Start Off A Cool Morning With A Warm, Home-Baked Muffin

Crisp, cool mornings are sure to be even better when a warm muffin enhances your breakfast or midmorning snack. Serve it up with a cup of hot cider, cocoa, coffee or tea for a warming morning minimeal.

Most muffins take only 15 minutes to assemble and 20 minutes to bake. All but the most pressured find it’s a simple matter to fit their preparation in among morning grooming activities.

To save time, premeasure ingredients the evening before. This simple step cuts morning prep time to about 5 minutes, plus baking. If your hectic schedule means you’re up and out of the house in 30 minutes or less, you may choose refrigerator muffins or bake your muffins ahead of time and freeze them.

Today’s first muffin celebrates autumn with its combination of pumpkin, cranberries and walnuts. This recipe, from the California Prune Board, uses pureed prune to reduce the amount of fat.

Look for prepared prune (dried plum) puree in the jam and jelly or baking section of the supermarket. Sunsweet Lighter Bake, made from dried apples and plums, is available in several area stores. You may also use baby food or make your own fruit puree or fruit butter.

To make prune puree at home, combine 1-1/3 cups (8 ounces) pitted prunes and 6 tablespoons of hot water in the container of a food processor. Pulse on and off until the prunes are finely chopped. This makes about 1 cup of puree. If desired, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to two months.

When using fruit puree as a fat substitute in favorite recipes, replace most of the butter, margarine or oil with half the amount of puree. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, use 1/2 cup of the puree and 1/4 cup of butter. You may also substitute skim milk for whole milk and 2 egg whites for each whole egg.

For best results, reduced-fat muffins and other baked items require slightly different treatment than full-fat products. The extensive creaming and mixing usually called for in full-fat recipes can often be reduced. Overmixing can produce a tough or gummy baked item.

Baking time is also critical. Underbaking produces a result that is too moist; overbaking produces extremely dry products. Bake at the minimum suggested time and temperature in the original recipe.

Reduced-fat baked goods are best served the day they are made. To store, place in an airtight container for a couple of days or seal and freeze for several days.

Pumpkin Harvest Muffins

2 cups flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/3 cup skim milk

1/4 cup prune puree

1 egg

3 tablespoons melted butter or margarine

1/2 cup chopped pitted prunes, dried cranberries or raisins

3 tablespoons chopped walnuts

1-1/2 tablespoons sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, for topping

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat 12 (2-3/4-inch, 1/3-cup capacity) muffin cups with vegetable cooking spray.

In a large bowl mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder, spice and salt to blend thoroughly. In another bowl combine pumpkin, milk, prune puree, egg and butter; stir to blend. Mix pumpkin mixture with flour mixture just until blended. Gently mix in prunes. Batter will be stiff.

Spoon batter into muffin cups, dividing equally. Sprinkle tops with walnuts and sugar mixture. Bake in center of oven about 20 minutes, just until springy to the touch and pick inserted into centers comes out clean.

Cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove to rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 1 dozen.

Nutrition information per muffin: 187 calories, 5 grams fat (24 percent fat calories), 26 milligrams cholesterol, 141 milligrams sodium, 33 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams fiber, 4 grams protein.

Refrigerator Bran Muffins

Adapted from “Jane Brody’s Good Food Book,” this make-ahead muffin batter allows you to have hot breakfast muffins ready for eating in just 20 minutes.

3 cups whole-bran cereal (All-Bran or Bran Buds)

1 cup boiling water

2 cups buttermilk

3 tablespoons butter, melted

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups whole-wheat flour

2-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt, optional

1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional

1 cup raisins or other chopped dried fruit, optional

In medium bowl, pour boiling water over whole-bran cereal; set aside to cool. When cool, stir in buttermilk.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until well blended. Beat in eggs, then mix in bran-buttermilk mixture.

Stir together dry ingredients. Add dry mixture to bran mixture, stirring just enough to combine. Add raisins or other dried fruits, if desired.

Sealed in an airtight container, this batter may be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.

When ready to bake, grease muffin tins well (or coat with vegetable cooking spray) and fill 2/3 full. Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes. Remove to cooling rack to cool slightly. These muffins are best served warm.

Yield: 36 small or 24 large muffins.

Nutrition information per each of 24 large muffins: 150 calories, 5 grams protein, 31 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams fat (18 percent fat calories), 5 grams fiber.

Honey Lime Oat Muffins

1 cup quick or old-fashioned oats, uncooked

1 (8-ounce) container plain nonfat or low-fat yogurt

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup skim milk

3 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted

2 teaspoons grated lime peel

2 egg whites, slightly beaten

1-1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt, optional

Glaze:

3/4 cup powdered sugar

4 teaspoons lime juice

1 teaspoon grated lime peel

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 medium muffin cups with paper baking cups, or coat bottoms only with vegetable cooking spray.

In large bowl, combine oats with yogurt, honey, milk, margarine and lime peel. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir in egg whites until blended.

Combine dry ingredients; stir to blend. Add to oat mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Fill muffin cups almost full. Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until light golden brown. Let muffins stand a few minutes; remove from pan. Cool slightly.

For glaze, combine powdered sugar, lime juice and peel; mix until smooth. Dip muffin tops in glaze.

Yield: 1 dozen.

Nutrition information per glazed muffin: 200 calories, 3 grams fat (14 percent fat calories), 37 grams carbohydrate, 1 gram fiber, 150 milligrams sodium, 4 grams protein.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: Have a food question? Looking for a recipe? Laura Carnie, a certified family and consumer scientist and food consultant in Coeur d’Alene, would like to hear from you. Write to Cook’s Notebook, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. As many letters as possible will be answered in this column; sorry, no individual replies.

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