Sweet Potato-Carrot Muffins

Spicy and moist, these muffins are almost creamy in the center. Serve them warm from the oven as a snack accompanied by butter, or as a portable breakfast.

Adapted from 12 Best Foods Cookbook: Over 200 Delicious Recipes Featuring the 12 Healthiest Foods by Dana Jacobi (Rodale Inc., 2005).

(Makes 6 muffins)

• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup light olive oil or canola oil
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup low-fat yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 cup mashed roasted Beauregard, Garnet, or Jewel yams
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds

• 1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place paper liners in the cups of a 6-cup muffin pan.
• 2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt. In another bowl, combine the oil, sugar, and egg. Mix in the yogurt and vanilla. Stir in the carrot and sweet potato. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients, and mix just until blended. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling them to the top. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sesame seeds and a few pumpkin seeds over the top of each muffin.
• 3. Bake 22 to 27 minutes, until the muffins are lightly colored and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then unmold, and cool completely on a wire rack.

Nutrients per serving:
Calories: 264
Fat: 12g
Carbohydrate: 35g
Protein: 5g
Total dietary fiber: 2g

TIP: To speed preparation and cleanup time, combine the sugar, egg, and other wet ingredients with the oil in a 4-cup measuring cup, then mix in the carrot and sweet potato. For muffins like these in the photograph, cut baking parchment into 6-inch squares. Center a piece of parchment over a cavity in the baking pan, pressing it down in the center, then flattening the creases to make the paper fit. Fill with batter and bake as usual.

April 2005

Photographer: Maren Caruso

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