Gingerbread Applesauce Carrot Apple Whole Wheat Muffins

The New Year always instills in me a desire to eat more healthfully. Winter always instills in me a desire to eat gingerbread. Thankfully, this recipe satisfies both those desires. These subtly sweet muffins are soft, moist, and do not taste too healthy. As an added bonus, they clock in at just under 150-calories each, which means you can eat two.

It is adapted from the Gingerbread Muffins with Lemon Glaze recipe available on Epicurious, which hails from the Standard Baking Co. in Portland Maine. For a vegan alternative, replace the 2 large eggs with additional unsweetened applesauce.

ingredients
- 1-3/8 cups all-purpose flour
- 1-3/8 cups whole wheat flour
- 2-1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tbs. plus 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp. salt

- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tbs. unsweetened applesauce (I just whipped up my own for this recipe -- using two apples, a splash of water and the juice of one quarter lemon)
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup molasses
- 1-1/3 cups cold water

- the pulp of two apples (optional -- feel free to add more)
- the pulp of three carrots (optional -- feel free to add more)
- walnuts or raisins wouldn't hurt, either

Preheat oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit. Line two muffin trays (my batch yielded 22 muffins, the original recipe predicted 16 muffins). Mix together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together oil, applesauce, eggs, molasses, and water. Add half of the dry ingredients and beat until blended, then beat in the remaining dry ingredients. Mix in pulp and/or nuts and raisins, or don't.

Fill each muffin compartment two thirds of the way. Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

Muffins freeze nicely, and reheat quickly in the microwave. So, this is a great recipe to make, freeze, and have when you need a quick breakfast idea.