Hey Everyone! Katherine here. We’re back this week with another citrus and carrot combo – these super delicious Carrot, Coconut & Orange Olive Oil Muffins. What can we say? It’s a winning combination. Also, we try to eat seasonally when we can, hence the citrus (it’s in season!) and root vegetables (nothing else is in season!).
The basis for this recipe was that we really wanted a simple, healthy, and PORTABLE breakfast recipe with things we had around the house. Because even though it’s a new year and we always vow to be more organized, every morning is a rush to get out the door for work. Can you blame us though? It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a warm bed is even cozier on a cold & blustery winter morning. Well, luckily these muffins are super portable and relatively healthy, so you don’t have to feel guilty about eating one for breakfast. AND you can get to work on time!
As I said, we really wanted to make something with ingredients we had in the house. The inspiration for this recipe came from seeing a lovely large naval orange, just sitting on the counter. I also wanted these to be dairy free, as my lactose-intolerant self had very recently over indulged (holiday season and all). So I went with olive oil – the Italian classic olive oil cake is orange-flavoured so that seemed like a good choice. Since milk wasn’t an option, how else could I keep them moist and healthy? Carrot! Then I wanted a bit of extra texture and fibre, since they are a breakfast muffin. Shredded coconut it is. A bit of honey for a natural sweetener, and voila! The makings of a perfect breakfast muffiny
Truthfully, they are pretty perfect. And I have to say, I am failry proud of myself with these guys. Nicole is the baker of the two of us. I’m much more loose with measurements and so I tend to get less-than-consistent results. So I used one of Mom’s own muffin recipes as a guide for ratios, and they turned out perfectly moist, with a delicate crumb. Not to mention, the orange peel gives them a fantastic aroma. Yum! My boyfriend doesn’t even like sweets, and yet he ate 2 in a matter of minutes and brought one home for his mom to try. How’s that for a winning review?
I doubt all our New Years’ endeavours will turn out as well as these muffins, but either way, I’d say we’re off to a pretty good start. Please let us know in the comments or on Facebook/Instagram if you give them a try! We’d love to hear from you!
Carrot, Coconut & Orange Olive Oil Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 egg beaten
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 large orange zested and juiced
- 1 cup grated carrot
- 1 & 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a muffin pan with paper liners. In a large bowl, beat the egg, honey, and vanilla together with a fork until combined. Add the olive oil, carrot and the juice from the orange, again stirring together until combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add the coconut and orange zest and stir until evenly distributed, breaking apart any clumps of zest with your fingers if necessary.
- In one step, add the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients, and stir together with a fork until just combined and there are no big lumps of flour visible. It’s important not to over-mix any muffin batter or it will become tough.
- Once mixed, divide the batter into your muffin pan and bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from the pan immediately and let cool on a baking rack.
The recipe is credited to Nicole and Katherine – The former owner of SaltwaterDaughter.com.
