OH.MY.WORD....I tell you, I made these last night and within two hours they were gone....gone I tell you, not even a crumb left on the plate, just a poor little neglected torn apart cupcake liner.

Another great recipe from Taste of Home.




1 can (15 ounces) sliced carrots, drained
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon each ground allspice, cloves and nutmeg
egg
1/3 cup canola oil
FILLING:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar


Place carrots in a food processor; cover and process until smooth.


In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and spices.


In a small bowl, whisk the pureed carrots, egg and oil;


stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened.


Fill 12 greased muffin cups one-third full.


In a small bowl, beat the filling ingredients until smooth. Drop by tablespoonfuls into the center of each muffin.


Top with remaining batter.
Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 1 dozen.

These are going to be added to the Teacher Gifts tomorrow. It's the end of the school year for us and my gifts are all apple themed, so this recipe fit right in.





* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup butter
* 1 cup white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla
* 1 1/2 cups chopped apples
* 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 tablespoon butter


1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan.

2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar and eggs until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Stir in apples, and gradually blend in the flour mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan.


4. In a small bowl, mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is like coarse crumbs.


Sprinkle over tops of mixture in muffin pan.



5. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to sit 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan. Cool on a wire rack.

Here's what is for breakfast this morning, the kids absolutely love them.



Ingredients:

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 3 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup milk
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* TOPPING:
* 1/4 cup butter, melted
* 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.


In another bowl, beat the eggs, milk, oil, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.


Into each greased muffin cup, spoon 1 teaspoon butter, 1 teaspoon brown sugar and 1 heaping tablespoon of pecans. Top each with 1/4 cup of batter.


Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until muffins test done. Invert pan onto a piece of foil. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove pan. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.

I love these, they are easy and quick to make and taste wonderful....and the smell of that orange and cranberry coming from the house, is enough to make anyone salivate :)




Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 tbsp. baking powder
1/3 tsp. salt
5 tbsp. butter, melted
2/3 cup orange juice
3 eggs
1 tbsp. grated orange peel
1/3 cup dried cranberries or 6 oz. fresh cranberries
1 11 oz. can mandarin oranges

Instructions:

If using dried cranberries, soak overnight in juice from mandarin oranges.

Combine dry ingredients. Melt butter and whisk in eggs. Stir in orange juice and orange peel and beat well. Stir liquid into dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Add drained cranberries and mandarin oranges. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.