My Little Darling Muffin

When you make muffins, one way to control calories and fat is by keeping them to a reasonable size, unlike those giant muffins you might buy at the store.

You can also try a few other things. In this old family recipe for sour cream muffins, I reduced the calories and fat by using egg substitute instead of real eggs, and light sour cream instead of full-fat sour cream. I also omitted the original butter-rich streusel and sprinkled the muffins with poppy seeds.

These little adjustments cut the fat of the original recipe in half and the calories almost by one-third without sacrificing any flavor.

Sour Cream Muffins

Active Work Time: 15 minutes * Total Preparation Time: 35 minutes

Nonstick cooking spray

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup nonfat egg substitute

(equivalent to 3 eggs)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup light sour cream

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup lemon curd

Poppy seeds

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray 3 (6-cup) nonstick muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg substitute and vanilla.

Stir together the sour cream and baking soda.

Stir the flour mixture and sour cream mixture into the butter and sugar. Mix the ingredients just until they’re blended. Do not overbeat.

Fill the muffin cups halfway with batter. Spoon about 1 teaspoon lemon curd into the center of each muffin cup then divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, covering the lemon curd. Sprinkle each muffin with poppy seeds. Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes.

14 muffins. Each muffin: 215 calories; 272 mg sodium; 30 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 35 grams saturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 1.24 grams fiber.