Delicious carrot muffins are loaded with lots of carrots, added whole wheat flour, molasses, raisins and nuts. A great morning muffin!
Why you’ll love these carrot muffins!
- Although these carrot muffins are made with half whole wheat flour, they still manage to be wonderfully light and moist!
- You’ll love all the flavours and textures in these carrot muffins, with a touch of orange, carrots, molasses, walnuts and raisins. The whole wheat flour brings a slightly nutty flavour, as well.
- The added molasses brings extra flavour depth and extra nutrients to the mix and helps to keep these muffins nice and moist.
Ingredients and substitutions
Carrots – well they wouldn’t be carrot muffins without the carrots. I like to peel mine first, but it really isn’t necessary. Shred with a box grater.
Molasses – Fancy molasses is recommended, for the best (subtle) flavour. Cooking molasses might work, though I haven’t tested it. Blackstrap molasses is not recommended, as it is too harsh in flavour.
Whole Wheat Flour – beyond adding some whole grains to these muffins, whole wheat flour adds a nice nuttiness to these muffins. I recommend using it if you have it on hand. If you don’t, you can substitute with an equal amount of additional all-purpose flour, though the texture of the finished muffin may be lighter in texture.
All-Purpose Flour – I generally use regular all-purpose flour, but you could substitute white whole wheat flour, if you prefer. I haven’t tested this combination, but I suspect the resulting muffin would be just a little bit heavier.
Raisins – You can use any raisin or sultanas. I pretty much always plump the raisins before using them in baked goods, as dried raisins can rob the baked goods of moisture, making them dryer. It’s worth the few minutes it takes to do it!
Nuts – You can use walnuts or pecans. Chop the nuts finely or a little more coarse, depending on your preference. I tend to prefer them fairly fine in muffins. For a nut-free muffin, simply omit it.
Step-by-step photos
- Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add the shredded carrot and orange zest to the dry ingredients and stir to coat.
- Add the molasses, butter and egg mixture to the batter and stir to combine.
- Add the walnuts and raisins to the batter and stir in.
- Use a #12 scoop to scoop batter into muffin cups.
- 9 muffin cups well filled and ready for the oven.
Making ahead, storing and freezing
These carrot muffins can be stored in an airtight container for 2-3 days or they freeze beautifully up to 2 months.
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Get the Recipe: Loaded Carrot Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup (125 g) whole wheat flour
- 1 cup (135 g) all-purpose flour, or white whole wheat flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (40 g) brown sugar, light or dark, packed
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice, or cloves
- 1 cup (85 g) carrots, grated, packed
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup milk, 1 or 2% recommended
- 1/4 cup (70 g) Fancy molasses
- 1/4 cup (57 g) salted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup raisins, plumped (see instructions below)
- 1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
Instructions
- For best accuracy in baking, use the weight measurements where noted and a kitchen scale.
- Preheat oven to 400F. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted). Grease or line with paper liners 9 muffin cups and set aside.
- Measure out raisins and add to a small bowl. Cover with hot water and let stand in the water while you prepare the muffins. Before adding the raisins to the batter, drain well and pat dry.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice. Add the carrots and orange zest and stir to combine and coat well.
- In a small bowl or 2-cup measuring cup, combine the egg, milk, molasses and melted butter. Stir to combine well, then add all at once to the flour mixture. Stir together just until the flour is incorporated and no longer visible.
- Add the raisins and nuts to the batter and stir just enough to distribute in the batter.
- Divide batter between the 9 muffin cups (about 1/3 cup per muffin cup).
- Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the centre of the muffins comes out clean. Allow to cool a few minutes in the muffin tin, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
More muffin recipes tolove!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
You can also plump your raisins with white wine – simply pour in enough wine to cover the raisins and microwave for a 1/2 – 1 minute. Allow to cool, and strain the raisins out. My husband loves to drink the leftover raisin-wine!
Lol! Good tip! I’ve also plumped raisins with hot tea or rum or bourbon in the past. Thanks :)
This is a “real” muffin, not a cupcake….tasty and substantial but not too sweet. Excellent with cheese. The only thing I would do differently next time is combine the grated orange rind with the wet ingredients as it wanted to clump when mixed with the dry.
Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Faye. Thanks!
Hi Jennifer! Do you think I can use olive oil instead of butter in this muffins? Or would they not come out right?
Hi Jenn, swapping liquid oil for solid butter isn’t a one-for-one switch. Generally, you would use 3/4 oil for butter (so in this recipe, it would be replacing 1/4 cup butter with 3 Tablespoons of oil). I haven’t tested this at all, but since there is just a small amount of butter in these muffins, you might get away with it without too much issue. If you try it, let me know how it works out.