When X. was born, we were at the hospital everyday for close to a month.  We got to know the facility like the back of our hands and there was a Tim Horton’s in the basement (a very tiny Tim’s) that served much better muffins and coffee than the cafeteria.  Everyday when we ate lunch we would head down stairs and take our freshly packed soup out of our lunch bags and finish it off with a Chocolate Chip muffin.  It became a problem for us.  We loved them that much.

The Tim Horton’s Chocolate Chip muffin is deadly.  According to the Tim Horton’s  website, it comes with 410 calories, 15 gm of fat, 2 gm of fibre.  It’s more cake than muffin and definitely not the healthiest dessert choice.  Calorie wise it’s better to eat a donut!

Since that time I’ve tried to stay as far away from those muffins as I can.  They are much too high in calories and fat for my liking and the fibre leaves a lot to be desired.  I had always wanted to make my own version, but I never got around to it until now.  I can thank an afternoon spent with a toddler who wouldn’t sleep and needed many activities to keep him happy for this recipe.  They are very good and much healthier than the Tim’s version.  No added oils, whole wheat flour and a healthy dose of cinnamon make these a keeper.  I’ve already made a second batch and the last muffin was eaten today.  I guess I’d best get back in the kitchen.

I hope you give these a try if you’re looking for a healthier option in your muffin repertoire.  They are delicious!

Healthier Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 C whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 c sugar (I used cane sugar in one batch and white sugar in another.  They both turned out great).
• 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 scant c applesauce
• 3/4 c milk (I used soy but I’m sure any variety would be fine).
• 1 c chocolate chips

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare the muffin tin by placing liners in cups and lightly spraying the liners with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and sugar.
•  In a small bowl combine cornstarch and milk beating the mixture with a small whisk or fork to remove all lumps.
• Add apple sauce to the cornstarch mixture.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until combined.
• Fold the chocolate chips into the batter.
• Evenly distribute the batter between all muffin cups.
• Place muffins in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until done.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
• Enjoy!

Extra Information:

• I lightly spray the liners to ensure that the muffin comes out.  When you cook with no added oil, the liners tend to stick.  If you forget this step you might lose 1/4-1/3 of your muffin on the bottom.  It doesn’t need a lot of spray, just a little and it saves you a lot of hassle when you want to eat your muffin.
• The muffin cups will be very full of batter once you distribute everything evenly.  Don’t worry about this.  Your muffins will rise nicely, shouldn’t make a mess and everything will turn out fine.