Apricot Muffins
Since we have a freeze dryer and a seemingly endless supply of apricots. I have been messing around with recipes for using freeze dried fruit in muffins. It has been a long process of trial and error. Either they if I got the flavor right, the texture was off. Of if I got great taste and texture they looked flat and unappealing. But I keep trying different variations and I think I finally figured out a version that I like. These are everything you want muffins to be, light and fluffy with an apricot flavor that was subtle and delicious. And, as a bonus, they look pretty, like muffins you could sell at a bake sale, if such things still exist.
Because I have kids a lot of my effort goes into figuring out what they will eat. They don’t like chunks of fruit in their muffins (or anything really), so I use freeze dried apricots that have been blended into powder. It works great because there is no mushy texture. My kids also think that muffins are a waste of time if they don’t have a streusel topping, so I added it to the recipe for their benefit, but I believe these would be delightful without the topping as well. I personally wouldn’t mind a little more fruit flavor, but I am going for what will be popular with the family, and these definitely hit that mark. But I am going to keep experimenting with this one, so don’t be surprised if you get an update in the future.
Apricot Muffins
Equipment
- 1 bowl
- 1 muffin tin I used a cup tin, I have not tried this recipe in other sizes yet
- 1 large spoon or spatula
Ingredients
Streusel (crumb topping)
- ¼ cup butter (softened, or melted)
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ⅔ cup flour
- ¼ tsp. salt
Muffin
- ½ cup apricot powder see note
- 2 large eggs room temp. is preferred, see note
- ½ cup butter softened
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup sour cream or plain yogurt at room temp.
- 2 cups flour all purpose
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1½ tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk any kind
- ¼ tsp. almond extract optional
Instructions
- If you are going to make the streusel topping I recommend mixing it first and setting it aside until. Just melt the butter and add the sugar, then add in all other ingredients and mix and squish it together until you get a mostly uniform mixture.prepare muffin tins by lining with baking cups or spraying with oil.preheat the oven to 425℉If you don't already have apricot powder on hand I would take care of this first. I freeze dry my apricots halved and then store them in large Mylar bags. For this purpose I fill my blender with the apricot halves and blend them into powder. I store the extra in a glass mason jar for another day. prepare freeze dried eggs if using. See note for more details. In a large microwave safe bowl soften the butter, add sugar. Combine sugar and butter with a spoon or electric mixer until it is smooth and light in color. Add eggs, mix until combined. Add sour cream, vanilla and almond extract (optional). Pour flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and apricot powder into a pile on top of wet ingredients and lightly combine with a spoon to incorporate the other powders into the flour. Then add milk and combine all ingredients. Stir everything just to incorporate but don't overmix. It will be a thick but fluffy batter. Scoop into 12 well greased muffin tins. Sprinkle streusel topping over all the muffins, you may need to press it down.Bake at 425°℉ for 5 minutes, then turn temperature down to 350°℉ without opening the oven. Bake for another 8-10 minutes. I have found that the freeze dried powder dries the batter enough to significantly reduce the baking time. I recommend keeping an eye on your muffins the first time you bake them, cooking time may vary. The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
