Whole Wheat Applesauce Muffins

I made these last night to use up some homemade applesauce. They are simple to put together and can be varied by adding raisins, dried cranberries and/or nuts. I always use flour ground from soft white wheat for muffins. If you're buying flour, look for whole wheat pastry flour.

1 1/4 cups applesauce (unsweetened is fine)

1 large egg

1/4 cup canola or safflower oil

1/4 cup honey (measure in the same cup you used for the oil and it will slide right out.)

1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (I am a new convert to freshly grated nutmeg!)

optional: 3/4 to 1 cup chopped nuts, raisins or dried cranberries or a combination

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk together the applesauce, egg, oil and honey in a large bowl. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl. Whisk into the applesauce mixture just until there are no dry spots. Fold in the nuts and/or dried fruit, if using with a rubber scraper.

This recipe will make 10 muffins without the optional ingredients or 12 muffins with the addition of the nuts and/or fruit. I leave the center two cups empty when making "plain" muffins, so the pan doesn't warp. This is a fairly lowfat recipe so paper bake cups don't work very well. Either grease the muffin cups or spray with oil then fill with the batter. I use an ice cream scoop!

Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Let cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack or serving basket.