morning glory muffins and the January thaw

What an odd few weeks. We have almost no snow on the ground - a surprise for this time of year, but, no, I'm not complaining! Standing on the bridge (photo just above) showed the brook running well, with snow barely covering the rocks. Unfortunately, there is plenty of ice on the driveway, and I see an awful lot of folks walking around with neon-green casts on their arms; walking can be difficult without cleats.

More freezing rain is expected tonight, and I thought I'd lay in a store of Morning Glory muffins to tide me through the hours of sanding tomorrow. Do you know about morning glories? Coconut shreds, grated fresh carrots and apple, applesauce and raisins tossed with canola oil and eggs and cinnamon, mix, bake, enjoy. I didn't realize I had run out of raisins, so this batch is sadly raisin free, but don't forget them!

Makes 10 Texas size muffins, or 20 regular size muffins.

To make:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease two Texas size muffin tins, or regular size muffin tins (enough for 20)

In your mixer bowl place:

2 cups grated fresh carrots

1 1/2 cups sweetened or unsweetened coconut

3/4 cup raisins, dark or golden

1 apple, peeled and grated

1/2 cup applesauce

zest of one lemon

2 t. vanilla

1/2 cup canola oil

4 eggs

2 t. cinnamon

Mix well, and then add:

1 t. baking powder

3 t. baking soda

3 1/2 cups King Arthur all purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

Mix well. Using an ice cream scoop, place two scoops of batter for each muffin into the muffin tins, or one scoop per muffin if you're making regular sized muffins.

Pop into the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins have risen and are firm to a gentle touch. Remove tins and cool for 5 minutes or so, then remove muffins carefully and set on a cooling rack.

Extras freeze beautifully - enjoy!