Morning glory muffins made with gluten free flour, sweetened with maple syrup and loaded with so much texture and flavor! Lots of options for this muffin recipe, jump to recipe card for more information.
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Morning glory muffins are probably one of the most popular muffin recipes out there – loaded with so much goodness! They’re basically like carrot muffins on steroids. So if you like carrot cake or carrot muffins, chances are you’ll like these too!
If you don’t like muffins with lots of stuff in them, well you might want to try something a little more basic.
Healthy Morning Glory Muffins
This is basically like a kitchen sink muffin recipe, but I’ve always known them as morning glory muffins. I’m not sure if that’s a geographical thing but either way these muffins are delicious.
They’re loaded with a ton of mix-ins that when all combined together, give you a hearty and healthy muffin recipe.
What You Need
- gluten-free baking flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- baking powder & baking soda
- salt
- cinnamon & nutmeg
- orange juice and zest
- applesauce & oil
- maple syrup
- egg
MIX-INS
- shredded carrots
- grated apple
- dried cranberries
- chopped walnuts
- unsweetened shredded coconut
It might look like a lot of ingredients but a most of them are likely already in your pantry!
How these muffins come together
Want my Top 5 Muffin Recipes?
I love muffin recipes because everything can be mixed in a bowl by hand – no fancy equipment needed. This recipe is also fairly customizable in regards to flour, sweetener options and mix-ins.
Notes about this muffin recipe
FLOUR – This recipe was tested with whole wheat white flour and 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour. The recipe photographed is using the gluten-free flour, so the texture of the muffins looks a little “rustic”. If using a whole wheat flour, the tops will be a little smoother. See more notes in the recipe card.
OIL – The small amount of oil here creates a softer texture. If you want to sub the oil, you could likely use 1/4 cup of milk (of choice), mashed banana or more applesauce, but the texture of the muffin will change.
SWEETENER – These muffins are not super sweet, only using a 1/3 cup of maple syrup. If you think you have a sweeter tooth, add 1/4 cup granulated sugar (i.e. coconut or light brown sugar). You should also be fine to sub honey or agave syrup.
MIX-INS – There are lots of mix-in options here. If you want to get creative, make sure you think about 1:1 substitutions. For example, if you wanted to sub the grated apple be sure to pick an equivalent substitute with the same type of moisture content like grated zucchini, or even grated pear. You can sub dried blueberries, cherries or even chopped dates for the cranberries, pecans for the walnuts, etc.
Let me know if you try this recipe by leaving a comment and review on the blog! I love hearing from you! Xx Ashley
Healthy Morning Glory Muffins {whole grain, GF, DF}
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 & 3/4 cups 1:1 gluten-free baking flour or whole wheat white flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- zest of 1 orange
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 large egg*
- 1/4 cup oil, avocado, olive, whatever you have
- 1/4 cup orange juice
Mix-Ins
- 1 1/2 cup packed shredded carrots
- 1 cup grated apple, you can leave skin on, about 1 small-medium apple
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF and line 12-cup muffin pan with liners or spray with oil; set aside.
- In medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients; set aside.
- In large bowl, whisk together applesauce, maple syrup and egg. Add in oil and orange juice, stir until combined.
- Add dry ingredients to bowl of wet until *just* combined. Then add in all of the mix-ins. Be careful not to over-mix.
- Evenly distribute batter into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 5 minutes at 425ºF. Then drop oven temperature down to 350ºF and continue baking for 15-20 minutes. Muffins will be done when inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack.
Video
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information
photography by Hungry By Nature
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