Carrot muffins with carrot butter "frosting": sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free

I got these rad silicone muffin cups for $7 off Amazon and thought they looked so "Easter-y," I had to make some carrot muffins.  I had grand visions of making bunny faces on them out of carrots and raisins, which I did, but they didn't turn out as cute as I imagined they would.  (Scroll to the bottom for a pic of the scary bunnies).

In my usual fashion, these are date-sweetened.  The muffins themselves are not that sweet.  It's the carrot "frosting" that really gives them their sweetness.  The "frosting" is on the soft side, so while you can frost them (I did), be aware that it can be a bit messy to eat ,especially for kids. The other option is to use the frosting more like a butter that you spread on just before eating.

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients 
5 medium carrots
8 dates
1 cup oats
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
5 Tbs coconut oil, divided
3 eggs
2 Tbs chia seeds (optional, but I do think they help the frosting set up a bit more)
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a muffin tin or grease well with coconut oil.

Wash and chop the carrots into rounds.  Place carrots and dates in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until the carrots are very soft. Strain, reserving some of the cooking water, about a 1/2 cup.

While the carrots are cooking, place oats in food processor or blender and process until finely ground. In a small bowl, combine oats with almond flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice and ginger and mix well.

Puree the cooled carrots and dates.  Add a small amount of water if necessary to get a nice smooth puree, but don't add more than 1/2 cup.  Add 1 cup of the carrot puree to a large mixing bowl and set the rest aside. To the mixing bowl, add 2 Tbs of the coconut oil and the eggs.  Whisk to combine. 

Add in the dry ingredients and mix well. Mix in the raisins.  

Divide batter into 12 muffins and bake 13-15 min (see note!) or until a knife comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for 10-15 min before removing to a wire rack.

NOTE!: The oven I had while testing this recipe ran HOT! Chances are you'll need to bake them for longer, 25-35 min. 

For the "frosting" 

In the food processor or with stick blender, puree the remaining carrot puree (about 1.5 cups - ish, depends on the size of your carrots) with the remaining 3 Tbs coconut oil and the chia seeds. Refrigerate until firm.  Wait until the muffins are completely cooled before frosting them.

As promised, the scary bunnies