Whole Wheat Cinnamon Muffins (Sugar-free)

The Orange Yogurt muffins I made were such a hit with my husband that I wanted to modify the recipe to make a cinnamon version. This was slightly tricky because I didn't want to use yogurt and there would be no juice involved. To make up for the loss of these other liquids, I decided to use milk soured with vinegar (essentially, a buttermilk substitute). I was concerned that this might make the batter too moist, but here was the recipe I tried:

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Muffins (sugar-free):

• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 medium egg
• 3/4 cup plus one tbsp. low-fat milk
• 1 tbsp. vinegar
• 1 tbsp. Canola oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup granular Splenda (or use sugar)
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon (yes, lots!)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I used whole wheat bread flour)
• 1 tbsp. baking powder

Add the vinegar to the milk and stir. Set aside and allow to rest for several minutes. Whisk the applesauce, egg, oil vanilla, cinnamon, Splenda, milk and vinegar mixture (or use buttermilk), and salt together. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and gently stir until all of the flour is moistened. Allow the batter to rest for 15-30 minutes. This allows the larger grains of whole wheat flour to absorb the moisture and creates a lighter muffin. 

Grease the bottoms and lower sides of 6 muffin tins while the batter rests. Just before you are ready to spoon the batter into the tins, add the baking powder and stir until well-blended (and no more). If you stir too much, you will overwork the gluten in the flour and have tough muffins. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F./190 degrees C. Spoon the batter into the tins and sprinkle the tops with a little more cinnamon if desired. They should be about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the tins for about 15 minutes and then finish cooling them on a rack. If necessary, run a butter knife around the edges to loosen them.

These turned out quite well in terms of texture. Though they were a bit sweet for my tastes, my husband likes things sweeter than I and these were made with him in mind more so than me. I had mine plain, but I think they'd be super with butter as a substitute for a slice or two of whole wheat toast at breakfast.

I'm not sure what, if anything, I'd change on a repeat making. Even though I put a lot of cinnamon in them, I thought it could have been stronger, and I'm thinking perhaps a few pinches of other spices might add more depth to the flavor (nutmeg, allspice, or clove). I left the extras out this time because I wanted to give both the vanilla and cinnamon a chance to shine. They were fine, of course, but I think I'll at least add nutmeg next time. I think that probably the quantity of liquid is fine as is, but they may benefit a little from a bit less.

Each muffin is 167 calories.

by Shari (Orchid64)