If you are looking for healthy gluten free breakfast ideas, these morning glory muffins made with gluten-free flour, carrots, apples, coconut, raisins, and a hint of orange are an easy recipe to start your day. Adding applesauce the muffin batter means the crumb is extra moist without requiring a lot of oil. Plus, these one-bowl gluten-free morning glory muffins use my favorite, simple GF muffin tricks so they bake up light and fluffy without a gummy, dense texture!
Line standard-size muffin cups with paper liners or grease with nonstick cooking spray. The oven preheats later while the muffin batter rests. (This allows time for the gluten-free starches to soften and hydrate with the liquids.)
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the applesauce, brown sugar, oil, honey, eggs, orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla extract.
½ cup unsweetened applesauce, ½ cup (117 g) packed light brown sugar, ¼ cup (53 g) oil, ¼ cup (85 g) honey, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons orange zest, ¼ cup (28 g) orange juice, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Stir in the grated carrots, apples, raisins, coconut, and pecans. Then stir in the remaining dry ingredients. Stir well until no flour pockets remain.
1 cup (116 g) grated carrot, 1 cup (118 g) grated apple, ½ cup (85 g) raisins, ½ cup (40 g) shredded coconut, ½ cup (63 g) chopped pecans, 1 ½ cup (214 g) gluten-free all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Use a large trigger scoop to divide the batter between the cupcake liners. The batter will come up almost all the way to the top (see pic in post). The batter will make 16 muffins. Set aside for 15 minutes while the oven finishes preheating.
Bake for 25 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. They are done when the tops are fully set and a toothpick comes out clean. With gluten-free baking, it's better to slightly error on the side of over baking because sometimes they look "done" before they are set all the way through. Cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack.
Notes
Storing and Freezing Tips
Once they have completely cooled, store in an airtight container up to 2 days at room temperature. Do not store in the fridge, or they will dry out. Also, covering the muffins with plastic wrap will trap moisture and make the tops slightly wet. Loosely covering with foil is a better option.For optimal freshness, I freeze GF muffins right away since they don’t stay fresh as long and moisture evaporates quickly. Wrap the cooled and set muffins in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag up to 3 months.