Morning Glory Muffins Recipe

5 from 7 votes

Mar 11, 2024

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These fluffy morning glory muffins with tart apples, crunchy coconut, and sweet carrots will fill your kitchen with warmly spiced goodness. They’re a Texas-sized breakfast for lazy mornings!

Photo of five morning glory muffins set on a light-colored surface.

Morning glory muffins are a tasty treat that bridges the gap between a wholesome breakfast muffin and spiced coffee cake. Their main ingredients are always carrots, apples, coconut, and raisins. Spices like cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and cloves add warmth. Baked until golden brown and fluffy, the muffins are perfect when served with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk for breakfast.

Why I Love This Morning Glory Muffins Recipe

Fruity. You get apples, coconut, dried prunes, and chewy raisins in every bite.
Dessert for breakfast. You’ll be more than happy to dig into a sweet muffin that also counts as breakfast.
Versatile. You can turn morning glory muffins into chocolate muffins, add oats, mash in a banana for banana bread muffins, or make them a whole-wheat recipe.
Wholesome. All the carrots, crunchy walnuts, and fruits in the batter make them an obvious breakfast option.

Recipe Ingredients

Spicy ground ginger and freshly-squeezed orange juice help balance the muffins’ sweetness. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact amounts.

All-purpose flour – Avoid cake flour because the muffins will crumble easily.
Light brown sugar – Dark brown sugar works too, but the muffins will be darker in color.
Baking soda – Sieve it if there are any lumps.
Ground cinnamon – Feel free to use nutmeg.
Ground ginger – It helps lighten things up, but you can skip it.
Salt – Kosher salt is best.
Carrots – This is a great opportunity to use up leftover baby carrots.
Apples – Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, and Gala apples are perfect for this.
Sweetened coconut – It can also be unsweetened.
Walnuts – You can use pecans, almonds, or macadamias instead.
Raisins – Feel free to swap them for dried cranberries or golden raisins.
Dried prunes – Chopped dried apples and peaches are great as well.
Eggs – Liquid eggs are fine for this.
Canola oil – Vegetable and corn oil are good swaps.
Oranges – You’ll need the juice and zest.
Vanilla extract – It adds aroma, but you can skip it.

How To Make Morning Glory Muffins

The muffins are just like any muffin recipe but with spices, fruits, and nuts in the batter.

Dry ingredients for the muffins in a bowl. — The bowl needs to be large enough for all of the ingredients.

Batter for the muffins. — The bowl needs to be large enough for all of the ingredients.

Pouring the batter into the liners. — The batter for this recipe won’t over-flow in the oven.

Photo of six muffins in a muffin pan. — The batter for this recipe won’t over-flow in the oven.

Prep the oven. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a muffin tin with 6 jumbo or “Texas-sized” liners. Set it aside.
Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the carrots, apple, coconut, walnuts, raisins, prunes, and zest. Mix well.
Make the wet mixture. Whisk the eggs, oil, orange juice, and vanilla in a separate bowl until well combined.
Combine them. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix the batter until just combined.
Fill the liners. Pour batter into each liner until completely full. Sprinkle light brown sugar on top.
Bake them. Pop the muffin tin into the oven for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove them from the heat. Let them cool and enjoy!

Overhead shot of a muffin pan with muffins.

Recipe Tips & Variations

More add-ins. Stir 1/4 cup chopped (and pitted) dates, dried figs, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, or chia seeds into the batter for more flavor and texture. Don’t add more fresh fruit because the muffins will turn out raw due to excess moisture.
Baking rack. Never bake on the bottom or top racks in the oven. The bottom rack will burn the muffins, while the top will leave them under-cooked. Always use the middle rack for baking because there’s better heat distribution there.
Make them chocolatey. Stir 1 tablespoon cocoa powder and 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips into the dry ingredients for a dessert-like breakfast.
More spices. Add 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom and cloves into the dry ingredients for more spice in every bite.
Skip the liners. Grease the muffin cavities in the tin with non-stick spray. I recommend it over butter for this recipe. Bake as usual but wait 15 minutes before removing them from the tin after baking.
Make them with oats. Mix 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats or plain granola into the batter to make these muffins extra filling.
Use the food processor. Add the carrots to the food processor and pulse until they’re completely shredded. Don’t purée them.
Go whole-wheat. Swap half of the all-purpose flour for whole-wheat flour for an easy variation of this recipe.

Proper Storage

Counter: Place the cooled muffins in an airtight container or paper bag for up to 2 days in a dry area.
Fridge: Store them in an airtight container or bag for up to 7 days. Keep them away from strong-smelling foods to prevent the transfer of odors.
Freezer: Wrap each muffin in plastic wrap twice. Transfer them to a freezer-friendly bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or on the counter for 20-25 minutes.

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