Carrot Ginger Bran Muffins

I like carrot muffins a lot. I like carrot cake even more, which is why I typically make a carrot cake-like muffins. This time I wanted to try something new, so I invented a new recipe more like a muffin we sometimes get at Peet's Coffee. The coffee shop muffin is a very dense and sticky carrot ginger muffin - I wanted something a little more fluffy and healthy.

In my recipe I used a lot of powdered ginger. Maybe too much for my taste, but I'm not the biggest fan of ginger in the first place. I also didn't use much oil since the carrots provide a lot of moisture. I think this muffin was a great accompaniment to tea or coffee but next time I might decrease the ginger to only 2 tsp. The texture was great and they were really fast to put together. I'm also a believer that these types of muffins get better with age (usually spiced muffins do) so hopefully the leftovers will be even better.

I forgot to take pictures before bringing them to work with me.... oops! They didn't last long with my ginger-loving co-workers so I'll leave it up to your imagination just this once.

Carrot Ginger Muffins

1 C wheat bran

1/2 C all purpose flour

3/4 C whole wheat flour

1/4 C brown sugar

1 1/4 C skim milk

1 egg

3 tbsp. canola oil

1 1/4 C carrots, shredded

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tsp ginger

Heat oven 400˚. Prepare a muffin tin with liners or baking spray. Combine all dry ingredients with a fork. Add shredded carrots to the dry ingredients and stir well. In another bowl, whisk together all liquid ingredients. Mix everything together until the batter is just moist. Don't overmix or the muffins will be tough. The batter will be thick. Spoon evenly into the muffin cups. Bake 15 minutes or until muffins rise and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.