Lemon Blueberry Muffins

I don’t like to brag, but these may just be the best muffins that I have ever made. They are light, moist and bursting with a sweet lemony flavour, while the blueberries provide an occasional mellow, fruity balance. They also rise nicely, creating perfectly golden brown tops on moist, cakey muffin bottoms.

The yogurt in these muffins acts as a replacement for most of the oil that you would find in traditional muffin recipes, making them lower fat without losing the muffins’ moist texture. This does mean that the muffins lack a certain non-stick quality, though, so paper or silicon liners are highly recommended.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins (Lower Fat)
Makes 12 Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon ground flax seeds
¾ cup plain (nonfat) yogurt
1 cup soymilk
1 Tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons safflower oil (or other light tasting oil, like corn or canola)
2 Tablespoons lemon zest
¾ cup blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Place paper liners in a standard muffin tin (or grease the muffin tin well. Spray with oil and sprinkle with flour to prevent sticking). Set muffin tin aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix up dry ingredients (including flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground flax seed) and combine them well.
3. Next add the wet ingredients (including yogurt, soymilk, vinegar, oil, lemon zest, and blueberries) and combine them well with the dry ingredients.
4. Fill up the muffin tins with the batter (fill them almost all the way up to ensure good muffin tops) and bake for 18 – 20 minutes.
5. Let cool completely before removing from muffin tin or liners. The relative lack of oil makes them especially sticky when they are still warm, but they should come out with no problems once they cool down.

Adapted from 1000 Vegetarian Recipes by Carol Gelles