Low Fat, Whole Wheat, Carrot Muffins

This recipe is fantastic. I wrote it down while watching the Food Network. You might remember I blogged about it last year. It is just so good, I had to share it again... this time with pics!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (you can find this next to the flour on the baking aisle...it can be added to any cookie or pastry)

1/2 cup of regular flour (if you use all whole wheat flour it tastes too grainy, but if you use only white flour, you loose out on getting the wheat in your diet!)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg OR allspice

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 finely shredded carrots (if you toss them in flour before putting them in the batter they won't sink to the bottom!)

Muffin Directions:

Cream canola oil, brown sugar and eggs. Combine dry ingredients and slowly add to wet ingredients along with applesauce, vanilla and carrots. Fill muffin pans and cook for 10-12 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Frosting Ingredients:
4 oz. Neufchatel Cheese (just like cream cheese but 1/3 less fat...you can find it next to the cream cheese in the dairy aisle)

3/4 cup confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

Frosting Directions:
Beat Cheese and lemon zest and slowly add in confectioners sugar until creamy. (because the cheese has 1/3 less fat this icing will be a tenny bit runnier than regular cream cheese icing so don't be alarmed by it's texture) Wait until muffins cool before icing. This frosting is fantastic over pound cake, too!

These muffins really are great! Even my picky hubby likes them!

Give them a try and let me know what you think.

ENJOY!