Morning Glory Muffins

If you're looking for a hearty breakfast muffin, full of yummy goodies like apple, carrot, walnuts, and dried cherries then look no further! This was a great breakfast treat. This recipe was perfect because I had some homemade pumpkin butter leftover from #PumpkinWeek not that long ago, and this recipe called for apple butter originally but I figured pumpkin butter would be a great sub - and it was!

I didn't grease my pans as thoroughly as I should have, so these stuck a little and I had to be careful removing them. They were a little bit over cooked as well - I should have checked at 15 minutes instead of baking 20 minutes before checking. They were a little dry. I took some of the batter and used it in a mini muffin tin to make good toddler-sized muffins, and my 14 month old really enjoyed these (bake for about 9 - 10 minutes for mini muffins)! I just made sure to be careful about the pieces of dried fruit and walnuts in hers, either removing them or cutting them small. We froze about 6 mini muffins for her (they make great, easy breakfast treats - pull them out frozen, dice into bite sized pieces and done - they thaw on your little one's tray, plus Lindsey seems to like the cold texture when they're still partially frozen)!

These are perfect for a grab and go breakfast, any day of the week!

Morning Glory Muffins I slightly adapted from JACLYN on AllRecipes

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated carrots
1 large apple - peeled, cored, and chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries
2 eggs
1/2 cup apple (or pumpkin) butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons wheat germ

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 18 muffin cups generously.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, apple butter, oil, and vanilla.
3. In a large bowl stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, wheat germ, and salt. Stir in carrots, apples, walnuts, and raisins. Stir in apple butter mixture until just moistened. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full.
4. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and spring back when lightly pressed.