Sweet Potato Muffins

I had an extra sweet potato lying around so I used it to make these muffins. I made mini muffins so that I can send them to school with my son in his lunch, but they'll work as regular size muffins as well. What I love about these is that sweet potato really is the main ingredient! The batter looks like grated sweet potato coated with muffin batter. And they're super yummy, of course.

This recipe comes from Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons.

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup canola or corn oil (I used canola)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour (I used soft white wheat flour, but I think others would work just as well. The original recipe calls for unbleached white flour, which would also be fine.)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (if you use white flour, use only 2 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or use a heaping teaspoon of nutmeg from a spice jar)
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large sweet potatoes (about 1 1/3 pounds), peeled and finely grated, to make 4 cups
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Coat with cooking spray a tin or tins to hold twelve regular muffins, or 48 mini muffins. (I often do half regular and half mini, so six regular muffins and 24 mini muffins.)

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar oil, vanilla and eggs.

3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, spices, salt, and grated sweet potatoes. Make a well in the center, and pour in the egg mixture. Stir in the egg mixture, gradually incorporating it with the flour mixture. (Note: This batter is very stiff and will require some work to incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry. Don't give up!) Stir in the raisins and walnuts. Spoon the batter into the tins. Here's what the batter looks like in the tins:

I like to fill each tin to the rim to make a large cap (no, the batter doesn't overflow). Bake the muffins for 25 to 30 minutes (regular muffins) or 13-15 minutes (mini muffins) or until a wooden toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

4. Take the muffin tin(s) out of the oven. Run a knife carefully around each muffin, then invert the pan, and knock one edge against your work surface to release the muffins. Serve right away, or place on a rack to cool.