C apple sauce. I'm not an orange fan, so I skipped the orange zest, and also forgot the chopped nuts (but I think they'd be really nice). I probably was generous in my measurements of the zucchini, carrots, and apple (as I just used the whole thing - 1 sm zucchinin, 2 med carrots, 1 med apple). All together this gave 2 dozen smallish muffins (only filled muffin papers about 3/4 full), plus 6 mini muffins. They were done in about 16 minutes.

[Me&Mommy]

My 6-year-old son & I love these muffins! We each ate two as soon as they cooled. They are our new favorite. :)