Little Miss Muffin

There is one food that has often taunted me, yet remains just out of reach. It seems so simple, so sweet, so elusive. I am talking about the muffin. Not just any muffin, but a crusty-topped, huge, moist, bakery-worthy muffin. You know what I'm taking about, I'm sure. It is mostly a texture issue. Most homemade muffins are gummy on top and small, with a top that is barely a hill rather than a mountain peak.

Another issue I have is that most muffins are really just a cupcake without icing, with no nutritional value and full of fat and calories. I have made a myriad of too-healthy muffins that are dense and dry. So, I have come up with a solution that is easy, fast, somewhat more healthy, way lower in fat, and the flavor possibilities are endless.

This started with a weight watchers recipe that has been tweaked a bit.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

1 box spice cake mix
1 can of pure pumpkin
1/2 cup of applesauce
3 egg whites
****
Just stir it all together and dollop into a muffin pan (with or without liners). It should make approximately 24 muffins. Bake at 325 for dark or non-stick pans (350 for glass or shiny metal) for 17-25 minutes or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.

****At a brunch I cooked recently, I added a third cup of white chocolate chips and a third cup of cinnamon chips, plus some quick streusel topping. It took these things way over the top and is worth the extra calories.
*Chocolate mini-chips are great in these as well, as would be raisins or nuts.

Streusel Topping:

1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. chopped pecans or walnuts
Combine all ingredients and sprinkle over top the muffins before baking

Recently, I did a similar recipe for Banana Spice Muffins:

1/2 box spice cake mix
3 over-ripe bananas, mashed but a little lumpy (kids love doing this)
1/2 cup applesauce
2 egg whites

Same instructions as above, except makes 12 muffins.


Now, I know this is cheating, but these are 1-2 weight watchers points and are super-fast. My kids even eat these. I promise a more gourmet recipe next time. By the way, you could totally do this with other cake mixes, fruits, veggies and toppings. I'm thinking about chocolate cake mix with pumpkin, spice cake mix with zuccini, carrots and spice cake, and on and on. I have lots of other cake mix tricks, but that will be another post.