Chocolate Chip Muffins - Light and Healthy - and versatile!

This is my go-to healthy muffins recipe from the September/October 1992 issue of Pillsbury Fast and Healthy magazine.  Not only is it yummy, but you can go from beginning to eating within 30 minutes!

This is the basic Lite Muffins recipe with variations to suit what you have on hand.  It has about a third less oil than a standard muffin recipe.

Chocolate Chip Lite Muffins
in my Pampered Chef stone baker

LITE MUFFINS

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons oil (I use canola)
1 egg, beaten

Heat oven to 375 (400 per original recipe).  Line a 12-muffin cup pan with paper baking cups.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Mix well.
In a 2 cup measuring cup (or a small bowl, this way with the measuring cup it is one less item to wash)
combine milk, oil, and egg - blend well.
Add to dry ingredients; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.
Divide batter evenly among paper-lined muffin cups.
Bake at 375 for 18-23 minutes or until light golden brown.
Cool 1 minute, remove from pan.
Serve warm

Chocolate chip muffins - add 3/4 cup chocolate chips to dry mix
Apple muffins - decrease sugar to 1/4 cup and add 1 teaspoon cinnamon to flour, stir 1 cup finely chopped, peeled apple into dry ingredients.  Substitute apple juice for milk
Blueberry muffins - Stir 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries and 1/4 teaspoon Penzeys Cake Spice into dry ingredients
Jam muffins - Before baking, place 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite jam on each muffin; press into batter.  If desired, sprinkle with finely chopped nuts
Lemon muffins - Add one tablespoon grated lemon peel to dry ingredients
Orange muffins - Add one tablespoon grated orange peel to dry ingredients and substitute orange juice for milk
Streusel-topped muffins - In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1 tablespoon softened butter, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 cup chopped nuts or flaked coconut; blend with fork until crumbly.  Sprinkle over muffins before baking
Sugar-coated muffins - Brush tops of hot muffins with orange juice, dip in mixture of 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Whole wheat muffins - Use one cup all purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour