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Home » Recipes » Breakfast / Brunch

Good Morning Muffins

Published: Apr 25, 2012 · Modified: Dec 18, 2022 by Rose McAvoy · This post may contain affiliate links · 6 Comments

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Back in ye olde days, when I worked in an office, the coffee shop around the corner occasionally sold Morning Glory Muffins. They were decadently moist, sweet, a little spicy, and huge. Every so often I would treat myself to one and try to eat it over two days. At the time I pretended it was better not to know how many calories or grams of fat were packed into a single muffin.

A few weeks ago I was sent home from a friend's house with a gallon sized freezer bag of homemade Morning Glory Muffins (and a bag of Millet flour). As she dropped the muffins into the bag she cautioned me that they were not "light." Mr. Second Helpings and I enjoyed them so much that when they were gone I wanted to make a new batch.

While poking around the internet in search of a recipe I discovered just how hefty a Morning Glory Muffin could be. Once bakers start tossing in nuts, coconut, raisins, multiple eggs, sugar, and oil the numbers add up quickly! One recipe on All Recipes.com weighs in at over 400 calories and 25 grams of fat per muffin. Yikes!

I did eventually find a very nice low fat version on About.com. That recipe became the platform to make the muffins I was envisioning. All of the naturally sweet ingredients in this recipe mean only a little additional brown sugar is needed. Mashing up a banana is a great substitute for the oil in the original recipe and provides a much bigger flavor punch than vegetable oil would. It also allowed me to create a muffin with less than a quarter of the calories and one tenth of the fat in the All Recipes.com recipe. Not too shabby.

The list of ingredients looks a little long but there is nothing particularly exotic and many of the items could be swapped or adjusted. Using only one type of flour should work just fine as would skipping or exchanging some of the spices (if you only have cinnamon use it or try pumpkin pie spice in place of the ginger and all spice). If walnuts aren't your thing try pecans or hazelnuts or omit the nuts to further reduce the fat and calorie content of each muffin.

I made a few batches before calling the recipe below the (most) final version. Mr. Second Helpings and I were split on which batch was our favorite so I did provide a minor alternative suggestion at the bottom of the page. The fully published recipe yields a sweet and moist muffin (pictured in the paper wrappers). The alternate recipe is less sweet, a little puffier, and more "bready" (pictured without liners). Try both! Brew up some coffee and invite a few friends and neighbors over for a blind taste test. Make sure to report back with the results, I'd love to hear about any modifications or adjustments you enjoyed.

Good Morning Muffins

Rose McAvoy
Inspired by Morning Glory Muffins these are a lower fat version sweetened primarily by fruit, carrots, and aromatic spices. Make a batch or two and keep them in an airtight container the refrigerator for a week or a few months in the freezer. Grab one or two with some yogurt for a breakfast on the go or enjoy as a sustaining midday snack.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
Prep Time 25 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 50 mins
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 18
Calories 110 kcal

Ingredients
  

Dry

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour sifted
  • ½ cup flour sifted
  • ½ cup wheat bran
  • 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground all spice
  • ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt

Liquid

  • 1 eggs
  • 1 large banana mashed - approximately ½ cup
  • ½ cup low fat milk
  • ¼ cup brown sugar packed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Lumpy Good Stuff

  • 1 ½ cups grated carrot
  • 8 ounce crushed pineapple in 100% pineapple juice
  • ½ cup raisins
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 20 grams walnuts - approximately 2 tablespoons chopped into chocolate chip size pieces

Nut Topping

  • 2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons finely diced walnuts
  • 2 teaspoons softened butter

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375F degrees and spray muffin tins with non-stick spray or line with paper muffin cups.
  • Sift the dry ingredients together into a medium bowl, add the salt after sifting.
  • In a medium bowl use a fork to lightly combine the "lumpy good stuff"
  • In a large bowl mash together the egg and banana then whisk in the remaining liquid ingredients.
  • Fold the dry ingredients into the liquid batter ½ at a time. The batter will be sticky.
  • Add the "lumpy good stuff" in three large scoops. Mixing each scoop into the bater before adding the next one. Final batter will be very moist.
  • Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins by the heaping tablespoonful. Fill each cup about ⅔ full.
  • Use a fork to mash together the nut topping and sprinkle a bit over the top of each muffin.
  • Bake in preheated oven for between 25-30 minutes. Finished muffins will be moist but should not have gooey centers.
  • Allow to completely cool before serving. Cooling allows the flavors to develop more fully.

Notes

For a further reduced calorie muffin - omit the nuts in the batter and skip the topping.
Alternate Recipe for more "bready" muffins: Use an additional egg and increase the white flour to 1 cup.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 110kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 3gFat: 2gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 118mgFiber: 2gSugar: 9g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Good Morning Muffins! From diet disaster to yummy goodness.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. bearie1

    May 16, 2012 at 7:01 am

    I saw these muffins at Costco yesterday and looked at the calorie count. 480 per muffin. They quickly went back on the counter. Will try your recipe once I gather all the ingredients. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Our Lady of Second Helpings

      May 16, 2012 at 8:46 am

      Awesome! Way to be a savvy shopper!

      Reply
  2. jessleg

    April 27, 2012 at 11:36 am

    Thank you so much for this recipe! I just finished baking them and after wolfing down two I had to comment and tell you how much I enjoyed them. I made a few substitutions: I used 1 cup white and 1 cup spelt flour. The result was a more bready muffin but I like that. I also used 2 bananas and got a little over half a cup. Instead of crushed pineapple I used canned peaches, which are amazing in this muffin. I also added coconut in the batter and sprinkled on top. I love morning glory muffins and these are the best I've had. They left me feeling satisfied and not like I had a farmers market lump in my belly. I have found a new blog to subscribe, thank you so much! Also, I love the name.

    Reply
    • Our Lady of Second Helpings

      April 27, 2012 at 12:30 pm

      I love the adjustments you made to this recipe thank you so much for sharing them! I totally agree with your "lump in the stomach" when it comes to the traditional Morning Glory muffin. Happy baking!

      Reply
  3. Aimee

    April 27, 2012 at 5:36 am

    They look amazing.. have to try it next week.. Thanks for the lighter recipe

    Reply
    • Our Lady of Second Helpings

      April 27, 2012 at 8:32 am

      You are very welcome! Enjoy!

      Reply

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