I have to say I'm not a fan of many 'healthier' versions of traditional recipes. I am dubious about using artificial ingredients too often and stick to what's natural. Also, I figure that if you're going to have something as a treat, you might as well make it the best, and not scrimp and scrape and ultimately still feel unsatisfied.
These muffins though, well they certainly passed muster for me. In fact, they were better the second day after baking and they were very easy to make. So let's go straight to method and come back to the ingredients in a second.
Muffins are easy. Generally, you want to avoid over mixing a muffin batter. I'm no scientist but over mixing the batter stretches the proteins in the mixture and makes it tough and chewy when it's baked, so the less beaten up this is, the better. What does that really mean? It means DON'T fuss over it!
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Just put all the dry ingredients in a bowl, and put all the wet ingredients in another bowl - then mix the two together gently with a wooden spoon until combined. Don't beat. Don't whip. Don't whisk. Just stir until all the ingredients are combined together. So what are the ingredients?
DRY INGREDIENTS in BOWL ONE
1/2 cup of white Self Raising Flour - 1/2 cup of wholemeal flour - 1 tsp Baking Powder - 1/2 cup of Cocoa Powder - 1/4 cup of white sugar
Mix them all together gently until well combined.
WET INGREDIENTS in BOWL TWO
1/2 cup of unsweetened Apple Sauce - 3/4 cup of fat free unsweetened Greek Yoghurt - 1/4 cup Honey or Maple Syrup - 1 large egg
Mix them all together until a smooth liquid.
Now, make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients and stir the lot gently until it's combined and consistent. This is enough batter to fill a 12 cup muffin pan and bakes within 15-20 minutes in a moderate oven. One more little tip? I pressed two chocolate buttons into the top of each uncooked muffin before baking just to add a somewhat limited hot of chocolatey goodness.
Now as for the second day issue... I found these were sticky and a little difficult to handle straight after baking. Even when cool they sort of stuck to the paper cases and were difficult to manage. BUT on the second day they had settled and peeled away from the cases easily without loosing any of their moist goodness. You can always adjust the recipe to suit your tastes, but this one suited me and my sweet tooth just fine.