Sweet Potato Muffins

I borrowed this recipe from the Southern Fried Bride and it's too delicious not to share. I changed the recipe up a bit  because I don't like marshmallows and because Mr. Handsome doesn't like pecans in his food (he's nuts). I also made muffins instead of a loaf because they're easier to grab and eat.

Breakfast is Served

Sweet Potato Muffins

(Makes 12 to 16 muffins)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour ^*
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup skim milk
1 cup sweet potato (about 1/2 of an average sized sweet potato), mashed ^†

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin pan. Combine dry ingredients, the first group of ingredients, and mix. Add wet ingredients, the second group, and mix.^** Spoon into muffin pans. Bake for 25 minutes.

Options:
Top with the Southern Fried Bride's Marshmallow Glaze
Add up to 3/4 cup Pecan Pieces

^* The original recipe calls for a mix of whole wheat and all purpose flour. I used all whole wheat flour and increased the amount of baking soda used.

^† I cooked a sweet potato in the microwave, let it cool, and then mashed it with a fork in a bowl. I used about half of the mashed sweet potato this time. I put the rest in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for next time.

^** Ideally you would mix the dry and wet ingredients separately in two bowls and then combine the two mixtures. I do not like to do dishes so I try to do everything in one bowl. It works out okay.

Lowering Calories in Baked Goods with Applesauce

This recipe uses unsweetened applesauce in place of oil. (So if you don't have any unsweetened applesauce, you can use melted butter or vegetable oil instead in this recipe.) You can make this substitution in most recipes that call for a liquid fat like vegetable oil or melted butter.

Supposedly, the reason using applesauce instead of fat works is because the pectin in the applesauce works like fat in that it helps to prevent the formation of gluten in quick breads and cakes. While you want gluten in regular bread you don't want it to form in quick breads because that makes the quick bread or cake too chewy.

If you're experimenting on your own you'll want to take it slow and not necessarily replace all the fat in the recipe with applesauce. For example, this recipe still has fat in it from the egg yolk. You'll also want to be careful not to over cook your delicious baked good! Start checking for doneness with a toothpick or knife five to ten minutes earlier than suggested in the original recipe.

This guide from Musselman's Apple Sauce looks like it would be useful if you want to substitute applesauce for fat in boxed mixes.

P.S. Would you like to see more step by step photos? I don't particularly care for them when other bloggers post step by step photos for all the steps in a recipe. But I can see how it would be useful to demonstrate a complicated technique.