Strawberry Muffins

It's that time of year again.  Strawberry time!  Here is a really good low calorie muffin made with fresh strawberries.  Very, very good!  Only 190 calories per muffin.  Enjoy!

Had to take pictures quickly...my son was begging me to eat them!

 2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 (6 oz) container of fat free yogurt (I used Chobani Greek brand fat free strawberry yogurt, but you can use any fat free brand...plain or strawberry)
1/4 cup sour cream (I used regular, but you could use fat free, etc)
1/4 cup oil
1 t. vanilla
1 cup fresh, chopped strawberries
~Preheat oven to 375 degrees
~Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl.
~Add chopped strawberries.
~Mix wet ingredients, add to dry ingredients. (the batter will be very thick)
~Spoon into greased muffin tin.
~Bake for 20-25 minutes.  (I started timing for 20 minutes and took them out...they were done)

Light, fluffy and very moist muffin.

Pumpkin muffins

I would have posted pictures of the actual muffins, but they are no longer available for documentation!! So, you'll just have to make these and see for yourself how amazing they are! (especially this time of year with a morning cup of coffee!)

Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree' (fresh or canned)
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons oil
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

~Spray 12 muffin baking pan with non-stick cooking oil.
~In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, oil, brown and white sugars, eggs and vanilla.
~Beat until well blended
~In a smaller bowl, combine all dry ingredients, including nuts. Blend well.
~Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.
~Stir only until blended. Do not overmix!
~Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan.
~Bake for 25 minutes.
~Cool for one minute, remove from pan.

(150 calories per muffin)

*Variation: You can bake this batter in a 13x9 greased pan and drizzle with a glaze for a more dessert-ish type result. Very good either way! (bake for 30 minutes, or until done)

Apple Muffins

1 peeled, tart apple, chopped small
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Mix milk, egg, oil and apple in a large bowl.
Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
Add dry ingredients to wet. Mix just until combined.

Grease muffin tin. Fill each about 3/4 full.

Topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Sprinkle topping on muffins before baking. Bake for 20 minutes.

These are a family favorite. Very good with a cup of tea. (you can see Wynne anxiously awaiting her muffin...)

Banana muffins

I don't know about you, but in this house, we have times where the bananas get brown pretty fast and nobody wants to eat them like that. So, either I peel them and freeze them three to a bag for future use, or I make my muffin/cake recipe. And cake and muffins NEVER last long in this house!



BANANA MUFFINS/CAKE (190 calories per muffin)

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large ripe bananas
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup oil

~Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

~In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients.

~In a smaller bowl, combine bananas, sugar, egg and oil.

~Stir banana mixture into flour mixture. Fill greased muffin tins 3/4 cup full. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from pan immediately.

*A richer version features the following brown sugar topping added before you bake muffins.
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon flour
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 Tablespoon butter
~combine first three topping ingredients; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over muffins and bake.

*You can also bake in a greased 13X9 baking dish and glaze or frost with vanilla icing. YUM. (try adding some chocolate chips to batter...)