Healthy Eggnog Muffins

 
A couple of years after I finished college, I spotted a special ice cream display at the grocery store down the street from my house during the holiday season. Although not normally someone who indulges in frozen desserts during the fall and winter (I get cold much too easily!), I still stopped to check it out.  

As I read the festive flavor names, a smile started to spread across my face. They sounded so whimsical and fun: candy cane, gingerbread, hot cocoa, Mrs. Claus’ sugar cookies, and eggnog!

Although I enjoyed all of the previous flavors as their “regular” non-ice-cream counterparts throughout my childhood (what little kid with a sweet tooth as big as mine can resist sugary candy canes or gingerbread cookies??), I paused for a moment when I glanced at that last tub. “Eggnog?” I thought to myself. “Interesting…” 
 

 
As something I had never before tasted, despite my parents sipping it every holiday season for as long as I could remember, I peered a little closer to read the description. It mentioned cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, which reminded me of the cinnamon gelato I had tasted in Vancouver while on a high school band trip, and since that was the best ice cream or gelato flavor I had ever eaten in my entire life…

That tub of eggnog ice cream magically found its way into my shopping basket.

As soon as I arrived back at my house, I hurriedly stashed away the rest of my groceries before pulling a bowl and spoon out of my cupboards. I carefully peeled back the tub’s lid, scooped out a small serving, and brought the spoon to my mouth.
 

 
Pure bliss!

It tasted even better than the description — smooth, rich, creamy, sweet, warm, cozy, festive, and oh so perfect — so over the ensuing week, I polished off that big tub of ice cream in record time. I was officially obsessed with eggnog… Which then led me to bravely making my own eggnog-flavored desserts like this and these!

However… Part of me wanted to enjoy eggnog all day long, not just as an after dinner treat! So far too many years later, I finally created and perfected this recipe for…
 

 
Healthy Eggnog Muffins! They’re supremely moist and tender, with almost the same texture as cupcakes, and plenty of those cozy spices. These muffins are also quick and simple to make (no mixer required!) and low calorie too!

And I bet you know what that means…

I definitely enjoyed these for breakfast! And mid-morning snacks… And afternoon pick-me-ups… And even a pre-bedtime treat.

They disappeared even faster than that original tub of eggnog ice cream! 😉
 

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY EGGNOG MUFFINS

Let’s go over how to make these healthy eggnog muffins! Just like many of my other muffin recipes, this one starts with white whole wheat flour. As strange as it may sound, white whole wheat flour is not a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and regular whole wheat flour! It’s made from finely ground white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. They both have the same health benefits (like extra fiber!), but white wheat has a lighter taste and texture… Which lets the sweet flavor and cupcake-like texture of your healthy eggnog muffins really shine!

Next, you’ll mix in cinnamon and nutmeg. This cinnamon is my favorite because it tastes stronger, richer, and sweeter. (I buy it online here!) As for the nutmeg, a little goes a long way! As tempting as it might be to add in extra, I highly recommend sticking with the amount in the recipe. (Trust me… I know from experience! 😉 )
 

 
Whereas many traditional muffin recipes call for ¼ to ½ cup of oil or butter, this recipe requires a mere ½ tablespoon. That really helps keep your healthy eggnog muffins low calorie and low fat! Then the rest of their moist texture comes from… (Can you guess?)

That’s right — Greek yogurt! This is one of my all-time favorite ingredients in healthy baking. I’ve used it in muffins, scones, brownies, cakes, cupcakes, and even frosting. In this recipe, it adds the same moisture to the batter as extra butter or oil but for far fewer calories. It also gives your healthy eggnog muffins a protein boost!
 

 
You’ll sweeten your healthy eggnog muffins with another one of my favorite ingredients: liquid stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing refined or artificial (aka it’s clean eating friendly). It’s also highly concentrated, which is key to this recipe’s flavor!

If you tried using another sweetener — maybe pure maple syrup, honey, coconut sugar, or even granulated sugar — that would add a lot more liquid volume to the muffin batter… Which would mean that you’d need to decrease the amount of eggnog to compensate. Less eggnog = less eggnog flavor in these muffins. Yikes!

But… If you use liquid stevia, you only need 2 ½ teaspoons to sweeten all 12 muffins. That means you get {a} perfectly sweet muffins with {b} maximum eggnog flavor. I call that a win-win!

Hint: I buy my liquid stevia online here because that’s the best price I’ve found! And it’s not a one-time-use ingredient. You’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too! 
 

 
And about that eggnog… I actually used vegan “eggnog” that’s dairy-free and egg-free! Call me crazy, but I feel a little weird about drinking eggs, even though I know classic store-bought eggnog is perfectly safe to consume. Since I wanted to use eggnog to make these no-bake truffles, I figured I’d use the same almond milk eggnog to make these muffins. This is the exact vegan eggnog that I bought!

Bonus: The almond milk eggnog that I used has only 50 calories in each ½ cup serving… Compared to 180 calories in each ½ cup serving of traditional eggnog. That really helps keep these healthy eggnog muffins low calorie and low fat too!
 

 
There’s another ingredient in these healthy eggnog muffins that might be even more surprising that egg-free eggnog…

Plain white vinegar! Wait, don’t go — I promise I haven’t lost all of my marbles! Vinegar is an acid. Baking soda is a base. When you mix them together, you get lots of air bubbles. Those air bubbles help your muffins rise, and it also gives them a more tender texture. By the time your healthy eggnog muffins finish baking, all of the vinegar has reacted with all of the baking soda, so you can’t taste it at all. Pinky promise!
 

 
One last thing! If you’re using muffin liners like I did in these photos, then you must generously coat those liners with cooking spray. Low fat batters, like the batter for these healthy eggnog muffins, tend to stick to liners like superglue. Yet if you coat them with cooking spray before dolloping in the batter, the liners peel away from your muffins much more easily!

Tip: If you forget (or if you don’t coat them generously enough!), then seal your muffins inside of an airtight container, and put that in the refrigerator for 24 hours. That trick will help loosen the liners!

Now all that’s left is to figure out…
 

 
How many of these will you share, and how many will you keep for yourself? (I won’t judge either way!) 😉 And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy eggnog muffins!

Healthy Eggnog Muffins

© Amy's Healthy Baking

Yields: 12 muffins

These muffins are perfect for the holidays! They’re supremely moist and tender, with the same texture as cupcakes, and they’re full of rich spices and sweet eggnog flavor. I love pairing them with a cozy mug of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate on chilly winter mornings! Leftovers will keep for at least 5 days (if not longer!) if stored in an airtight container — if they last that long!

5 from 2 votes

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Ingredients 

• 2 ½ cups (300g) white whole wheat flour or gluten free* flour (measured like this)
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tbsp (7g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 2 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
• 2 ½ tsp liquid stevia
• ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 3 tbsp (45mL) plain white vinegar
• 1 cup (240mL) almond milk “eggnog,” divided ← that’s the one I use!

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. (If using liners, then line 12 muffins cups with liners and coat them with cooking spray.)
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil or butter, egg whites, vanilla extract, and liquid stevia. Add in the Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Stir in the vinegar. Stir in ½ cup of eggnog. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining eggnog, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.)
• Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 23-26 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (or with a few crumbs attached). Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It's very important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much will make your muffins turn out dry.

 

IMPORTANT MIXING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Do not use a hand-held mixer or stand mixer to mix up the batter. This will result in dense or tough muffins. Use a whisk where instructed, and use a fork for everything else.

 

FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the whole wheat flour.

 

EGG WHITES NOTE: These muffins require 2 full egg whites. The whites contain the majority of the protein in eggs, and that protein is required to ensure the muffins maintain their shape and texture while cooling. If you prefer to use whole eggs, then use 2 large eggs, and decrease the eggnog by 1 tablespoon to compensate for the added volume from the yolks.

 

STEVIA NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: For sweeter muffins, increase the liquid stevia by an additional ¼ - ½ teaspoon.

 

I do not recommend substituting for the liquid stevia, if at all possible. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too! I actually buy it online here.) Its concentrated sweetness is key to this recipe. It allows you to add the maximum amount of eggnog to create the maximum eggnog flavor!

 

However, if you really prefer to omit the liquid stevia from the muffins, substitute 1 ¼ cup (240g) granulated sugar, brown sugar, or coconut sugar AND reduce the eggnog to 6 tablespoons (90mL). You may also substitute ¾ cup (180mL) pure maple syrup, honey, or agave AND reduce the eggnog to ¼ cup (60mL) instead (although the muffins won’t be quite as sweet). The eggnog flavor will be VERY faint and subtle with any of these substitutions, and the baking time may vary slightly as well.

 

EGGNOG NOTES + ALTERNATIVES: Just about any eggnog can be substituted for the vegan almond milk “eggnog.” This includes soy milk eggnog, coconut milk eggnog, light eggnog, and traditional eggnog. However, if using traditional or coconut milk eggnog, you may need to add a bit more because these two are often thicker in consistency than almond milk, soy milk, and light eggnog.

 

GLUTEN FREE OPTION: For the gluten free flour, use the following: 1 ¼ cups (150g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten free flour blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) will work as well, if measured like this.

 

{gluten free, low fat, low sugar}

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.

View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
 
 
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡  Healthy Eggnog Scones
♡  Healthier Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls
♡  Healthier Baked Eggnog Donut Holes
♡  Healthier Eggnog Snickerdoodles
♡  Healthy Eggnog Truffles
♡  Healthy Eggnog Sugar Cookies
♡  …and the rest of Amy’s healthy holiday recipes!