Carrot Oatmeal Muffins

Not only do I get my recipe ideas from recipe websites and food blogs but also from the culinary mysteries I read. This recipe was from the last installment of Devil's Food Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke. Good stuff (story and recipes, that is)!

Carrot Oatmeal Muffins
adapted from Devil's Food Cake Murder Novel

1 and 1/2 cups flour
1 cup oatmeal (I used rolled oats but she used quick oats....I enjoyed the heartiness of the rolled oats)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup FINELY shredded carrots (pack them down when you measure)
1/2 cup raisins (soaked in warm water at the start of the recipe)
1/2 cup milk (fat free was fine)
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup walnuts/pecans, toasted and chopped (optional)

Grease a 12 cup muffin pan or 24 mini muffin pan. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and oatmeal. Sprinkle the baking powder, soda and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly.

Stir in brown sugar, Mix until everything is blended.

Shred carrots on the small holes on the grater. Fine shred is best. You want them to cook in the same time it takes the muffins to bake and turn golden brown. Add the carrots and raisins to your bowl. Mix.

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, beaten egg, melted butter and vanilla. Give a stir until all combined.

Add the wet to the dry and gently stir until the dry are moistened and no dry pockets remain. Fill muffin cups with ice cream scooper. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes for regular muffin tin. Bake 15-20 for the mini. OR until toothpick comes out clean.

Set the muffin pan on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes. This cooling process is essential because if you try to take the muffins out of the muffin cups now they may break in pieces- YES, they are that moist!

Makes 12 truly EXCELLENT muffins or 24 AWESOME mini muffins.

Mad for Moist Muffins,