CARROT AND ORANGE MUFFINS

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled plus some for greasing tins
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 cup dark raisins or chopped dates
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 large carrot
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh orange juice

Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F. Liberally grease 12 standard muffin-tin wells with butter or line them with paper liners.

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and allspice into a large bowl. Add the raisins or dates and the pecans, if using, and stir them in until they are coated with the flour mixture.

Using a vegetable peeler or paring knife, peel the carrot. On the fine holes of a hand-held grater, grate the carrot to measure 1/2 cup. Place in a smaller bowl and add the milk, melted butter, orange zest, egg, grated carrot, and orange juice. Stir until well mixed.

Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir together with a fork just until the dry ingredients are moistened. The batter will be lumpy, as it should be. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin-tin wells, filling them two-thirds full.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean, 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a rack or countertop. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sweet carrots and tart-sweet oranges have an affinity for each other that is further highlighted by the addition of raisins or dates, either in salads or, as here, in muffins. Spread and swirled with buttercream, these make dessert cakes; if left plain, they can be breakfast muffins.

Makes 12 muffins
Source: Down to Earth by Georgeanne Brown