INGREDIENTS
1½ cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp black pepper
⅛ tsp clove
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, separated
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup carrot, shredded
1 tbsp chia seeds
½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
Zest of 1 orange
¼ cup walnuts or pecans, optional
¼ cup dried cranberries, optional
¼ cup white chocolate chips, optional
Old fashioned oats for sprinkling
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together the first eight ingredients with a sieve. Mix in the sugars until well combined.
In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks. Mix in the maple syrup, vanilla extract, and orange zest. Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the bananas, carrots, applesauce, and any of the other optional ingredients.
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold into the batter, about a third at a time.
Using a quarter cup, fill each cupcake liner with batter and sprinkle with old fashioned oats. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
