I 'oopsed' and need more help!

[Jewel]

Will all of the nice folks who gave me tips on my Muffin Dilemma please take another look at the topic 'Help, Muffin Mayhem'? I posted a recipe that I'm desperate to try, but its way too high in calories and fat for me to attempt, and I wanted some assistance in lightening it...and I made the mistake of adding it to that topic instead of starting a new thread. Please? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif Thanks!

[funnybone]

I looked at the recipe, and although I am not an expert at lightening, I think you can start by using low fat sour cream. Also, I find that ususally a recipe calling for bananas along with 1 cup of sugar is WAY too sweet. I have a banana bread recipe that calls for 1 cup, and I cut it to 1/2 without any sweetness problems. Also, whole wheat replaced for the white flour (or half of each) helps add the the healthiness of the recipe.

Not sure about this, but there was a time when applesauce was supposed to be the great fat replacement. Could you use it in there? Anyone successfully use applesauce in this manner?

Anyway, this could be a start. I hope someone can add more to it.

[This message has been edited by funnybone (edited 03-21-2001).]

[funnybone]

I'm trying something new, not sure if it will work (copy and paste). Hope this helps your thread!


Jewel
Member posted 03-21-2001 03:11 PM
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Thanks again for more tips...so now I need help lightening a recipe! I don't want to send it into CL since I think we're smart people, and together we can do this! I actually think I know SOME tricks to this one, but this recipe as it stands is 376 calories and 19g of fat per muffin!
***Banana Oat Muffins***

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 TBS rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

Topping:
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/4 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 TBS butter, chilled
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper liners.
2. Place 1 cup rolled oats in a food processor and process until ground. In a large bowl, combine ground oats with flour, 1 TBS rolled oats, chopped walnuts, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
3. In separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the banana and vanilla. Stir in sour cream. Mix oat/flour mixture into egg mixture. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pans.
4. To make topping, in a small bowl combine 1/3 cup rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/4 cup chopped walnuts. Generously sprinkle muffins with topping.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
********

I don't really want to cut the walnuts out, but I can decrease the quantity. That butter scares me! Would I get a better result using 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup drained applesauce, or using all applesauce? I can use light or nonfat sour cream, I think, and decrease the nuts in the topping. Other than that?? How would Egg Beaters work instead of whole eggs? Would the mashed banana keep the egg-whites-only from getting too cakey and dry?

Now that you wonderful people have helped me figure out how to bake muffins, the one recipe I REALLY want to try is going to be like injecting butter directly into my arteries!! Please help!

.... well, what do you know - I even impressed myself. LOL

[This message has been edited by funnybone (edited 03-21-2001).]

[emilycat]

Jewel,

I wouldn't worry about the eggs -- they really help to retain texture and other good stuff (or else I'm just spouting off some BS to make myself sound intelligent). Besides, the main nutrition culprit here isn't the measly 2 eggs, but the butt-load of butter and sour cream.

Now my taste buds are quite accustomed to low-fat baked goods, and I don't even like those buttery, dense things, but these are my suggestions:

Cut the butter in half and use the 50% reduced fat light kind. These are muffins, not cookies, and light butter works much better in cakey things. I'd use fat free sour cream, too. And for the butter that's not there, I'd try the applesauce suggestion -- or use nothing at all.

Do I sound too liberal? Sorry, I think I've just come to the conclusion that most original recipes are ludicrously dependent on butter, and I flagrantly ignore them! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

Emily

[Beth]

You can also use fat free plain yogurt in place of sour cream in most baked goods.

[LGBurns]

I've used applesauce successfully in lightening recipes but I suggest straining it through a fine sieve or coffee filter first.

[Jewel]

Thanks so much! Emily, I agree with you on the butter thing. I honestly haven't made anything that required over a third cup of butter in years. This recipe just sounded so good! I'm thinking that the bananas, the eggs and the sour cream will do plenty to retain the moisture in this mixture, so I can probably get away with reduced-fat margarine and drained applesauce. In fact, I have some cinnamon applesauce that might add a zippy flavor!

I will also probably chop the nuts quite a bit finer in the food processor to spread them around the batter a bit more, so I can use less. Other than that, I think we've got it! I'll make these tomorrow and let everyone know how they turned out. I won't have any nutrition info, but as stated, without the 'butt-load' of butter, we should be in good shape! Thanks again everyone! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[Grace]

Originally posted by Jewel:
I won't have any nutrition info, but as stated, without the 'butt-load' of butter, we should be in good shape! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

I have to admit, that one made me chuckle too! Yes, without the "butt-load" of butter, you won't be putting another load on your butt....ugh that's bad...

But it's a good expression. I'll have to file that one away for future use!

[emilycat]

Glad I could be the source of such amusement http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[LRuben]

Instead of chopping the walnuts really finely why don't you try leaving them bigger. I usually just break mine up a little. You can really taste the big chunks and they look really decadent.--Lisa

[pammy]

Don't have much time to post, didn't read all the other posts thoroughly so forgive me if someone already shared this. CL did a great muffin remake about 2 1/2 years ago. Go on the CL recipe search and enter a search for banana muffins. There is a "spiced" version with allspice and ginger in it. CL substituted 1/3 C. light ricotta and 1/3 C. buttermilk for the heavy dose of butter or oil that help to make store bought muffins all big and lovely. There is about 2 Tb. of canola oil and a couple eggs in there, too. I just made a batch for work on Monday - everyone chows them down, they have no clue that they are light. Hope this helps.

[gobluem82]

One other suggestion that CL has made a lot of times, and I've found to work, is that if you toast the nuts, you can get away with using less without sacrificing much flavor.

[Jewel]

Well I made the muffins...just pulled those Banana Oat Muffins out of the oven, and I'm bummed. I used 1/4 cup butter and a 1/4 cup drained applesauce instead of 1/2 cup butter. Toasted the nuts and decreased them a bit, used fat free sour cream, and went ahead and used 2 real eggs instead of egg beaters. Recipe said it would make 12. Well, it probably could have made 15! I filled those muffin cups to about 1/2" from the top, and sprinkled on the topping before baking. I was a good girl and remembered to just barely mix the dry mixture with the wet mixture, just enough to get everything wet.

Half hour later I opened the oven to find that they'd only rised to the top of the muffin pan, and because of the 'extra' batter they'd spread out about 1/4" around, almost meeting each other. They only rose 1/2"! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/confused.gif My baking powder and baking soda are new, and my mixture really looked good!I got them out and they're cooling now, and they look very nice and golden, especially with the topping, but I can't figure out why they didn't rise.

Could they have stalled because there was too much batter in each muffin cup? I'm sure when hubby comes home from his week-long trip to Alaska tonight he'll be thrilled anyway, and I'm sure they taste good, but they still didn't rise....and by the way, I have a new oven thermometer, and it was right on 350.
Sigh...

[funnybone]

Sometimes low fat just doesn't cut it! Sorry they didn't work.

[emilycat]

I've never seen a homemade muffin rise that much -- even the full-fat blueberry ones my mom used to make never rose that much, but they were soooo good. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif