Warm with cardamom and nutmeg with a hint of orange, these muffins will be a bit of luxury on Christmas morning. Applesauce cuts down on the fat to make them a little healthy, too! I like to add some coarse sugar on the tops to make them crunchy and sweet. You can measure out and whisk the dry ingredients together the night before so in the morning all you have to do in the morning is mix in the wet ingredients and bake.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
5 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 orange (you need the zest, then cut it in 1/2 and juice it to have approximately 3 tbsp juice)
1 1/2 cups fresh/frozen blueberries
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup skim milk
Pre-heat oven to 400 F.
Combine the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom, nutmeg, and orange zest in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, applesauce, orange juice, and skim milk. Pour into the flour mixture and stir gently until just barely combined. Fold in blueberries.
Divide batter among paper lined muffin cups. It will feel like you are filling them too full, but it's okay. They rise up nicely!
Bake 22-25 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then transfer to rack to cool.
Makes 12
Printer-friendly version