a healthier muffin.

...I'll put the disclaimer up front - the recipe that follows is based off of one from paula deen. healthier is all about the context!

I've had practice with substituting. the carrot ring recipe that is a star on our thanksgiving table was "rewritten" (a nod to sara's post that I'm putting that word in quotes :-) when I first learned about taking unnecessary sugar and fat out of recipes. but this recipe from paula didn't have eggs or shortening. instead it had two cups of sugar and two sticks of butter. I read through the reviews on the food network site and loved the idea to substitute vanilla yogurt for butter+sugar. another nod to health, I also sub'd some whole wheat flour. I'm not sure how my recipe works out in terms of numbers, except that it makes 24 full sized muffins. that keep great in the freezer - I pull out one each morning and microwave it for 45 seconds. it's a delicious breakfast.

healthier apple muffins
adapted from paula deen
makes 24 full-sized muffins

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 cups grated apples (2 apples, peeled, cored and grated coarsely on the box grater - I've used granny smith and fiji and both have worked fine)
1 cup raisins
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
6 oz nonfat vanilla yogurt
1 cup chopped nuts, optional (I've made these with no nuts and with pecans and they've been great both times - paula's recipe calls for walnuts - I say, your choice!)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. grease 24 full-sized muffin tins (or line with papers).

combine water, sugar, apples, raisins, cranberries, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in a saucepan over medium high heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. remove the pan from the heat and cool completely (30 minutes or so?) stir in the yogurt.

in a large bowl, stir the nuts and baking soda into the flour, add the cooled liquid mixture to the bowl and stir until blended. fill muffin tins. bake for 15 minutes.