Morning Glory Muffins
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Morning glory muffins are good to eat and good for you. True to their name, they’re a glorious way to start your day.
Morning glory muffins are brimming with wholesome goodness. Packed with nourishing ingredients, like whole wheat flour, carrots, apples, raisins, walnuts, orange juice, coconut and wheat germ, these muffins were created decades ago by Chef Pam McKinstry for her Morning Glory Café on Nantucket Island. They’re a throwback to the 1970’s “back-to-the-land” movement, when wholesome hippie foods were all the rage. True to their name, these muffins are a glorious way to kick-start your day—a true testament to feel-good, homemade baking.
Table of Contents
“I’ve been making this recipe for a few years now and it never disappoints! The muffins are moist and delicious. I usually double the recipe and keep some in freezer so we always have them on hand!”
What You’ll Need To Make Morning Glory Muffins
- Raisins: Add natural sweetness and bursts of flavor to the muffins.
- White Whole Wheat Flour: Provides a nutritious base for the muffins, offering fiber and whole-grain goodness. I recommend King Arthur brand. Measure by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off to ensure accuracy.
- Brown Sugar: Sweetens the muffins while adding a hint of molasses flavor.
- Baking Soda: Act as leavening agents helping the muffins rise.
- Cinnamon and Ginger: Infuse the muffins with warm, aromatic spices.
- Eggs: Bind the ingredients together and provide structure to the muffins.
- Vegetable Oil: Adds moisture to the muffins, ensuring they are tender and moist.
- Orange Juice: Adds a hint of citrus brightness.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds depth of flavor and enhances the overall taste of the muffins.
- Shredded Carrots: Provide moisture, natural sweetness, and a pop of color to the muffins.
- Apple: Adds sweetness, moisture, and a fruity flavor to the muffins. Tart varieties, like Granny Smith, work best.
- Shredded Coconut: Adds texture and a tropical flavor to the muffins. Either sweetened or unsweetened coconut will work.
- Chopped Walnuts: Contribute crunch, texture, and nutty flavor to the muffins.
- Wheat Germ: Adds nuttiness, texture, and nutritional value to the muffins, enriching them with vitamins and minerals.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Begin by soaking the raisins in hot water. This softens and plumps them up.
Meanwhile, grate the carrots and apple. I use a food processor but you can also use a box grater.
If you’re making your own orange juice, juice the orange.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt.
Combine, using your fingers to break up any lumps of brown sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, orange juice, and vanilla extract.
Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture, along with the grated apple, grated carrots, wheat germ, walnuts, coconut, and drained raisins.
Mix until evenly moistened and combined. The batter will be very thick.
Divide the batter into the wells of a greased 12-cup muffin pan. They will be very full.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until muffins are nicely domed. Cool in the pan for a few minutes, then turn the muffins out onto a rack to cool completely.
The muffins are best enjoyed fresh, but they will keep nicely for a few days and they also freeze well. Serve with butter and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Like it’s darker cousin, it is 100% whole wheat flour; the difference between the two is the color of the wheat it’s harvested from. White whole wheat is lighter and milder tasting than regular whole wheat flour yet just as nutritious. If you can’t find it, go ahead and use regular whole wheat flour — or, for lighter-tasting muffins, use half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour. (And if you’re wondering what else to do with that bag of whole wheat flour, try my apple muffins, Irish soda bread muffins, or Ovenly’s famous whole wheat banana bread.)
Absolutely! Feel free to customize the recipe to suit your preferences or dietary restrictions. No wheat germ? You can replace it with wheat bran, ground flaxseed, or ground oats. Also, you can omit the raisins, coconut, or walnuts if you don’t like them or substitute them with other ingredients like dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots, chopped pecans, or additional shredded carrots or apples. Just be mindful of maintaining the overall moisture and texture of the batter when making substitutions.
Sure, they will keep nicely, covered, at room temperature, for several days.
Definitely! The muffins can be frozen in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. Thaw for 3 to 4 hours on the countertop before serving. To reheat, wrap individual muffins in aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350°F oven until warm.
My starting point for this recipe was the Morning Glory Muffins on the King Arthur Flour website — a fantastic baking resource. I found their version to be a bit bland, so I increased the spices, raisins, walnuts, and sugar.
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Morning Glory Muffins
Morning glory muffins are good to eat and good for you. True to their name, they’re a glorious way to start your day.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup raisins
- 2 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour (or Whole Wheat Flour), spooned and leveled
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup orange juice (if making your own, you'll need one orange)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups peeled and shredded carrots (you'll need 4-5 large carrots)
- 1 large tart apple, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored and shredded
- ½ cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened
- ⅔ cup chopped walnuts
- ⅓ cup wheat germ
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, cover the raisins with hot water. Set them aside to soak.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
- Drain the raisins, squeezing out any excess water with your hands.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, orange juice, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture, along with the drained raisins, carrots, apple, coconut, walnuts, and wheat germ. Mix until the batter is evenly moistened and combined.
- Divide the batter among the wells of the prepared pan. They will be very full.
- Bake the muffins for about 25 minutes, until they're nicely domed and a cake tester inserted in the center of one of the inner muffins comes out clean.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and let cool in the pan on a rack for about 5 minutes. Turn the muffins out onto the rack to cool completely. Cover and store at room temperature for several days.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The muffins can be frozen in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. Thaw for 3 to 4 hours on the countertop before serving. To reheat, wrap individual muffins in aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350°F oven until warm.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 367
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 50g
- Sugar: 29g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 6g
- Sodium: 346mg
- Cholesterol: 47mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Hi Jenn, could you please advise how to make the Morning Glory Muffins without eggs, in order to have a vegan version?
Hi Beth, I really don’t have any experience with egg substitutes but I’ve heard of people replacing eggs with “flax eggs” or applesauce when baking. Hope that helps to point you in the right direction!
I tried using 3/4 cup of applesauce in place of the eggs and they were amazing…..I also made a batch with eggs to taste the difference and you really couldn’t tell them apart.
I had to make some substitutions b/c I didn’t have everything for recipe. Used 1 cup rye flour and 1 cup ap flour; a bit less than 1 cup brown sugar (trying to cut back); ground oat meal instead of the wheat germ;freshly ground nutmeg b/c had no ginger;no raisins b/c I’m not a fan. Used sweetened coconut btw. Next time I want to add some other dried fruit as a substitute for raisins. Awesome result! So easy to make & everyone really liked them even with reduced sugar.
I baked these again & in addition to the mods I mentioned above I added dates to the mix. This made the muffins over the top delicious. I chopped the dried dates in a food processor which made them into a thick and sticky paste-so much so that I didn’t want to incorporate that into the mix-so I cut up the paste into small little pieces. To ensure the small pieces wouldn’t stick together & sink to the bottom of the muffins I mixed in about 1/4 cup of the dry ingredients and tossed in a bowl. I put those in last. The bits of naturally super sweet date puree just melt in your mouth. Admittedly it adds to the labor of this recipe but it was so very tasty.
just made these last night for my young daughter. they are so, so tasty! love the ginger spice. i like to use natural sweeteners when baking for her, so i replaced the 1 cup of brown sugar with 2/3 cup of maple syrup. i nixed the OJ altogether to avoid making the mix too wet and still used the additional 2 T of brown sugar. texture and taste were great! thanks for a great recipe!
Can I bake this as a “bread” in a single baking pan?
Yes, I think that would work!
Delicious healthy breakfast or snack muffin. Full of carrots,apples,raisins and other tasty tidbits. Just fill the cups to the brim and the batter will bake pup to a beautiful big domed delicious treat
Delicious, easy and healthy. A quick breakfast or afternoon snack. Just remember to fill the cupcake spaces to the very top (I use paper cups in the pan) They freeze well and defrost quickly. Enjoy
These were absolutely delicious! My husband loved them, they freeze well and were really moist. Our new favourite muffin
These are best homemade muffins I’ve ever had. I’m new to your site, and can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Do you think I can substitute Whole Wheat Pastry flour for the White Whole Wheat flour. Should I use the same amount?
Hi Daniel, If you don’t have the white whole wheat flour, regular whole wheat flour or a combination of whole wheat and all-purpose flour will work fine. I’ve never tried these with pastry flour, so I can’t say for sure if the texture would be right. If you do try them that way, I’d love to know how they turn out!
Well I finally tried the morning glory muffins with Whole wheat pastry flour. I use it so seldom that I need to use it up before it goes bad. The muffins were good (I’ve made them three times and they don’t last long so that means that they are good). I haven’t tried to make the muffins with whole wheat or white whole wheat flour to compare but that’s on my list. I will keep you posted once I do.
Made these muffins for a quick grab on-the-go breakfast. They are the best!! When I lived in the Yukon I used to go to a bakery every morning for coffee and their morning glory muffins, such a fond memory. I’ve been trying to match their muffins and your recipe brings back those memories. Shared with some friends and sent along the recipe as they loved them as well! Thanks for this! I used coconut oil and wheat bran instead of wheat germ. Yum! 🙂