One of my favorite gluten free spots in Seattle has long been the Flying Apron bakery. Their assortment of baked goods and savory meals are all gluten-free and vegan and let me tell you they are quite amazing!! Owner Jennifer Katzinger is often seen behind the counter smiling and laughing with the customers. The Fremont cafe location is my favorite place to go post up for a few hours and write accompanied by a cup of hot tea and a fresh baked muffin/scone/cookie… aaannndddd a little pink bakery box to transport a few goodies home! Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE little pink bakery boxes!? Even more when they contain vegan treats!! If you’d like to learn more about Flying Apron and their dedication to quality and taste check out their mission statement.

Carrot Muffins

On one of our road trips down to Portland I was snacking on part of the cookie and my little garbage disposal wanted a bite. well, he had NO IDEA that the cookie was both gluten-free and vegan… the result? He is now obsessed! Thankfully our local Whole Foods carries assorted pastries from Flying Apron and we have at least one of their chocolate chip cookies in the house at all times! They taste AMAZING mixed into Vanilla Bean or Chocolate Biscotti Tempt non-dairy ice cream. But I’m sidetracked by dessert! Back to breakfast!

In 2009, Jennifer published The Flying Apron’s Gluten-Free & Vegan Baking Book which contains recipes and pictures of many of the wonderful goodies that Flying Apron sells. I was SO pleased to find that my all time favorite item, her wonderful Carrot Muffin,  was included in the recipe book! Since I just purchased 4 containers of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour I decided to experiment with that and altered there recipe a bit to what was in my cupboards and ingredient preference.

Of COURSE I had to try some of the batter and it was QUITE delicious! The whole house had the aroma of baking and the cinnamon, although such a small part of the recipe was the dominant smell while they were baking and the house smelled wonderful! The muffins that I poured directly into the baking pan cooked just fine but they didn’t turn out as pretty on the tops as the paper cup version did for some reason. While I LOVE Bob’s Gluten-Free flour, 4 cups in a muffin recipe did show a tad in the taste so I might try combining with half almond or coconut flour next time. The ratio of carrot, coconut, raisins and walnut was adjusted to our preference so feel free to alter to your taste.

Carrots

Carrot Muffins
Adapted from The Flying Apron’s Gluten-Free & Vegan Baking Book
cook time: 20-25 minutes

• 3 1/4 c. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free flour (Flying Apron recipe called for 2c. brown rice flour & 1 ¼ c. garbanzo flour but I love Bob’s Red Mill so I used that)
• 1 ½ tsp baking soda
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 c. canola oil (Flying Apron recipe called for 1 c. canola oil but I cut that in half and used apple sauce below)
• 1/2 c. apple sauce
• 3/4 c. water (Flying Apron recipe called for 2 c. water)
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1/2 c. honey (Flying Apron recipe called for 2 c. agave syrup)
• 1 1/2 c. grated carrots (Flying Apron recipe called for 1 ¼ c. grated carrots)
• 3/4 c. shredded unsweetened coconut  (Flying Apron recipe called for 2 ½ c shredded unsweetened coconut)
• 3/4 c. chopped walnuts (Flying Apron recipe called for 2 c. chopped walnuts
• 3/4 c. raisins (Flying Apron recipe called for 1c. golden raisins)
• Paper Muffins cups

1. 

   Gluten-Free Carrot Morning Muffin

   Preheat the oven to 350 and set paper muffin cups in the muffin tray

2. Shred carrots, chop and portion nuts, coconut and raisins in small ramekin bowls
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon using a whisk or a pastry blender to assure that all ingredients are mixed
4. In a second bowl, combine canola oil, apple sauce, water, vanilla and honey (one tip of baking is to measure the oil first, then use the same measuring cup to measure the honey and the honey will slide right out! No sticking!!)
5. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry bowl, careful to not over work the dough
6. In your now available wet ingredients bowl, combine carrots, coconut, walnut and raisins
7. Gently  fold in the carrot mixture until just combined
8. Divide batter evenly and bake until tops are firm to the touch, 20-25 minutes