Some nights I get quite a hankering for sweets. OK, who am I kidding? I have an over-active sweet tooth every night, it's only
some nights that I get off the couch and bake something :)
One recent night I decided to try out a healthy recipe to ease some of the damage. I chose the Joyful Heart Muffins from Naturally Thin by Bethenny Frankel {Full Disclosure: I am a total freak over the entire
Real Housewives franchise, I even blogged about my encounter with
NeNe back in November. And my copy of
Naturally Thin is signed :)}
Ingredients:
nonstick cooking spray -
I used Pam for Baking
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract -
I didn't have any, but I did have Disaronno
1 teaspoon canola oil -
I only had olive oil
3/4 cup oat flour -
I was in too much of a rush to grind oats so I just used bread flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of cinnamon
1/2 cup semisweet vegan chocolate chips -
vegan? uh, I just used nestle
In one bowl combine the wet ingredients plus the sugar and allow the sugar crystals to dissolve:
My version of almond extract:
In another bowl, sift together the rest of the ingredients {except the chips}:
Ok, so I whisked instead of sifting - I was in a rush to eat these suckers!!
Now combine the two bowls and the chips, too!
Get your oven to 375 degrees and grease your muffin tin. The recipe is designed to make 8 normal size muffins, but I wanted minis. I was given a tip years ago, that if you don't fill all the wells with batter you should fill the emptys with water to ensure even baking.
And here they are baked. I couldn't take this picture fast enough so I could get those suckers in my mouth.
They do have a different taste since there is no white sugar, butter or eggs, but they are still great! They are very dense and I thought they were more like a brownie than a muffin. And my hubby - who is ridiculously picky - ate and liked them.
