Apparently I'm not the only one turning to comfort baking right now. The mixing of familiar ingredients, using my hands, and certainly the wafting smell of baked goods brings calm, certainty, distraction. In the last week I pulled out a recipe for a humble but hearty muffin that a friend shared with me a while ago. It's a staple at her house, baked on a weekly basis and accompanying many school lunches. I've made them before and loved them but we don't routinely buy applesauce so they aren't in regular rotation. I'm rethinking that after watching Dash devour three freshly baked muffins in a row.

I've tinkered a bit with the original recipe and wanted to share it with you. Lately, after cooking from Half The Sugar, All The Love, I'm always trying to lower the sugar content of recipes. I'm happy to report that I cut the sugar from the original recipe by two-thirds and still watched my first batch disappear within a day. I made a double batch the next day to keep up with demand. I also swapped whole wheat flour for regular flour and added some nutmeg.

I store these in a container and keep them in the fridge where they keep for about five days. I've also stashed some in my freezer. They are fine pulled right from the fridge for a quick snack but much better split, buttered, and toasted. Or eaten cold or toasted smeared with cream cheese. I'll be putting applesauce on our grocery list so that I can keep these in stock.

Hearty Banana Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins
adapted from This Mama Loves
makes 12 muffins

3 overripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (or one snack cup of applesauce)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats (not quick-cook oats)
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a regular muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine mashed bananas, applesauce, egg, vanilla, and brown sugar until well mixed.

In a separate bowl, mix oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until just combined; do not over mix. Batter will be thick. Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full with batter.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, checking with a toothpick after 20 minutes to check if they are cooked through.

Enjoy!