Yield: 12 muffins
One way to lighten up muffins is to use pureed fruits (apples, prunes) and vegetables (squash) to make them sweet, moist and tender. These muffins from Golden Door use applesauce as a replacement for oil. With this delicious start to your day, you won’t miss the fat and calories!
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg (ground nutmeg will do)
- 1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup applesauce
- 1 Fuji or Gala apple, peeled, cored and diced
- 4 egg whites, lightly beaten
- ¾ cup honey
- ¾ cup raisins (or chopped dates)
- ½ cup nonfat plain yogurt
Procedure:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process the rolled oats until they become a fine flour.
- Sift the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the whole wheat flour and oats.
- Using a spatula, make a depression or “well” in the center of the dry ingredients and add the applesauce, diced apple, beaten egg whites, honey, raisins, and yogurt. Stir gently but thoroughly, just until all the flour is incorporated into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 full.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Turn onto a wire rack; serve warm or let cool.
Source: The Golden Door Cooks Light & Easy by Chef Michel Stroot
If you love apples and oatmea, this is the perfect muffin recipe. The texture is to write home about, as is the taste. It is heart healthy and even my husband loves these, although I didn’t tell them they were so heart healthy!