Apple Cinnamon Muffins -- New Recipe!

Did you know there’s such a thing as “too apple-y?” According to the kids, that was the problem with version one of this recipe. The truth is, this recipe took three versions to get it to the level of “blog-worthy.” It’s ok, though, because I get so excited about researching, experimenting and perfecting the recipes to be the perfect balance of healthy and tasty that I often can’t think about anything else. Is that weird?

Taylor: “Jenny, what are we doing tomorrow?”
Me: “Baking apple muffins! Yay!”
Taylor: (sigh) “Again? How many do we really need?” (There were at least 36 already cooling on the counter.)
Me: “OK, then let’s eat these.”
Taylor: “They’re too apple-y.”

I rest my case. The Apple Cinnamon muffin recipe simply had to be refined. It wasn’t blog-worthy…yet. The first batch was too apple-y and the second batch was too dense. Not what I was after.

Evidently, there are several schools of thought when it comes to making muffins. My research was pretty much split 50/50 between people who preferred the “muffin method” and those who favored the “cake method.” The difference is this – for the muffin method, you combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ones in another. Combine them, stir to just mix, and bake immediately. For the cake method, you cream the fat and sugar, add the eggs, and then add the liquid and flour alternately. Since I use applesauce instead of shortening, “creaming” doesn’t work as well. So this time, I went for the muffin method….which is so much easier anyway!

These muffins are quick and easy, and they are perfect for apple season. They remind me a little bit of apple pie, but they are so much lighter! This recipe makes 12-18 muffins, depending on how full you fill the muffin cups. I prefer larger ones, so I’m not tempted to eat two. The recipe makes 18 muffins at 90 calories each or 12 muffins at 135 calories each. Either way, they’re a perfect, light breakfast. They just taste like autumn. Yum!

Apple Cinnamon Muffins
(makes 12-18)

1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg, beaten
1 cup skim milk
2 medium sweet-crisp apples (like Gala, Fuji, Jonagold, etc.), diced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine all dry ingredients (through baking powder) in a large mixing bowl. Mix to distribute. Mix applesauce, egg and milk in a separate bowl. Peel, core and dice apples. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Fold in diced apples. Immediately fill muffin cups. I fill them 2/3 full for smaller muffins or almost to the top for larger ones. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few crumbs. Enjoy!

Me (to my boss): “So, how was your weekend?”
Steve: “It was great – I biked 30 miles, went to the Darius Rucker concert, and then caught some live tennis on Sunday. How was yours? Did you and Keith do anything fun?”
Me: “Yes! We painted the bookshelves, helped Courtney with her book report and made six batches of muffins! ”
Steve (with an eye roll): “You guys really need to get out more.”

Perhaps he has a point.

The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html. It's a perfect holiday gift!

Go ahead, flaunt that muffin top!

OK, I know what you must be thinking...but I didn't mean it that way! The term "muffin top" has developed a bad reputation of late, due in part to the increasing popularity of the hip-hugging skinny jean. With only the skinniest of skinny able to wear them, it's no wonder the rest of the world experiences some some spill-over.

This season makes me crave comfort food like no other season. But I want to wear my favorite jeans, body-skimming sweaters and cute boots without looking like I'm stuffed into them -- or coming out over the top!

At some point over the past few years, bakery muffins got bigger. You may still own a standard-sized muffin tin, but you'll be hard pressed to find a standard sized muffin at your regular breakfast place, bakery or coffee house. Instead, you'll find giant, crumb-topped masterpieces that are sure to ruin any diet. In fact, you could have two doughnuts for the same calories as that muffin -- not that you should! While a muffin may seem like the healthier choice with its fruit and nut-filled goodness, don't be fooled!

I'm left with only one option, since I'm craving a muffin -- reinvent comfort foods! Hopefully this will become a series for fall, as I already have some ingenious recipes planned. The first, however, is one of my favorites -- my mom's blueberry muffins, reconfigured.

Let's get one thing straight. My mom is a wonderful cook and she's always kept a keen eye towards feeding us healthy food. She's my inspiration! Where she doesn't use substitutions to make the ingredients healthier, she is always careful to keep portions to a reasonable size. I've taken her recipe for this standard-sized muffin and made just a couple tweaks to make it even lighter! I hope you love it as much as we do -- this is one muffin top you can be proud of! And they're so easy, the kids whip them up by themselves on a regular basis!

Mom's Blueberry Muffins
Makes 1 dozen

1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar OR 1/2 cup stevia-based granular sweetener
2 cups flour (all purpose or whole wheat)
3 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg beaten
1 cup milk (skim or lowfat)
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not thaw)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine dry ingredients, cut in applesauce (it will give you a texture like meal, as cutting in a fat would), combine beaten egg with milk and turn liquids into the batter. Stir vigorously for about a minute, then fold in blueberries. Using a long-handled 1/4 cup measure, fill muffin cups (greased with cooking spray or lined with muffin cups) 2/3 full. Lightly sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes in the center of the oven until the tops start to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Play with the ingredients and see what you like! Using regular sugar in this recipe yields a muffin with about 150 calories and virtually no fat (just what's in the milk and egg). Using a sweetener instead of sugar cuts the calories in each muffin down to 100. Try it with both kinds of flour and see what you like -- the whole wheat will keep you feeling fuller longer! What I can tell you is that I've played with the combinations and one thing is certain -- you'll end up with a delicious, crackly-topped muffin that pairs perfectly with your morning coffee.

Enjoy!

The Svelte Gourmet: A Month of Main Courses cookbook is available at www.thesveltegourmet.com/products.html.

New Recipe! "You won't be puffin' when you eat this muffin."

Act One, Scene One -- Saturday morning breakfast showdown:

Courtney (9): "What's for breakfast?"
Me (29ish): "I don't know, what do you want?"
Courtney: "Coffee."
Me: "Ha! OK, and with your coffee? How about something good for you?"
Courtney: (sigh, followed by eye roll) "Can I have a ham sandwich?"
Me: "For breakfast? OK, I guess, but only if you eat it on whole-grain bread."
Courtney: "Ew, Jenny, please no." (another eye roll)
Keith: "You know, Court, the sugars in white bread are just like eating a piece of cake. Your body can't tell the difference." (I LOVE it when he quotes me...hee hee...this is starting to catch on!)
Courtney: "Ahhh, Daddy! OK, fine."

OK, here we go. It's make it or break it time. I mean, I know this bread tastes good. But it has actual, visible "thingies" (a.k.a. grains) in it. Even Keith is tough when it comes to the whole grain bread. She is looking very skeptical now.

Act One, Scene Two -- After a couple very timid bites...

Me: "See, it's sweet, right?"
Courtney: "It sort of tastes like honey...but I still don't like it."
Me: "Why? You like honey!"
Courtney: "Um...well...Jenny, I'm only eating it because I'm really hungry."
Me: "Yeah right! You MUST like it. You've eaten the whole sandwich without an argument."
Courtney: "Well I admit it tasted good. Just not VERY good."

I don't care what anybody says, I'm considering this a Svelte Gourmet victory. Especially since she asked for the same sandwich again for lunch on Sunday! Yippee! But if you can believe it, Saturday got even better.

Taylor (15): "Jenny, is there a way to make muffins healthy? Can we bake some?"

Um....are you kidding?! Is the Pope Catholic? Of course we can bake healthy muffins! OK, not only is Courtney eating whole grain bread without a fight, but Taylor is asking to make healthy muffins. Could life get any better? Not for me. But again, it's go time. Act fast, before she loses interest!

Me: (on the phone) "Mom, quick! I need the recipe for Grandma's bran muffins. The yummy ones she used to make all the time. Can you email it to me? ....yes, Taylor....I KNOW....yes, Court ate whole grain bread.....I KNOW!" (Yes, my mother gets just as excited as I do over this stuff -- she's my inspiration! Keith and my dad just roll their eyes. There seems to be a lot of eye rolling going on around here lately...)

So as you can probably tell, Keith and the kids helped me out with the title of today's blog post -- they're really embracing the Svelte Gourmet philosophy! Taylor and I had a great time baking these muffins, and as usual, I had a great time playing around with the ingredients to make them even healthier.

These muffins are mostly my grandmother, partly my mother, partly me, and partly Taylor. The combined result is a rich, subtly sweet, tasty and nutritious muffin that can be breakfast, a snack, or dessert. We ate these all weekend and I don't feel the least bit guilty. This recipe replaces white flour with whole wheat flour, oil with applesauce, and white sugar with honey, which is sweeter, more nutritious and lower on the glycemic index! I plugged the entire recipe into my Calorie Counter and divided by the servings (it makes approximately 32 muffins!) and even I was astounded. Virtually no fat (just whatever is in the milk and eggs you use), about 100 calories each, and around 3.5 grams of fiber in each one! Yay fiber! These muffins are NOT your average "cupcake" disguised as breakfast. These are actually good for you -- and they really do taste great!

Raisin Honey Bran Muffins

3 cups bran cereal (such as All Bran Original), divided
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt

3 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup honey
2 cups buttermilk (or 2 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice mixed with milk to equal 2 cups -- I use 2%)
2 eggs
1 cup seedless raisins

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine 1 cup of the cereal with boiling water and applesauce. Mix well and set aside.
Combine flour, salt, baking soda and remaining 2 cups of cereal. Add honey, milk and eggs. Mix well. Stir in cereal/water/applesauce mixture and raisins.
Spoon batter into greased muffin tins, filling each cup 2/3 full (3/4 for larger muffins).
Bake for 15 minutes (17 minutes for larger muffins), one pan at a time. Cool in pan 10 minutes before placing muffins on cooling racks.

Smaller muffins (32 per recipe) have about 100 calories and 3.5 grams of fiber in each. Larger muffins (20 per recipe) have about 160 calories and 5 1/2 grams of fiber in each!

Overall, I think I've had another successfully svelte weekend. Courtney's eating whole grains, albeit hesitantly, and Taylor wants to learn to cook and eat healthier. I now have a batch of muffins that, with every bite, reminds me of my childhood -- my wonderful grandparents baking together in the kitchen, my beautiful mother teaching me to cook and planting the seed for a healthy lifestyle. Taylor suggested we add chopped pecans next time, and I love that she's interested in experimenting. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do! And remember, "you won't be puffin' when you eat this muffin!"