The summer after graduation from the University of Michigan, I worked at Hudson’s the local department store in the Polo shop.  Working there I received a 20% discount at the time, off of any purchases, which was a nice perk.  Hudson’s also had a really nice bakery called, La Cookie.  Mostly they just sold a variety of cookies and every once in a while they would feature a muffin.  Most muffins are just glorified cupcakes, yet one is mislead into thinking they are “healthy” because they are called, “Muffins.” One that they occasionally carry was what tasted like a healthy muffin.  I don’t recall what they called these muffins that, from what I remembered, had carrots, zucchini, and walnuts.  Flash forward to a few years later, the summer after we were married and I was having fun in a new (new to us but NOT new) apartment kitchen, having the summer off from teaching, I decided to try to make these. Without the internet to search for a recipe, I  went to the library to checkout out some of the newest cookbooks to find that recipe or something like it.  NADA.  So I spent a few sessions in the kitchen to come up with a recipe that tasted like THOSE I remembered from Hudson’s.  Here is that recipe.  They are sweetened with maple syrup include carrots, zucchini, bananas, coconut oil, oat flour, dates and nuts, so pretty healthy and they are absolutely delicious.  I know a recipe is good when I make it more than once in one week’s time, which is why I selected it for this week’s Marvelous Monday.  Interestingly, I went back to make sure this hasn’t been posted before and it’s hard to believe it’s been missed, one would think that by now, into my 3rd year into posting recipes.  Again, NADA.  Here it is.  Oh, and they freeze well too.  Freeze them after they cool in a freezer ziplock bag getting as much air out as you can.  Enjoy!

Marvelous Morning Muffins

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

-1 cup oat flour

-3/4 cup unbleached flour

-1/2 cup shredded  unsweetened coconut

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

-1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Wet Ingredients

-1 banana mashed

-1 cup shredded zucchini (about 1  medium zucchini-use a paper       towel to absorb some of the excess moisture)

-1 cup shredded (about 2 medium carrots)

-1/3 cup pure maple syrup

-2 eggs

-1/3 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled (usually for 32 seconds or so      in the microwave)

-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

-zest of 1orange or Clementine

To Blend In (optional)

-1/3 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts (or pecans)

-1/3 cup pitted, chopped dates

Toppings

-rolled oats

-additional chopped walnuts

Method

Begin by preheating oven to 350 degrees and line a 12 muffin tin with cupcake    liners.

1.  Measure out all ingredients and place all dry ingredients in a bowl, wet           ingredients in a bowl, blend ins and toppings.

2.  Whisk all dry ingredients.

3.  Stir all wet ingredients.

4.  Gently fold in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

5.  Now gently stir in blend ins of nuts and dates if you are going to use them.

6.  Spoon batter into liners in the muffin tin.

7. Sprinkle oat and nut topping, just a little on top of each muffin prior to baking.

8. Set timer for 24 minutes and check.  Muffins may need an additional two        minutes or so to adequately bake-do tooth pick test if necessary.

9.  Remove from oven and let tin cool on a rack for about 5 minutes.

10.  Dump muffins out of tin onto a rack to cool.  I like to store in a cake dome any      I am not freezing. Freeze muffins after they are cooled.

Muffins and Granola, a good baking day for me.