Today, I made a couple of variations on my Banana Cheese Muffins. I followed the recipe through step 8. Then I transferred half the batter to another bowl.

In one half, I added about 2 to 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of hot pepper powder (scotch bonnet, of course), and about 2oz of Cabot Seriously Sharp cheddar, chopped into small cubes. Plopped it into a buttered 12-muffin muffin pan lined with oats, and baked at 350F for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the end, I sprinkled some grated cheddar on top. This was basically recreating my Garlic and Cheddar Banana Muffins from last year.

For the other half, I used the food processor on about a cup of frozen mango pieces and one apple (cored, peeled, cut into large pieces) — processed till it was about half puree, half small chunks.  Added these to the muffin batter along with 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon powdered ginger, and 6 oz dark chocolate pieces. Plopped into similarly prepared muffin pan. These needed 35 minutes at 350F.

Notice there is no added salt in the savory muffins (except what’s in the cheese), and no added sugar in the sweet muffins (except what’s in the dark chocolate morsels). The mango and apple provide enough sweetness. And 2/3 of the flour is whole grain, making these healthy snack and dessert alternatives. Low sodium, low fat, low added sugar make these three-star snacks in my cookbook.

And they are very tasty! (Can we add a fourth star?)

Francoise