Morning Glory Muffins
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Morning glory muffins are good to eat and good for you. And, true to their name, they’re a glorious way to start the day.
Morning glory muffins are made with a little bit of everything: whole wheat flour, carrots, apples, raisins, walnuts, orange juice, coconut and wheat germ. Created decades ago by Chef Pam McKinstry for her Morning Glory Café on Nantucket Island, they’re a throwback to the 1970’s “back-to-the-land” movement, when wholesome hippie food was all the rage. True to their name, they’re a glorious way to start the day.
What you’ll need to make Morning Glory Muffins
Despite the long list of ingredients, morning glory muffins are easy to make, especially if you use a food processor to shred the carrots and apple.
For the flour, I like to use King Arthur white whole wheat flour because it’s lighter and milder tasting than regular whole wheat flour yet just as nutritious. If you can’t find it, go ahead and use regular whole wheat flour — or, for lighter-tasting muffins, use half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour. (And if you’re wondering what else to do with that bag of whole wheat flour, try these apple muffins or the Ovenly’s famous whole wheat banana bread.)
How to make Morning Glory Muffins
Begin by soaking the raisins in hot water. This softens and plumps them up.
Meanwhile, grate the carrots and apple. I use a food processor but you can also use a box grater.
If you’re making your own orange juice, juice the orange.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt.
Combine, using your fingers to break up any lumps of brown sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, orange juice, and vanilla extract.
Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture, along with the grated apple, grated carrots, wheat germ, walnuts, coconut, and drained raisins.
Mix until evenly moistened and combined. The batter will be very thick.
Divide the batter into the wells of a greased 12-cup muffin pan. They will be very full.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until muffins are nicely domed. Cool in the pan for a few minutes, then turn the muffins out onto a rack to cool completely.
The muffins are best enjoyed fresh, but they will keep nicely for a few days and they also freeze well. Serve with butter and enjoy!
My starting point for this recipe was the Morning Glory Muffins on the King Arthur Flour website — a fantastic baking resource. I found their version to be a bit bland, so I increased the spices, raisins, walnuts, and sugar.
You may also like
- Classic Carrot Cake
- Ellie Krieger’s Morning Glory Baked Oatmeal
- Banana Nut Muffins
- Oat Muffins with Pecan Streusel Topping
- Blueberry Maple Bran Muffins
Morning Glory Muffins
Morning glory muffins are good to eat and good for you. And, true to their name, they’re a glorious way to start the day.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup raisins
- 2 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour (or Whole Wheat Flour), spooned and leveled
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup orange juice (if making your own, you'll need one orange)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups peeled and shredded carrots (you'll need 4-5 large carrots)
- 1 large tart apple, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored and shredded
- ½ cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
- ⅔ cup chopped walnuts
- ⅓ cup wheat germ
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, cover the raisins with hot water. Set them aside to soak.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
- Drain the raisins, squeezing out any excess water with your hands.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, orange juice, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture, along with the drained raisins, carrots, apple, coconut, walnuts, and wheat germ. Mix until the batter is evenly moistened and combined.
- Divide the batter among the wells of the prepared pan. They will be very full.
- Bake the muffins for about 25 minutes, until they're nicely domed and a cake tester inserted in the center of one of the inner muffins comes out clean.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and let cool in the pan on a rack for about 5 minutes. Turn the muffins out onto the rack to cool completely. Cover and store at room temperature for several days.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The muffins can be frozen in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. Thaw for 3 – 4 hours on the countertop before serving. To reheat, wrap individual muffins in aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350°F oven until warm.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 367
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 50g
- Sugar: 29g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 6g
- Sodium: 346mg
- Cholesterol: 47mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi Jenn,
Love your site!!! I have tried many recipes on it. I have made 2 batches of these in the past week . Sharing them of course with others! I made a few substitutions – I did not have wheat germ or wheat flour. I used almond meal. I did, 1 1/2 c APF with 1/2 c almond meal. for the wheat flout and did 1/3 c almond meal for the wheat germ. I also did 1/3 c coconut oil and 1/3 c vegetable oil to put some healthy fat in the recipe. Lastly, I didn’t want to waste the orange rind so I zested it and put it in the muffin mix! It made it super yummy and delicious!
This is something I also do when I make bran muffins. Thanks so much!💐
Would using ground flax work the same as wheat germ?
Sure, Laurie, that should be fine. Enjoy!
So in Los Angeles we have a market called Gelson’s. They make my favorite muffin, and this is it! Thank you for posting, I’m making these tomorrow, they look yummy!