Carrot Pineapple Muffins

I went overboard and bought the five pound bag of baby carrots at Costco. It sounded like a great idea at the time; however, I wasn't sure how we could possibly eat all those carrots once I got home. I can only put so many carrots in the Vitamix for smoothies and juices and there are only so many raw baby carrots we can eat per day so I decided to shred them in the food processor. I figured we could eat a lot more carrots if they were shredded and made into a carrot salad. I was also thinking along the lines of carrot cake but we're trying to cut back on the amount of sweets we're eating so I decided muffins would be a better choice. I cut the amount of butter and sugar by half and made changes to make them egg-free for my allergy boy. They're tasty treats and I'm not worried about the boys eating them up since they're not that sugary. :)

Carrot Pineapple Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple
• 1 cup finely shredded carrots
• coarse sugar crystals (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Line a muffin tin with paper liners.
3. In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger together.
4. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand-held electric mixer in a large bowl, cream the butter on medium speed. With the speed on low, slowly add the sugar. Increase speed to medium high and beat until light and fluffy.
5. Add apple sauce and crushed pineapple. Scrape down the bowl as necessary with rubber spatula.
6. Add shredded carrots and beat until well combined. With the mixer set on low, slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overbeat.
7. Evenly divide the batter among the lined muffin cups and sprinkle a little sugar over the top of each if desired.
8. Bake approximately 25-30 minutes in the center of the oven until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from the pan and transfer to a rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature. ENJOY!

Source: adapted from foodnetwork.comhttp://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cranberry-carrot-muffins-recipe/index.html