Carrot Cake Muffins

Trader Joe's sells these really fantastic carrot cake sandwich things (think a carrot cake whoopee pie).  These are not that type of muffin.  This particular recipe is from the Recipes for Health section of the New York Times.

As Martha Rose Shulman (the woman who developed and published this recipe) writes, "These spicy whole-grain muffins are just sweet enough, unlike most cloying carrot cakes."  Troublesome as it is, I have no problem with sweetness, cloying or otherwise.  The more the better, general health and well-being be damned.

ah, the healing powers of California's
natural light

Over the years, many people have argued that muffins cannot in fact be limited to one meal, but these carrot cake muffins are definitely of the breakfast variety.  Packed with fiber and protein, they are a healthy but delicious way to start your day.  Plus, they make the whole house/apartment/dorm smell like Christmas.

what a delicious, welcome mess

Carrot Cake Muffins

by Martha Rose Shulman

2 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup golden raisins tossed with 1 tsp flour
1 1/2 cups grated carrots (this is maybe 4 large carrots)

eggs straight from my sister's farm... that's right folks,
straight from chicken rump to counter top

wet ingredients

I peeled way too many carrots

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, making sure the racks occupy the top 1/3 of the oven space.  Grease the muffin tins.
Sift together the whole-wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.
Separately, beat together the eggs, sugars, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla.  Use a whisk or spatula to stir in the dry ingredients until well-combined.  Make sure not to beat as a few lumps are fine, but there should not be any flour at the bottom of the bowl.  Fold in the raisins and carrots.
Spoon into muffin tops, filling them so they are just below 4/5 full.  Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned and well risen.

just into the oven

***

Because I am a poor, starving college student, I do not have the luxury of blowing many many dollars on music.  Yes, I could download music illegally, Youtube it, open myself to Pandora's incessant ads, and now Spotify it.  Moral issues aside, I am in all honesty just too lazy.  Not only do you have to find your preferred fountain of tunes, but you have to screen it for obnoxious promos, URL's to God-knows-what stored in all sorts of places, not to mention the issues with downloading something you do not want to download.

However, the upside is that I get to rediscover music in my library.  For example, this song, "Let's Live For Today" by the Grass Roots, is on a CD of anthems that my sister let me steal/borrow:

Shulman, Martha R. "Recipes for Health: Carrot Cake Muffins." The New York Times. 1 Mar. 2011. Web. 10 Aug. 2011.