I haven’t posted in a few days, maybe a week? It’s been awhile. I started writing this post on the 7th, but got distracted by all the snow. I sat down crossed legged on the couch and pulled a fuzzy blanket over my legs. Grabbed my laptop, downloaded my pictures from baking, pulled up my blog and attached a picture of the muffins. Then I looked outside and my mind went blank. All I could think of was being outside in the snow. I closed my laptop, threw the blanket off of me, put on my snow boots, grabbed my jacket and slipped my hands in my mittens while I was halfway out the door, heading into the winter snow. I have been outside in the snow ever since, except coming inside to sleep in my warm cozy bed.

I live in Portland, and we rarely get snow, however these past few days we had a big snow storm. It’s been the best days of my life. I miss the snow, the white blanket that gently coats everything, turning the world into a winter wonderland. I built a snowman yesterday, a big one. Ran around in the snow having my dog chase me. She never gets let off the lease, but when it snows, you HAVE to let your dog run around in it. And that is what we did. She loved it, dove into the drifts of snow, bury her nose in it, spreading her front legs out sliding into piles of snow while catching snow balls I threw at her. It was adorable to watch, I couldn’t stop laughing.

The first day it snowed I came inside and made these muffins. They were a perfect snack after playing outside for hours. There is something about making baked goods with carrots. One of my favorite desserts is carrot cake, I have it every year for my birthday. In fact my birthday is in about 3 weeks and I’m working on a raw gluten free carrot cake! Yum…

These muffins are delicious, and making them mini is perfect. One because they are adorable, two it’s a perfect little snack. Plus you don’t feel as guilty eating 3 of them since they are small. Now eating 3 normal sized muffins, a little guilt happens. But these are guilt free and healthy! How perfect is that?

INGREDIENTS: Makes 30 mini muffins

• 1 cup organic almond flour
• 4 tablespoon organic brown rice flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 6 tablespoons organic unrefined coconut oil, melted
• 6 tablespoons organic maple syrup
• 2 large organic eggs, at room temp
• 1 cup grated organic carrots
• 1/3 cup organic raisins

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line 2, 12 mini muffin tins with paper liners.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, maple syrup and eggs. Add the flour mixture and stir until evenly combined.
• Mix in the carrots and raisins.
• Using a small spoon, fill the prepared muffins tins, almost full. Bake for 15-18 minutes until light golden and the center springs back when lightly pressed in the center. Let them cool for 3-5 minutes in the pan. Transfer to a wire rack and let them cool completely. Then enjoy! I of course popped mine into the freezer for a surprise frozen treat!