Gluten-Free Morning Glory Muffins (Paleo)

For Day 18 of March Muffin Madness (MMM), we have Paleo Morning Glory Muffins from Jules “Julie” Mayfield and her bestseller Paleo Comfort Foods: Homestyle Cooking for a Gluten-Free Kitchen cookbook.

Paleo Morning Glory Muffins from Julie Mayfield (formerly Paleo Comfort Foods)

I have not chatted with Julie Mayfield since 2014, about the same time she gave me permission to share this recipe on gfe whenever I wished. Sadly, her previous Paleo Comfort Foods domain has been purchased by someone else. I believe she may have moved on to other endeavors outside the blogging and food worlds so to speak. I know that was only one facet of her life even when she had her blog.

Anyway, I wanted to explain why I’m not highlighting Julie’s site and social media information, etc. There is simply no such info to share.

Julie’s cookbooks still remain terrific ones and these Paleo Morning Glory Muffins are really wonderful and worth sharing!

The following is an excerpt of the introduction to these muffins that Julie shared on her blog at the time:

“This recipe was handed down to my mother shortly after our family moved to Tennessee in the early 1970s. She got it from our neighbor just up the street, Mrs. Marylee Roseberry, who was simply a gift to mankind. She was welcoming and had such a warm disposition. Honestly, I can’t tell you how much it meant to my mother to have Mrs. Marylee up the street. I spent countless hours at her house and she was quite the culinary guru.

My mother handed this recipe to me shortly after I graduated from college. I still have the one she passed on to me (a copy of the original recipe that Marylee wrote out for mother all those years ago). Obviously, I have had to make a few very small tweaks for our version to make it a bit more paleo/primal friendly.

Now, these are tasty and delicious. They are also something you shouldn’t be eating every day (think dessert or reward for a hard day’s work). That said, they are a great travel snack and have been just the thing to feed my 16-year old while he is working in the fields for my brother this summer. Bless his heart … I can’t shovel enough food in that boy at the moment. Now he has a travel-sized snack that won’t spoil in the heat of the day. Dylan was kind enough to give us a taste-testing endorsement on my recent trip to Tennessee.”

Personally, I first made these delicious muffins after I received a copy of Paleo Comfort Foods for review from the publisher when it was first released. I also made a couple of other recipes from this terrific cookbook—Basic Bread Loaf, Prosciutto and Asparagus Bundles, and Dad’s Famous Secret Dry Rub—and shared a quick review of the cookbook here during my Home for the Holidays event.

I took photos of those other recipes but somehow did not snap a photo of the muffins. Then or any time since when I have made these muffins.

I’d be sad about that if I were not actually glad I was too busy enjoying these muffins to take time to snap any pictures.

I took the time to photograph bread, asparagus, and dry-rubbed pork chops but repeatedly could not take time to photograph delightful muffins. I guess that tells you all you need to know about me and why I host MMM, right? 😊

Therefore, the photos of the Paleo Morning Glory Muffins in this post are the ones that are in the Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook and were provided to me by Julie Mayfield and Victory Belt Publishing in 2011.

By the way, I was curious how Morning Glory Muffins got their name. I found the answer in this article on Epicurious and it surprised me.

“Invented in 1978 by chef Pam McKinstry, who owned Nantucket’s Morning Glory Cafe, the original morning glory muffin contained grated carrots and apples, raisins, pecans, shredded coconut, and a hefty dose of cinnamon, all loosely held together by a fairly conventional American muffin batter. McKinstry’s recipe gained popularity across the United States after it was first published in Gourmet in 1981, in response to a reader’s request.”

While Julie’s version does not contain pecans, the base does happen to be almond flour. Still, I like to add pecans, walnuts, or sunflower seeds (in lieu of raisins) to these muffins myself, because I like that bit of added crunch and I will always pass on raisins. But that’s me.

This recipe is pretty versatile. Because it was actually on Julie Mayfield’s blog at one time, I have previously read comments from her readers sharing simple changes they have made. I have included some of that information in the notes for the recipe.

Incidentally, Julie shared a nut-free version of this recipe in her latest cookbook, Weeknight Paleo, which is also featured in today’s giveaway. You’ll want to read more below.

Paleo Morning Glory Muffins Recipe

Julie said: “This recipe wasn’t in any cookbook. Mom copied this one off the old sheet of paper that was passed down to her years ago. Obviously, I doctored it up a bit to make it gluten free. It has brought smiles to our household for years. I turned the muffins into mini loaves a few years back and gave them as Christmas presents to friends and neighbors. The batter for this recipe will be very thick. You may have to use a spoon or spatula to get it all in the muffin pan. Delicious!”

Yield: 12 muffins

Paleo Morning Glory Muffins

Print

Julie shared: “This recipe wasn’t in any cookbook. Mom copied this one off the old sheet of paper that was passed down to her years ago. Obviously, I doctored it up a bit to make it gluten free. It has brought smiles to our household for years. I turned the muffins into mini loaves a few years back and gave them as Christmas presents to friends and neighbors. The batter for this recipe will be very thick. You may have to use a spoon or spatula to get it all in the muffin pan. Delicious!”

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 large apple; peeled, cored and grated (see notes)
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup raisins (see notes for substitution options)
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons honey (optional)
• 1/2 cup coconut or olive oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees and grease a standard-sized muffin pan.
2. Combine almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Add carrot, apple, coconut and raisins and combine well.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, honey, oil, and vanilla extract together.
4. Pour the wet mixture over the dry ingredients and mix very well. The batter will be very thick.
5. Spoon the batter out into muffin pan and place on upper or middle rack of your oven for 40-50 minutes.
6. When a toothpick inserted into the top of a muffin comes out clean, the muffins are done.
7. Cool muffins in the pan for 8-10 minutes and then remove to a rack to finish cooling.

Notes

Shirley here:

This recipe is pretty flexible. Don’t care for raisins? You can substitute chopped dates, dried cranberries, prunes, or currants. I have always substituted a cup of nuts or seeds---walnuts, pecans, or sunflower seeds---for the raisins.

Short on carrots? Sub in some shredded zucchini (blot with a paper towel before adding to batter).

If you don’t have a large apple, use a pear. Or you can use a mixture of the two, enough to equal the same amount as a large apple.

Some orange zest can also be added for a bit of a citrus flavor.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

Today’s MMM Prizes

All giveaways are now closed. Thanks to all who participated!

~ Cookbooks

~ Paleo Comfort Foods: Homestyle Cooking for a Gluten-Free Kitchen (one winner; sponsored by gfe)

No matter our way of eating, most of us want comfort foods. You can read a few of my thoughts above and my review of this cookbook from Julie Mayfield here but you can also consider this Paleo Morning Glory Muffin recipe sort of a review on its own. If you like the looks of these muffins, you’ll like this cookbook!

Need more enticement? Maryland Crab Cakes, Fried Chicken, Sausage Balls, Pumpkin Pancakes, Spicy Chicken Wings, Chocolate Coconut Pudding, and Luscious Lemon Squares.

~ Weeknight Paleo: 100+ Easy and Delicious Family-Friendly Meals (one winner; sponsored by gfe)

This book is the latest one from Julie Mayfield. It’s all about super easy and quick meals. BBQ Meatloaf Roll, Shrimp and Grits, Kung Pao Chicken, Chile Colorado, Green Enchiladas, Mushroom Rice Casserole, Flourless Chocolate Mini Cakes, and Lemon Curd Bites are just some of the popular recipes included. Plus, this cookbook contains a new nut-free version of these Morning Glory Muffins! (You can access it by using the “Look Inside” feature on Amazon and searching on Morning Glory Muffins.)

~ Baking/Cooking Ingredient

~ Nutiva Organic Coconut Oil (15 ounces) (one winner; sponsored by gfe)

I like all of Nutiva’s products. You can use this coconut oil in today’s muffin recipe and much more!

Grand Prize Giveaway

All giveaways are now closed. Thanks to all who participated!

Originally published March 30, 2023; updated April 8, 2023.

Free Email Updates to gfe Please enter all required fields Correct invalid entries