Carrot-Cornbread Muffins

I recently had a surplus of carrots in my refrigerator: my own nearly full bag plus another from a friend who just left town for about a month. And, as I am cooking for one these next few weeks, I knew I couldn't use them all up quickly enough as part of my main meals.

So, I decided to do a bit of baking. The last time I baked with carrots, I was not overly pleased with the result, but I am happy to say that this time was an overall success. I think it helped that I grated the carrots on the very fine side instead of the coarser side, even though it was not an enjoyable task.

I chose to make muffins, as they are slightly healthier, and I based them on this Martha Stewart recipe: Carrot and Dried-Currant Muffins. However, I used raisins instead of currants and cinnamon in lieu of cardamom (because I didn't have any).

My biggest alteration to the recipe, though, was substituting about 1/2 cup cornmeal for 1/2 cup flour. I had no real reason to do so, except that I thought it might be tasty, which it was. The muffins are not too sweet and a bit cornbread-esque, though I think I could've added just a bit more spice.

Once I had combined all the ingredients, I was surprised by the consistency of the batter. It seemed like the proportion of carrot to flour/sugar/oil mixture was too carrot-heavy, but once the muffins are baked, they are just fine.