{"id":96983,"date":"2014-03-24T09:50:39","date_gmt":"2014-03-24T14:50:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/?p=96983"},"modified":"2014-03-25T11:16:48","modified_gmt":"2014-03-25T16:16:48","slug":"celebrate-spring-with-a-batch-of-carrot-cake-muffins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/03\/celebrate-spring-with-a-batch-of-carrot-cake-muffins\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate Spring with a Batch of Carrot Cake Muffins"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let’s be honest, muffins are just breakfast-approved cupcakes. But why does dessert get to have all of the fun? There’s really not an answer so we made one up in the form of a wholesome carrot cake muffin for breakfast<\/a><\/strong>. Trust us on this one.<\/p>\n

I don’t even like carrot cake, and it was all I good do to eat just one of these. So, maybe I do, in fact, like carrot cake?<\/p>\n

\"carrot<\/a><\/p>\n

With spring’s arrival, it’s hard not to lunge head-first in to the freshest produce around. Carrots are an early arrival, ready for picking in April<\/a><\/strong> and throughout the summer months. Whether brunching, celebrating Easter, Mother’s Day, or just looking for a better weekday breakfast, these muffins are a bright addition to your menu!<\/p>\n

\"carrot<\/a>
\nThis recipe has all the components of a good muffin recipe and a good cupcake recipe and you get to have it at breakfast without any awkward self-doubt. Wholesome carrots, sweet pineapple, and warm vanilla combine with whole wheat flour to make a pretty darn healthy muffin.<\/p>\n

\"carrot<\/a><\/p>\n

When you fill the centers with a low-fat cream cheese frosting<\/a><\/strong>, garnish with crunchy walnuts, and bake in adorable papers, it could pass for a cupcake. And you can skip the sprinkles; we use a lemon zester to make thin, pretty little carrot curls to finish these muffins.<\/p>\n

\"honey<\/a>
\nThese carrot cake muffins were moist, just sweet enough, and one was very filling. When was the last time one cupcake could say it was that <\/em>satisfying?<\/p>\n

\n

This recipe is one of 13 healthier breakfast and brunch recipes in our original e-cookbook, Baker\u2019s Dozen. Preview here<\/a><\/strong>, download for just 99\u00a2 here<\/a><\/strong>, or order your printed copy here<\/a><\/strong>!<\/p>\n

– \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 – \u2013 –<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Carrot Cake Muffins\"carrot<\/a>
\nserves 12<\/em><\/p>\n

INGREDIENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 cup carrot, grated
\n1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped
\n3 egg whites
\n1\/2 cup Greek yogurt
\n1\/4 cup coconut milk
\n1 Tbsp vanilla
\n1.5 cups whole wheat flour
\n1\/4 cup brown sugar
\n1 tsp baking soda
\n1 tsp baking powder
\n1 tsp cinnamon
\n1 cup walnuts, chopped (save a few whole walnuts for garnish)<\/p>\n

Lighter Cream Cheese Frosting<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 cup neufchatel cheese, softened
\n1 Tbsp. vanilla
\n2 Tbsp. honey<\/p>\n

INSTRUCTIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.<\/p>\n

2. Grate the carrots and chop the pineapple, then set aside.<\/p>\n

3. Combine all of the wet ingredients. Stir then add the carrots and pineapple.<\/p>\n

4. Separately, combine all of the dry ingredients (except the walnuts).<\/p>\n

5. Add the two sets of ingredients together and mix well. Pour in to 12 muffin cups and top with chopped walnuts. Bake 15-18 minutes.<\/p>\n

6. While the muffins are baking prepare the frosting by combining the ingredients with a hand mixer. Fill a piping bag (or use a sandwich bag) and refrigerate.<\/p>\n

7. Remove the muffins from the oven. Once cool, use the back of a wooden spoon to poke a hole through the middles. Fill the centers with frosting and top with a whole walnut. Use a lemon zester to garnish with carrot strings, if desired.<\/p>\n

ALSO TRY THIS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Carrot Cake Pancakes<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

S’mores Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ultimate Bacon, Egg, Cheese Stuffed Doughnuts<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Photos by Kacy Meinecke and Dana Shultz for DietsInReview.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let’s be honest, muffins are just breakfast-approved cupcakes. But why does dessert get to have all of the fun? There’s really not an answer so we made one up in the form of a wholesome carrot cake muffin for breakfast. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3695,16],"tags":[10414,3272,328,7026,4041,3976,907,10767,8440,10768,3803],"class_list":["post-96983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-and-nutrition","category-recipes","tag-bakers-dozen","tag-baking","tag-breakfast","tag-brunch","tag-carrots","tag-cream-cheese","tag-cupcakes","tag-dana-shultz","tag-homepage","tag-kacy-meinecke","tag-pineapple"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/85"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96983"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96988,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96983\/revisions\/96988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}