cinnamon coffee cake muffins

I am undoubtedly a morning person, even though I rarely jump out of bed ready to take on the day. Instead, I prefer long, lazy mornings with coffee and a pastry while I catch up with some reading. To keep from feeling too guilty about this indulgence, I worked for weeks to perfect my recipe for low-fat cinnamon coffee cake muffins. Each muffin is approximately 90 calories, 11 grams of sugar, 1.5 grams of fat, and 2.5 grams of protein; I typically have 2 for breakfast. No, the sugar isn't healthy, but these muffins are a LOT better than the kind of breakfast I would be eating otherwise!

Cinnamon Coffee Cake Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Prep time: ~30 minutes

Baking time: 18 minutes

Ingredients

For the batter:

2 tbsp margarine

1/8 cup no sugar added applesauce

1/4 cup white granulated sugar

6 packets Sweet'n Low

2 oz egg substitute OR 1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 cup all purpose flour

Cinnamon to taste

For the filling and topping:

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tbsp no sugar added applesauce

Cinnamon to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, cream margarine, 1/8 cup applesauce, 1/4 cup white sugar, and sweet'n low. Add in egg substitute, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
3. In a small bowl, combine flour with baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon to taste. Add alternately with Greek yogurt to the egg mixture. 
4. To make the filling / topping, combine ingredients in a small bowl until all the sugar is dissolved.
5. Spoon 1 tbsp of the batter into each muffin tin. Top with 1/2 tsp of filling, then add another 1 tbsp of batter to each muffin. Using a pastry brush, brush remaining filling in a light layer on top of each muffin.
6. Bake at 350°F for 18 minutes. 

I hope you enjoy these muffins as much as I have!