Old-Fashoned Blueberry Muffins (Lower-Fat)

This is my all-time favourite blueberry muffin recipe. It's not as sweet as other muffins and it has a lighter texture and finer grain that I enjoy. The recipe comes from "Have Your Cake and Eat it, Too" by Susan G. Purdy.

• Ready In: 25 mins
• Serves: 12
• Yields: 12 large muffins

Ingredients

• 1  large egg
• 1⁄2 cup skim milk (or 1%)
• 1⁄2 cup nonfat plain yogurt (or vanilla...sometimes I use blueberry if on hand)
• 3  tablespoons canola oil
• 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
• 2  cups all-purpose flour, unsifted
• 1  tablespoon baking powder
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1⁄2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen, if frozen, don't thaw)
•  granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Position a rack in the centre of the oven and preheat it to 400F degrees.
2. Coat the muffin cups with regular or butter-flavoured cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, yogurt, oil and sugar.
4. Set a strainer over the bowl and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. Sift the dry ingredients onto the egg mixture, then stir just to blend.
6. Don't overbeat!
7. Stir in the berries.
8. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups.
9. Sprinkle a little sugar on top of each muffin.
10. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins are well risen and golden brown, and a cake tester comes out clean.
11. Cool the muffins in the pan on a wire rack for about 5 minutes, then use a fork to gently pry them from the pan.
12. Serve warm.
13. Note: if using frozen berries, baking may take a little longer.
14. Variation: Orange-Blueberry Muffins - prepare recipe as directed but add 1 teaspoon orange extract and 1 teaspoon grated orange zest to the liquid ingredients; replace milk with orange juice if desired; topping: blend 2 tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon grated orange zest - sprinkle over before baking.
15. Variation: Cranberry-Nut Muffins - prepare recipe as directed, but replace blueberries with whole or coarsely chopped fresh or frozen (unthawed) cranberries; topping: 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon - sprinkle over before baking.