Preheat oven to 425° F. and spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray or add muffin liners to it.

In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. Pour the wet in with the dry and stir them together with a rubber spatula until you no longer see streaks of flour. Don't over-mix.

Divide the muffin batter evenly into the muffin pan. Top the muffins with coarse sugar if desired. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 5 minutes at 425° F. then lower the heat to 375° F. and bake for another 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for several minutes before removing them onto a wire cooling rack.