Apricot Cranberry Oatmeal Muffins

I was in the mood for something “healthy” to snack on so I decided to make these oatmeal muffins. The last time I made these muffins, I used dried apricots and almonds. This time around I substituted sweetened dried cranberries for the almonds to make the muffin fruitier. The original recipe uses the oats as-is which is what I did when I first made them. I wanted to try something new and decided to grind them finely, to give the muffin a less coarse texture.

These muffins are not overly sweet (which I enjoy). They are wholesome and delicious. Wrap the muffins in a couple layers of plastic wrap and freeze them, to enjoy them later. Just take however many you need from the freezer, pop them in the microwave for a few seconds and you’ll have a great, fresh muffin.

Apricot Cranberry Oatmeal Muffins

Recipe adapted from Blue Ribbon Baking by Marjorie Johnson

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 cup old-fashioned oats, ground (I used a spice grinder)

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup dark brown sugar

1 egg

½ cup dried apricots, chopped (cut into small pieces with scissors)

½ cup sweetened dried cranberries

2 tsp turbinado sugar (natural raw sugar) for decoration, optional

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 375 F.
• Line a 12-muffin pan with paper cups.
• In a medium bowl, combine ground oats and buttermilk. Let sit while getting other ingredients ready.
• Combine the apricots and cranberries in a bowl and cover with hot water to plump them up. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• Add brown sugar and egg to the oats and buttermilk mixture. Whisk until smooth.
• Drain the apricots and cranberries. Add to batter and stir to combine.
• Add flour mixture to the batter and stir to combine for about 10 seconds. Do not over mix.
• Using an ice cream scoop, fill each muffin cup about ¾ full.
• Sprinkle a little turbinado sugar on each muffin.
• Bake for 19-24 minutes or until a skewer inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.

Yields: 12 muffins.

Happy Baking!