Coconut and Carrot Muffins

I made one batch of these muffins and they tasted so good, that I promptly made a second batch right then and there.  The outside of the muffins are crispy and the insides are super moist and chewy.  I love the combination of the carrots and coconut.  I was surprised at how well they both go with the cinnamon and ginger.  My kitchen smelled divine after these were done!

These muffins were a great way to use up some of the big bunch of carrots I bought at the farmer's market this weekend.  You know it's fall when the predominant colours at a farmer's market are orange, red and yellow!

Click the title of this post or the "read more" link to see how I made these muffins.

This recipe has been adapted from a recipe I saw on 100 Days of Real Food.  Check out the original recipe HERE.  The main change I made to this recipe was that I swapped half of the butter for organic coconut oil.  Then, to extend that coconut flavour, I added in 1/2 cup of organic, unsweetened coconut.  I also increased the amount of carrots in the recipe - simply because the carrots I had were so huge!

This recipe makes 12 muffins.  I ended up making a double batch.  (FYI this batter is delicious!!!)

Coconut and Carrot Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of organic whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup organic coconut oil
1/2 cup pure honey
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup of shredded carrots
1/2 cup organic unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. Mix well with a wire whisk.

In a separate bowl, combine the butter, coconut oil, egg, honey and vanilla.

Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy.

Pour wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients.

Mix thoroughly, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to get all the flour mixed in.

Grate one large carrot, approximately 1 1/2 cups.

Add the shredded carrots and coconut to the batter.

Mix with a spoon or spatula.

Fill muffin tins with batter. You can use a greased pan or muffin cups.

Cool muffins completely. You can store extra muffins in the freezer.

These muffins have a crispy, crumbly outer layer, and a soft, moist, chewy inner layer.