Yogurt Spice Muffins

I was looking for a recipe yesterday in which I could use some of my yogurt and strawberries in a muffin. I have some berries about to turn. I didn't find what I was looking for, instead I found a recipe from Food & Wine. It looked really good. I tweaked a few things to simplify it -- instead of adding nutmeg, and allspice and cloves and cinnamon I used pumpkin pie spice. I love the rich spicy flavor. I opted to cut out the butter (4 tbs) and make these a low fat muffin -- Paula, I see you shuddering over there! And to add texture and fiber I added a cup of oats. And raisins because my kids go nuts over raisins. Other than that, it's the same recipe!

These are not a light and fluffy muffin, but are dense and very filling. They were fabulous fresh out of the oven and the following morning I popped them in the microwave for 12 seconds to warm them a tad.

Ingredients:

2 cups of all purpose flour (I used unbleached)
3/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tbs. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 Tbs. pumpkin pie spice
2 large eggs
1 cup of vanilla (or plain) low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1+ tsp. vanilla extract (I always add extra!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix together dry ingredients, set aside
In a large bowl, mix together eggs, sugar, yogurt and apple sauce and vanilla. Mix well, gradually add in dry ingredients, mix well until all is combined. Fold in raisins and oats.

Spoon the batter in to prepared muffin cups. (Use liners, because there is no oil in this recipe the muffins will stick!) Bake for 20-25 minutes, until read. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.