Parsnip Muffins

These muffins are SO good!  I've had the recipe forever.  It's another one out of our newspaper.  When The Girl and I made them this morning, we both ended up eating our weight in them.  Hey, they have veggies in them, so they're good for you, right?

Here's the recipe with my notes:

Parsnip Muffins

1 C veggie oil
1 1/2 C sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
3 eggs
8 oz (1 C) shredded parsnips
2 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 C buttermilk
1 C toasted chopped walnuts (I used pecans)
1 C chopped dried apricots

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour muffin tins or fill with paper liners.

In a large bowl beat the oil, sugar and vanilla until creamy.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well and scraping down the bowl after each egg.  Add grated parsnips.

In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Stir a third of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, then stir in half of the buttermilk.  Sir in half of the remaining dry ingredients and the rest of the buttermilk, finishing with the last of the dry ingredients.  Add nuts and apricots and mix until just combined.  Fill muffin tins two-thirds full.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and tops spring back when lightly touched.  Cool for 5 minutes in pan, then transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

The recipe says it makes 20 to 24 muffins.  I got 18 regular and 24 minis.

Here they are at my house:

Click here to see how I turned them into animals for a fun kid snack.