Sugar-Free Muffins
I found this recipe for sugar-free muffins with a Google search. On an AC/DC fan forum. The title was ‘best-ever sugar-free muffins’, or something like that.
The original recipe was for blueberries, but I’ve used raspberries and blackberries so far. I plan to make chocolate-chocolate chip muffins at some point.
This is the original recipe
- 6 oz pineapple juice
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 tsp stevia extract
- 1 tsp plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 2 oz milk
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil muffin pans. Soak the oats in the pineapple juice for 10-15 minutes in a small bowl. Beat together the oil, egg, stevia and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Thin the yogurt with the milk and add to the other liquid ingredients.
Beat. Mix in the soaked oats. Sift together the flour, leavenings and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring as little as possible. Fold in the bluberries just before the flour is completely blended.
Spoon batter into muffin pans and bake 25-30 minutes.
Ingredients
The stevia extract I use is ‘NOW’ brand powdered stevia extract, in the 1 oz bottle. It comes with a dinky little plastic spoon in the bottle. The spoon is equivalent to a teaspoon of sugar.
I have used safflower oil in all my muffins. Safflower oil is a good high-heat oil. The oil enhances the texture, and the mild flavor doesn’t get in the way.
Use baking powder that doesn’t contain aluminum. Aluminum is bad for you. It also stains the bread (although you won’t notice it with the small amount.)
The yogurt will keep longer between batches if you buy an organic, live culture brand. You may continue to use the yogurt even as it turns to cream cheese. E.g., if the yogurt hardens, as long as there aren’t signs of mold or discoloration, it should taste creamy and can be thinned with the milk.
For yogurt substitutions, use heavy cream (whipping cream) or cream cheese. I have never tried any other soft cheeses, but if the cheese is as soft or softer than cream cheese, you should do OK.
If you use different ingredients, be aware of the liquid content. For example, if you use heavy cream, you may want to omit the milk. The rise of the muffins will be adversely affected, if the liquid content is too high.
Modifications
I’ve modified the recipe in a couple of ways so far. I’ve used concentrated pineapple juice and powdered milk. This saves ingredients (and thus money).
For 6 oz pineapple juice, mix 3 tbsp of pineapple juice concentrate with 9 tbs water. 9 tbsp water is 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp. 1/4 cup is 2 oz and 4 tbsp, so 12 tbsp is 6 oz, making the typical 1 to 3 concentrate to water ratio perfect.
For 2 oz milk, the mixture is also exact. Take 3 tbsp + 1/2 tsp water and mix it with 2 1/2 tsp dry milk. Make sure to mix it well, so there are no lumps.
Issues with Fruit
I’ve always used frozen fruit. Vacuum packed fruit is best, because fruit gets freezer burn very quickly. If you have to use regular bagged fruit, let it thaw in a bowl first.
After thawing, drain the juice and substitute for part or all of the pineapple juice. You don’t want to waste it, but you also don’t want to throw it in with the other ingredients. The moisture content of the muffins will be adversely affected.
Temperature
Someone, perhaps the authors of “Joy of Cooking”, said that quickbreads will turn out good under a variety of temperatures, ingredients and altitudes. Be aware, if the oven is too hot, the muffins will dry out. If the oven is too cold, somewhere near 250 degrees, the quickbread will not rise.
The leavenings (baking powder, baking soda and salt) are somewhat active when wet, but act quickly when they reach high temperature. For this reason, you want to get the quickbread into the oven fast. If you have to keep it, freeze the quickbread dough.
Info
These muffins (with blueberries) work out to about 132 calories, 3g fiber, and 4.5g fat. They’re actually pretty low calorie (less than a serving of whole wheat spaghetti.) They don’t keep too long, as they don’t have a high sugar content.
