DUNKIN’ DONUTS: CORN MUFFINS

SAVE: 153 CALORIES, 15 G FAT, 2.5 G SAT. FAT

E arly in my catering career, I was approached by a woman who wanted me to cater her parties, but to then pretend to be her friend at the party, while she took credit for the food. When she agreed to pay my teaching rate while I “helped her” prepare the food in addition to my catering rate for the party, I agreed. I quickly coined the service “ghost cooking.”

Party after party she impressed her boyfriend, then later fiancé, with her talents in the kitchen. I always got such a kick out of it, as I wondered how she thought she could get away with lying to her fiancé about her cooking skills. How would he never find out that she could barely boil water? What would she do when she needed to cook for her in-laws?

After months of my playing along, she hired me for one last party just before the wedding. We served chili and corn muffins. She’d invited a group of her colleagues, friends, and her fiancé’s friends for a casual Sunday night dinner. Though it was my last ghost-cooking assignment for her, it was my most memorable. She paid me a small fortune to make basic chili and simple corn muffins. I couldn’t believe it.

I continued to cater more-traditional parties for her through her wedding . . . then her divorce—perhaps they didn’t know everything about each other before getting married? But I still can’t see a corn muffin without thinking about her and the lengths she went to to deceive. Fortunately, these muffins are very straightforward. In fact, they’re so good and so low in fat that once you master them for breakfast, you, too, are likely to find yourself wanting to serve them with a pot of your favorite low-fat chili.

Butter-flavored cooking spray

1¼ cups unbleached flour

¾ cup yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup sugar

½ cup fat-free vanilla yogurt

4 egg whites, lightly beaten

¾ cup fat-free milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon butter-flavored shortening, melted

PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Place 5 large muffin papers in 5 cups (3½" diameter) of a large muffin tin. Coat the insides of the papers with cooking spray.

In a bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Mix to blend. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, yogurt, and egg whites. With a sturdy whisk or spatula, whisk or mix to blend well. Add the milk, vanilla, and shortening. Whisk or stir to blend. Add the flour mixture. Stir just until none of the flour mixture is visible. Dollop the batter evenly into the prepared cups.

Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry (a few crumbs are okay). Allow to cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Serve warm or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

MAKES 5

Each muffin: 357 calories, 10 g protein, 71 g carbohydrates, 3 g fat, 1 g sat. fat, 2 g fiber

Original Dunkin’ Donuts Corn Muffin: 510 calories, 8 g protein, 77 g carbohydrates, 18 g fat, 3.5 g sat. fat, 1 g fiber

DRIVE-THRU Double or triple the recipe if you like, and then freeze any remaining muffins in a resealable plastic freezer bag. When you’re ready for a morning treat or a snack, simply wrap a frozen muffin in aluminum foil so it is covered, then place it in a preheated 400°F oven for 10 minutes, or until it is warmed through.

EVEN BETTER Make 10 standard-size muffins instead of 5 jumbo ones. Follow the instructions above, but use a standard-size muffin tin and divide the batter among 10 cups. Bake the muffins for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Each standard-size muffin will have: 178 calories, 5 g protein, 36 g carbohydrates, 2 g fat, <1 g sat. fat, 1 g fiber. You’ll save: 332 calories, 16 g fat, 2.5 g sat. fat.

BEFORE YOU START In order for your Corn Muffins to look exactly like the ones at Dunkin’ Donuts, you’ll need to hunt down 3 ½"-diameter muffin papers, which, by the way, might stick if not sprayed well. They can be found at most restaurant supply stores. If you are content without the papers, use a nonstick muffin tin and spray the muffin cups directly with cooking spray. Your muffins will be just as good.