Seattle Challenge # 1: sugar-less...

 

I've decided it's time to make my first appearance.  From the west coast...I present my first challenge: a sugar-free/less remix!  Melissa challenged me to take a run of the mill recipe and cut the sugar.  So I did.  I chose muffins because they are versatile enough to taste good without sugar.  

I started with a basic recipe for Morning Glory Muffins.  The tweaking began as I rifled through the cupboards to see what I had on hand.  As you will learn, my style is to work with what I have, and since I'm not prone to planning ahead...I don't always have exactly what the recipe calls for.  Here's what I found:

For the dry ingredients, I followed the recipe, sans sugar:

 1 1/3 c. whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon (a generous measure)

In lieu of 1/2 cup white sugar, I added 1/4 cup of honey, but kept the 1/4 cup of brown sugar.  I stuck with the wet ingredients for the most part:

2 eggs

2/3 c. vegetable oil

 1 tsp. vanilla

...and then I had fun.  I threw in about a 1/2 cup of grated carrot and 1 cup of peeled apple.  I chopped some unsweetened coconut flakes, a few walnuts, and  a handful of cranberries for a little texture and bit of sweet.  It looked something like this:

After about 30 minutes at 350 degrees...I had a sugar-less (as in less than more) muffin remix!

I now eagerly await my next challenge!
And to be honest, I'm excited to tackle the next one with more fervor and more sugar!  These muffins did not make it into the recipe box...next!

- Sylvia