This Starbucks muffin has been popular for years. I make a low calorie one using lots of rolled oats both in the muffin and in the topping along with numerous apples chunks and cinnamon. The skinny for each is 190 calories, 5.8 grams of fat and 5 Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS. One Starbucks Apples & Cinnamon Muffin has 413 calories and 19 grams of fat.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Refrigerator Time: 1 hour
Bake Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients for Muffins

1 (18.25 oz) box Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix

1 cup apple juice

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

½ cup water

⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce

¼ cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1½ teaspoons cinnamon

2 egg whites

1 egg, I used Egg-Land’s Best eggs

3 cups apples, peeled and chopped

Ingredients for Crumb Topping

1¾ cups old-fashioned rolled oats

⅓ cup brown sugar, packed

1¼ teaspoons cinnamon

1½ tablespoons reduced-fat butter or Smart Balance Light, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat  a muffin pan with cooking spray with flour, see shopping tip.

2. In an electric mixer or large bowl using a hand mixer, add the cake mix, apple juice, oats, water, applesauce, canola oil, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix until blended. Add the egg whites, egg, and beat until smooth. Stir in the apples. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to thicken batter and allow apples to blend in. Stir before using. Make sure apples get in each muffin. You might need to add some by hand.

3. Pour batter into the muffin pan. Fill each almost to top. Spread evenly.

4. To make crumb topping: In a small bowl add oats, sugar, cinnamon and mix together with a fork.  Gradually add melted butter and stir to coat well. Top each muffin with about 1 tablespoon oat mixture.

5. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for about 10 minutes. Carefully loosen each muffin with a knife and remove onto a plate.

6. Store the muffins covered on the kitchen counter for several days. They freeze great too!

Makes 22 muffins

Healthy Benefits
Apples are associated with a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, asthma, and type-2 diabetes. Much of apple’s protective effects against heart disease and asthma are because of their high content of powerful flavonoids. Apples are loaded with fiber, 3 grams for a medium size apple. They also contain vitamins A and C.

Oats are a good source of magnesium, selenium, manganese and phosphorous. Oats are also a good source of vitamin B1 and dietary fiber.

Studies have shown that just 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon per day can lower LDL cholesterol. In addition, several studies suggest that cinnamon may have a regulatory effect on blood sugar, making it especially beneficial for people with Type 2 diabetes.

Shopping Tip
Cooking spray with flour is a great find. This spray makes removing the muffins easy. I also recommend it when baking cakes. You’ll find it in the aisle where cooking oil is found.

Weight Watchers (old points) 4
Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 5

This entry was posted Thursday, May 10th, 2012 at 7:11 am and is filed under Recent, Recipes. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.