Zesty Lemon Blueberry Muffins

The blueberries have started coming in at my parents' house, so I used the ones I got there this weekend to experiment with a new muffin recipe!

There are few summer treats I enjoy more than a baked good with hot, juicy blueberries drizzling down. Yum, especially when served alongside a nice cup of green tea!

In an effort to bake healthier snacks, I had been researching muffin recipes made with applesauce rather than sugar and found one I tweaked a good bit. The result is these light, almost spongey muffins. Now both my husband and I *did* miss the sugar a little, but we also agreed this was a fine substitute sweet. (Then again, I'm from the South, so my blood type is A+ with a dash of sweet tea, y'know? It wouldn't kill me to lose some sugar in my diet.) And because I knew I might miss the sugar, I compensated by overloading these muffins with fresh blueberries and lots of lemon zest, resulting in a tasty and quite satisfactory teatime snack. If you give them a try, I'd love to hear what you think!

Zesty Lemon Blueberry Muffins

1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
2 cups unbleached white flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
Zest of 1 large lemon
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare a muffin pan with cooking spray. Combine egg, oil and applesauce. Add flour, baking soda and baking powder and mix well. Add lemon zest, lemon juice and blueberries. Mix just until combined. Spoon batter into muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes or until firm and slightly brown on top. Yields 1 dozen muffins.