Carrot, Apple & Pear Spiced Muffins

We decided to bake up some muffins.   I had bought a huge bag of carrots, apples and pears.  So I thought I should use what I have!  I adapted a recipe I use often to fit the ingredients I had on hand.  I wanted to shred 4 cups of garnish; apple, pear and carrot.  This worked out about 2 pieces each.   

Aubrey mixed this up.

We threw in  about 3/4 cup of toasted coconut we had left over from another recipe.  I always love when I can use up leftovers!

 We zested one orange using our microplane and Aubrey juiced it using our handy juicer.  Those would be great stocking stuffers; people don't think of picking either of those items up for them selves and they are great kitchen tools.

 We incorporated this well and set this bowl of garnish aside.

 In our mixer we put 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 cup of whole wheat flour, & 1 cup of brown sugar.

 We added 2 tsp of baking soda, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of nutmeg and a dash of all spice.

 We turned our mixer on low and allowed all the ingredients to mix well before adding our wet ingredients.

 To this we measured 3/4 cup of canola oil to add...which we spilt on the counter as it was being added and ended up running out of oil altogether.  So I gave her a peach fruit sauce to add which fell in the mixer.  This is Aubrey scooping the cup out of the mixer!  This is the fun that happens while baking with my almost 3-year old.  Trying to pass along a no-worries approach to cooking to her and just having fun being together.

 To this we added four eggs....Aubrey actually cracked these herself; with my help of course!  She was very proud of herself.

 At this point we mixed the batter with the paddle and made sure everything was incorporated well but didn't whip it too hard.  It should be pretty thick at this point; the garnish adds a lot of moisture to this recipe.

 I quickly mixed in the garnish we had set aside.

 Aubrey added about a teaspoon of vanilla.

 This is probably her favourite job; separating the muffin liners.

 She sang me a song while I filled the muffin cups.

 This recipe made 18 muffins.  This is a perfect amount for one recipe.  Enough to freeze, eat and share!

 

 375F for 22 minutes.  They rose beautifully and smelt delicious! 

For all of those moms out there trying to "get things done" this busy Christmas season I encourage you to take the time to spill some ingredients with your kids!  If I had made these muffins alone I would of probably been done a half hour quicker, my counter wouldn't have  had oil spilt all over it and my kitchen floor wouldn't be lined with cinnamon but I would of missed the memories I gained.  I need to slow down, be present and take time in; really cherish it.