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.