Whole Wheat Carrot Raisin Muffins

A moist and tender, better-for-you whole wheat carrot raisin muffin that tastes almost like carrot cake. A fantastic way to start the morning. 

Winco sells a three raisin blend in the bulk foods section. They’re big, plump, juicy Flame, Thompson and Golden raisins. I used them recently when I made Coconut Granola Clusters and had some leftover.

I decided to use the leftover raisins in muffins and went on a hunt for raisin muffin recipes. While searching images of delicious looking raisin muffins, I came across Lana’s, Never Enough Thyme, Carrot Raisin Muffins.

Lana’s description of these muffins made me want to try them. She said they were her family’s favorite muffin, and that she’d been making them for years and years “before there was Google, before there was Twitter, before there were blogs, there was Prodigy.” She found the recipe on a Prodigy bulletin board and has been making them ever since.

One of the great things about this recipe is that it’s made without added fat, no butter or oil. I made a few change to accommodate what I had on hand. I used light sour cream instead of yogurt and eggs instead of egg beaters. I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for the all purpose flour, and changed up the spices a bit.

I also sprinkled a little turbinado on top of the muffins before I cooked them. I often add it to muffins to give the top just a little sweetness.

These muffins were a hit with my family too. My husband really like them and suggested adding cream cheese icing. I’m not too sure about that, but now I’m thinking carrot raisin donuts with a cream cheese glaze might be in my future.

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Yield: 12 muffins

Whole Wheat Carrot Raisin Muffins

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup light sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots (about 3)
• 1 cup raisins

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a muffin tin with cooking spray or vegetable oil, or line with paper muffin liners.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together sour cream, eggs, applesauce, brown sugar and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Stir in carrots and raisins.
4. Divide batter evenly into 12 muffin cups. Bake 18 - 20 minutes, or until until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.

Notes

*Pumpkin Pie Spice substitute: 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves for 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.

More muffin recipes you might like:

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins, Barbara Bakes
Apple Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins, Barbara Bakes
Glazed Lemon Muffins, What’s Megan Making
Cranberry Orange Pecan Muffins, Life’s a Feast
Blood Orange Cranberry Muffins, The Life & Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch