Heavenly Apricot Muffins

   On my Thursday baking spree, I decided that I couldn't bake all these delicious breads without bringing something tasty into work.  Scanning my apartment, my eyes landed on the two bags of dried apricots that I had sitting by my couch. 
    My original idea was Cinnamon Sugar Apricot Muffins, but at the time I was out of cinnamon and had not yet gone to the grocery store.  So turning once again to trusty Google, I found several recipes for Apricot muffins, but all of them except one, required fresh apricots.  The following recipe, Nutty Apricot Muffins , is the original recipe, but with some changes, my Heavenly Apricot muffins appeared. I also changed the glaze on top.  Since I was lacking orange juice, I took Apricot Jelly, which I had in my refrigerator, and heated it up to boiling in my microwave. I then took a brush and brushed the hot, liquid jelly on top of the cool muffins.  This gave them a sweet top, a shine and also a good apricot taste. 
   A little bit of a warning, these are dense muffins, so they require a cup of coffee, tea or warm cider to go with them.  They are delicious and are the perfect beginning to a fast paced day.  So take a few moments, warm up something to drink and then enjoy a muffin. 

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried apricots, cut up
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel (if you don't have orange peel, just use a teaspoon of orange extract, just as tasty and you'll never notice a difference)

 

• TOPPING:
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• or a 1/4 cup of Apricot Jelly, heated to boiling and spread on top

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine apricots and water. Let stand 5 minutes. Drain well and set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add sour cream and mix well. Combine dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Mix on low only until combined. Fold in orange peel, nuts and apricots. Batter will be very stiff. Spoon into well-greased muffin tins, filling each cup almost to the top. Bake at 400° for 18-20 minutes or until done. Combine sugar and orange juice; dip tops of warm muffins in mixture. Yield: 12 muffins.

Nutritional Facts 1 serving (1 each) equals 320 calories, 13 g fat (7 g saturated fat), 30 mg cholesterol, 288 mg sodium, 46 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Pumpkin Pie Bread with Dried Apples

  So school has started again, which means that this blog will be back in action documenting all the fun food that comes out of my kitchen.  Thursdays are my day off, so on my first day off I decided to clean the apartment top to bottom and bake some really fun stuff. 
  I know it's not really fall yet, but a while ago I had bought what I thought was a can of pumpkin filling.  When I got home, I realized that I had bought pumpkin pie mix (with spices and sugar already in it).  Darn was my first thought as I tucked the can into the far corner of my baking cupboard.  So there it sat, in the dark, dusty corners of my baking cabinet until yesterday when I decided to find a use for it. 
    I sat down at the computer and pulled up Google and typed in baked goods using pumpkin pie mix.  After a few unsuccessful attempts at trying to find a recipe, I finally stumbled across Oops I Bought Pumpkin Pie Mix Bread  and I decided that this was going to be my recipe of the day.  It calls for a cup of stir-ins and I debated between chocolate chips and apples.  I realized later that I had craisins in the cupboard, but at the time I forgot about them.  Personally, I think that they would have been delicious in the bread, but I decided to go with the dried apples. 
  This bread was really easy to mix up, bake, and it made my house smell amazing as it cooked.  I highly recommend liberally sprinkling the top with sugar and pumpkin pie spice.  To do this, take a 1/8 cup of sugar and mix it with about a teaspoon (or less) of pumpkin pie spice.  Sprinkle liberally across the top of the bread dough and then bake.  It creates a hard crackle of delicious sugar on top. 
   So as the fall weather begins to blow in, make sure you make this bread, grab a hot cup of tea or coffee, and enjoy those chilly mornings. 

Ingredients

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• Ingredients                                                 
• 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Stir Ins (raisins, sweetened dried cranberries, chopped dates, dried apples, apricots or anything delicious) 
• 1 can (30 oz) Easy Pumpkin Pie Mix                                                 
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup orange juice, apple juice or water
• 2 large eggs
• 2 to 3 tablespoons Sprinkle Ons (chopped nuts, cinnamon sugar, pumpkin spice sugar [recipe above] seeds such as: poppy, sesame or sunflower, optional)                                                 

• Directions
• PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease two 8 x 4-inch loaf pans.
• COMBINE flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Combine pumpkin pie mix, oil, orange juice and eggs in another large bowl. Pour pumpkin mixture into flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Fold in Stir Ins. Spoon batter into prepared pans. Sprinkle with your choice of Sprinkle Ons.
• BAKE for 50 to 55 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely.

• FOR EIGHT 5 1/2 x 3 1/4-INCH MINI-LOAF DISPOSABLE PANS:
• PREPARE as above. Bake for 38 to 42 minutes.

• FOR TWO DOZEN MUFFIN CUPS:
• PREHEAT oven to 400° F. Prepare as above. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes.