First Time In My Kitchen

I am so super excited to share today's recipe with you. One, because it is a first time here on EMM. Two, it is a first in my kitchen whatsoever. Three, it would make a fantastic alternative to the traditional turkey or ham this upcoming holiday season. And most of all, because it is seriously one of the most delicious things I've made in a long time, not to mention gorgeous, making me very proud of it!

Have you ever had duck? I know sometimes it gets a bad wrap of being a greasy meat, but I can attest to the fact, if it is prepared correctly, it is no more greasy than chicken. I have had it a couple times, and loved it; just never prepared it myself. My husband has had it many times, and loves it. So when dear friends, and fellow foodies, treated me with some fresh (frozen) duck legs, I could not wait to get into the kitchen and start cooking!

Now, I realize if you're feeding a huge crowd for Thanksgiving or Christmas, this might not be the most economical choice. But maybe your holiday celebration is a little trimmed back this year, with not everyone being able to make it, and a huge turkey just doesn't make sense. Or maybe you just want to try something different and totally wow your guests. These will definitely do that!

The pre-browning step is a must! Don't skip it. And yes, leave the skin on. It locks all the moisture into the meat, making it juicy, tender and flavorful. Then to slow roast them laying on all those veggies just adds more yumminess! Then the "icing on the cake" per say, is this simple, yet delicious and unique glaze. It really puts them over the top.

If you're looking for something new to try for your family's holiday, or want to maybe have something a little extra special hit your holiday table, these are the perfect idea. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Roasted Duck Legs with Apricot Glaze
6 whole duck legs, trimmed and dried
1 TBS olive oil
1 carrot, cut into large pieces
1 rib celery, cut into large pieces
1 medium white onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. apricot preserves
1 tsp. dried thyme, divided
2 TBS rice wine vinegar
2 TBS water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 325. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Season duck liberally with salt and pepper, on both sides. Place in skillet, skin side down in pan. Brown for 6-7 minutes. Flip and brown meat side for 3-4 minutes. In a large roasting pan place carrots, celery, and onion. Add broth. Sprinkle with 3/4 tsp. thyme. Lay browned duck, skin side up, over veggies. Cover and roast for 1 hour 15 minutes. Increase heat to 425 and uncover. Roast for another 20 minutes to crisp skin. In a small saucepan combine preserves, vinegar, water, 1/4 tsp. thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When duck is done, transfer to serving platter and liberally baste in apricot glaze. Sprinkle with extra thyme.

Shared on The Country Cook Nov. 22, 2013

Duck at Very Good Recipes

I am so super excited to share today's recipe with you. One, because it is a first time here on EMM. Two, it is a first in my kitchen whatsoever. Three, it would make a fantastic alternative to the traditional turkey or ham this upcoming holiday season. And most of all, because it is seriously one of the most delicious things I've made in a long time, not to mention gorgeous, making me very proud of it!

Have you ever had duck? I know sometimes it gets a bad wrap of being a greasy meat, but I can attest to the fact, if it is prepared correctly, it is no more greasy than chicken. I have had it a couple times, and loved it; just never prepared it myself. My husband has had it many times, and loves it. So when dear friends, and fellow foodies, treated me with some fresh (frozen) duck legs, I could not wait to get into the kitchen and start cooking!

Now, I realize if you're feeding a huge crowd for Thanksgiving or Christmas, this might not be the most economical choice. But maybe your holiday celebration is a little trimmed back this year, with not everyone being able to make it, and a huge turkey just doesn't make sense. Or maybe you just want to try something different and totally wow your guests. These will definitely do that!

The pre-browning step is a must! Don't skip it. And yes, leave the skin on. It locks all the moisture into the meat, making it juicy, tender and flavorful. Then to slow roast them laying on all those veggies just adds more yumminess! Then the "icing on the cake" per say, is this simple, yet delicious and unique glaze. It really puts them over the top.

If you're looking for something new to try for your family's holiday, or want to maybe have something a little extra special hit your holiday table, these are the perfect idea. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Roasted Duck Legs with Apricot Glaze
6 whole duck legs, trimmed and dried
1 TBS olive oil
1 carrot, cut into large pieces
1 rib celery, cut into large pieces
1 medium white onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. apricot preserves
1 tsp. dried thyme, divided
2 TBS rice wine vinegar
2 TBS water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 325. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Season duck liberally with salt and pepper, on both sides. Place in skillet, skin side down in pan. Brown for 6-7 minutes. Flip and brown meat side for 3-4 minutes. In a large roasting pan place carrots, celery, and onion. Add broth. Sprinkle with 3/4 tsp. thyme. Lay browned duck, skin side up, over veggies. Cover and roast for 1 hour 15 minutes. Increase heat to 425 and uncover. Roast for another 20 minutes to crisp skin. In a small saucepan combine preserves, vinegar, water, 1/4 tsp. thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When duck is done, transfer to serving platter and liberally baste in apricot glaze. Sprinkle with extra thyme.

Shared on The Country Cook Nov. 22, 2013

Duck at Very Good Recipes

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Chocolate Coffee Cake

This recipe is one that I just happened across in a little cookbook called The Best Muffins & Quick Breads by Gregg R. Gillespie. I'm so glad that I found this recipe for a coffee cake made rich with chocolate, cream cheese, and dried apricots. Whether you're serving it for breakfast, snack, or dessert, it's always the right time for chocolate.

Print Recipe

Chocolate Coffee Cake

1/2 cup finely ground almonds, divided

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups dried apricots, finely diced

1 cup vegetable shortening

1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, at room temperature

2 1/4 cups granulated sugar

5 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons Amaretto liqueur (I substituted 1/2 teaspoon almond extract)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch pan. (I used a 10-inch springform pan.)

Press 1/4 cup of the ground almonds up the outer edges of the pan; set aside.

In a large bowl, blend together the remaining almonds, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and diced apricots. In a separate bowl, beat shortening, cream cheese, and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the Amaretto (or almond extract). Combine the two mixtures, blending until the dry ingredients are just moistened.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. (My cake needed 60 minutes baking time). Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 to 7 minutes before removing from pan onto wire rack to continue cooling. Serve warm.

Some ingredients you'll need are Dutch-process cocoa, cream cheese, almonds, and dried apricots. I used a food processor to grind the almonds.

Press 1/4 cup of the ground almonds up the side of the pan before filling with batter.

This Chocolate Coffee Cake is very unique with the combination of chocolate and dried apricots, and can be enjoyed any time of day.




This recipe was shared with:
Weekend Potluck
Full Plate Thursday
All My Bloggy Friends
Jam Hands Recipe Sharing Monday

This recipe is one that I just happened across in a little cookbook called The Best Muffins & Quick Breads by Gregg R. Gillespie. I'm so glad that I found this recipe for a coffee cake made rich with chocolate, cream cheese, and dried apricots. Whether you're serving it for breakfast, snack, or dessert, it's always the right time for chocolate.

Print Recipe

Chocolate Coffee Cake

1/2 cup finely ground almonds, divided

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups dried apricots, finely diced

1 cup vegetable shortening

1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, at room temperature

2 1/4 cups granulated sugar

5 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons Amaretto liqueur (I substituted 1/2 teaspoon almond extract)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch pan. (I used a 10-inch springform pan.)

Press 1/4 cup of the ground almonds up the outer edges of the pan; set aside.

In a large bowl, blend together the remaining almonds, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and diced apricots. In a separate bowl, beat shortening, cream cheese, and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the Amaretto (or almond extract). Combine the two mixtures, blending until the dry ingredients are just moistened.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. (My cake needed 60 minutes baking time). Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5 to 7 minutes before removing from pan onto wire rack to continue cooling. Serve warm.

Some ingredients you'll need are Dutch-process cocoa, cream cheese, almonds, and dried apricots. I used a food processor to grind the almonds.

Press 1/4 cup of the ground almonds up the side of the pan before filling with batter.

This Chocolate Coffee Cake is very unique with the combination of chocolate and dried apricots, and can be enjoyed any time of day.




This recipe was shared with:
Weekend Potluck
Full Plate Thursday
All My Bloggy Friends
Jam Hands Recipe Sharing Monday

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Apricot Breakfast Crescents

My refrigerator is usually stocked with at least a couple of cans of crescent rolls. I use them for a number of different recipes, and I'm always on the lookout for a new way to dress up a crescent roll. My husband likes to have bacon/eggs or sausage/eggs for breakfast, but one morning this week he was away, and I don't like to cook that much breakfast for only myself. I didn't have any muffins baked, and was staring in the refrigerator trying to decide what to make when the crescent rolls stood up and waved. That's when this recipe came to be.

Print Recipe

Apricot Breakfast Crescents

1 (8 ounce) can crescent rolls

About 24 dried apricots, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare a sheet pan by lining with parchment paper. Unroll and separate the crescent dough into triangles. Place the chopped apricots on each triangle, then roll the dough up to form the crescent. Place on the prepared pan and bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown.

All you need for this yummy breakfast is a can of crescent rolls and some dried apricots.

Chop the apricots.

Spread the chopped apricots on the triangles of crescent dough.

Roll them up and place on a parchment paper lined pan.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.

These Apricot Crescents made a tasty breakfast! They could be fancied up with a glaze if you like, or any kind of dried fruit could be substituted for the apricots. Just one more way to use those handy crescent rolls!

This recipe was shared with:
Bake with Bizzy
Momtrends Friday Food

My refrigerator is usually stocked with at least a couple of cans of crescent rolls. I use them for a number of different recipes, and I'm always on the lookout for a new way to dress up a crescent roll. My husband likes to have bacon/eggs or sausage/eggs for breakfast, but one morning this week he was away, and I don't like to cook that much breakfast for only myself. I didn't have any muffins baked, and was staring in the refrigerator trying to decide what to make when the crescent rolls stood up and waved. That's when this recipe came to be.

Print Recipe

Apricot Breakfast Crescents

1 (8 ounce) can crescent rolls

About 24 dried apricots, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare a sheet pan by lining with parchment paper. Unroll and separate the crescent dough into triangles. Place the chopped apricots on each triangle, then roll the dough up to form the crescent. Place on the prepared pan and bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown.

All you need for this yummy breakfast is a can of crescent rolls and some dried apricots.

Chop the apricots.

Spread the chopped apricots on the triangles of crescent dough.

Roll them up and place on a parchment paper lined pan.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes.

These Apricot Crescents made a tasty breakfast! They could be fancied up with a glaze if you like, or any kind of dried fruit could be substituted for the apricots. Just one more way to use those handy crescent rolls!

This recipe was shared with:
Bake with Bizzy
Momtrends Friday Food

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Triple A Muffins

These muffins are made with two kinds of dried fruit and make a wonderful breakfast or snack muffin. I don't like long names for recipes, and the name of these muffins was originally Apricot and Apple Muffins with Almond Topping. I have shortened the name to simply Triple A Muffins in reference to the apples, apricots, and almonds. My recipe is adapted from the Perfect Cookies, Cupcakes, and Muffins cookbook.

Print Recipe

Triple A Muffins

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

1/2 cup chopped dried apple

1/2 cup orange juice

2 cups self-rising flour

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Topping

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/3 cup Demerara sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a standard 12 cup muffin pan by greasing or use paper liners. In a small bowl, combine the apricots, apple, and orange juice. Let the fruit soak in the orange juice at room temperature for 15 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the flour and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and orange zest. Add the buttermilk mixture and the fruit mixture all at once to the flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. For the topping, sprinkle the slivered almonds and the Demerara sugar over the muffin batter. Bake in preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes, or until muffins test done. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to continue cooling.

You'll need both dried apricots and dried apples for this recipe.

Chop enough of each to equal 1/2 cup.

Soak the dried fruit in orange juice for 15 minutes.

These muffins are topped with slivered almonds and Demerara sugar.

Bake muffins for 15 - 20 minutes.

The recipe indicated it would make 12 standard muffins, but I had 14 muffins in my batch.

So whether you call these "Apricot and Apple Muffins with Almond Topping" or just "Triple A Muffins", these are seriously good muffins, no matter what their name!




This recipe was shared with:
The Shady Porch Rock n Share
This Chick Cooks 
Cast Party Wednesday 
Thriving on Thursdays
Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday
Bake with Bizzy 
It's a Keeper Thursday
Muffin Monday
Your Recipe My Kitchen
Naptime Creations Tasty Tuesday 
Momtrends Friday Food 
Foodie Friday

These muffins are made with two kinds of dried fruit and make a wonderful breakfast or snack muffin. I don't like long names for recipes, and the name of these muffins was originally Apricot and Apple Muffins with Almond Topping. I have shortened the name to simply Triple A Muffins in reference to the apples, apricots, and almonds. My recipe is adapted from the Perfect Cookies, Cupcakes, and Muffins cookbook.

Print Recipe

Triple A Muffins

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

1/2 cup chopped dried apple

1/2 cup orange juice

2 cups self-rising flour

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Topping

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/3 cup Demerara sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a standard 12 cup muffin pan by greasing or use paper liners. In a small bowl, combine the apricots, apple, and orange juice. Let the fruit soak in the orange juice at room temperature for 15 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the flour and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and orange zest. Add the buttermilk mixture and the fruit mixture all at once to the flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. For the topping, sprinkle the slivered almonds and the Demerara sugar over the muffin batter. Bake in preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes, or until muffins test done. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to continue cooling.

You'll need both dried apricots and dried apples for this recipe.

Chop enough of each to equal 1/2 cup.

Soak the dried fruit in orange juice for 15 minutes.

These muffins are topped with slivered almonds and Demerara sugar.

Bake muffins for 15 - 20 minutes.

The recipe indicated it would make 12 standard muffins, but I had 14 muffins in my batch.

So whether you call these "Apricot and Apple Muffins with Almond Topping" or just "Triple A Muffins", these are seriously good muffins, no matter what their name!




This recipe was shared with:
The Shady Porch Rock n Share
This Chick Cooks 
Cast Party Wednesday 
Thriving on Thursdays
Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday
Bake with Bizzy 
It's a Keeper Thursday
Muffin Monday
Your Recipe My Kitchen
Naptime Creations Tasty Tuesday 
Momtrends Friday Food 
Foodie Friday

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Apricot-Pineapple Muffins

On Friday I was in Little Rock celebrating Grandparents' Day by having lunch at school with Ginger and Charlie. I also spent the night with them so their parents could go out to eat and go to a movie. That evening the children and I baked some fruit-filled muffins. These Apricot-Pineapple Muffins are not going to win any beauty contests, but they rank high in the taste category. The recipe is from the Busy Woman's Quick and Easy Recipes cookbook.

Print Recipe

Apricot-Pineapple Muffins

1/3 cup very finely cut dried apricots

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup quick-rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a muffin pan by spraying with nonstick cooking spray or use paper liners. With a mixer, cream butter and sugar; add egg and pineapple and beat well. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and oats; mix well. Fold in apricots. Spoon into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Bake muffins for 20 minutes.

These muffins may look pretty plain on the outside . . .

. . . but with the oats, apricots, and pineapple, there's a lot going on inside these muffins!



This recipe was shared with:
Muffin Monday
This Chick Cooks These Chicks Cooked
Bake With Bizzy

On Friday I was in Little Rock celebrating Grandparents' Day by having lunch at school with Ginger and Charlie. I also spent the night with them so their parents could go out to eat and go to a movie. That evening the children and I baked some fruit-filled muffins. These Apricot-Pineapple Muffins are not going to win any beauty contests, but they rank high in the taste category. The recipe is from the Busy Woman's Quick and Easy Recipes cookbook.

Print Recipe

Apricot-Pineapple Muffins

1/3 cup very finely cut dried apricots

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup quick-rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a muffin pan by spraying with nonstick cooking spray or use paper liners. With a mixer, cream butter and sugar; add egg and pineapple and beat well. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and oats; mix well. Fold in apricots. Spoon into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Bake muffins for 20 minutes.

These muffins may look pretty plain on the outside . . .

. . . but with the oats, apricots, and pineapple, there's a lot going on inside these muffins!



This recipe was shared with:
Muffin Monday
This Chick Cooks These Chicks Cooked
Bake With Bizzy

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Streusel Fruit Bread

This recipe for Streusel Fruit Bread is a quick bread that is packed full of fruit and nuts. I adapted my recipe from one that I found in a 2007 issue of a Taste of Home magazine. The original was a family recipe that had been handed down through the years, and it was submitted to the magazine by Robert Logan. I'm glad he didn't keep this bread a family secret!

Print Recipe

Streusel Fruit Bread
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
2/3 cup mashed ripe banana
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots

Topping
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cold butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, banana, oil, corn syrup, and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in pecans, cranberries, and apricots. Pour batter into prepared pan.
For topping, combine brown sugar and flour in a small bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 - 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

This fruit bread not only has bananas, it has dried apricots, pecans and dried cranberries to fill it up with flavor.

Sprinkle the streusel over the batter before baking.

Bake for 45 - 50 minutes in the preheated oven.

Slice and serve. This is a delicious bread!



This recipe was shared with:
Sweet as Sugar Cookies - Sweets for a Saturday
Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms - Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Jam Hands - Recipe Sharing Monday
On the Menu Monday
Naptime Creations

This recipe for Streusel Fruit Bread is a quick bread that is packed full of fruit and nuts. I adapted my recipe from one that I found in a 2007 issue of a Taste of Home magazine. The original was a family recipe that had been handed down through the years, and it was submitted to the magazine by Robert Logan. I'm glad he didn't keep this bread a family secret!

Print Recipe

Streusel Fruit Bread
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
2/3 cup mashed ripe banana
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots

Topping
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cold butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, banana, oil, corn syrup, and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in pecans, cranberries, and apricots. Pour batter into prepared pan.
For topping, combine brown sugar and flour in a small bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 - 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

This fruit bread not only has bananas, it has dried apricots, pecans and dried cranberries to fill it up with flavor.

Sprinkle the streusel over the batter before baking.

Bake for 45 - 50 minutes in the preheated oven.

Slice and serve. This is a delicious bread!



This recipe was shared with:
Sweet as Sugar Cookies - Sweets for a Saturday
Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms - Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Jam Hands - Recipe Sharing Monday
On the Menu Monday
Naptime Creations

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Apricot Muffins

The star in this recipe is dried apricots. If you decide to make these muffins be sure to buy plenty of apricots because I guarantee your family will ask for them again.

The ingredients in this recipe are very basic for me except for the apricots and the buttermilk. You may always keep buttermilk handy, but I never have. Fairly often, I would pull out a recipe and realize that I didn't have buttermilk, then I'd have to make a trip to buy some before I could carry on with my cooking.
Until . . .

. . . I read the Pioneer Woman's cookbook. If you don't have buttermilk and you need a cup of it for a recipe, just use a scant cup of milk and mix it with a tablespoon of distilled white vinegar. Somehow it magically becomes buttermilk before your very eyes! This is the coolest! For the recipe today I purposely didn't buy buttermilk, just so I could make my own. This is something you really need to try, if you haven't.

A scant cup of milk + 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar = 1 cup buttermilk


I'm usually not in favor of substitutions in recipes. I hardly ever would substitute anything in my cooking until my eyes were opened to the buttermilk substitute by the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. Live and learn. She's my hero. I went all the way to Dallas when she was there to get her to sign my copies of The Pioneer Woman Cooks and her novel Black Heels to Tractor Wheels.

Print Recipe

Apricot Muffins 

1 cup chopped dried apricots
1 cup boiling water
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a 12 cup muffin pan by spraying with non stick cooking spray.

Now let's mix up the muffins.

Start with a bag of dried apricots.

Chop the apricots.

We need enough chopped apricots to make 1 cup.

Place the chopped apricots in a small bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water over the apricots. Let stand for 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, oil, buttermilk, and egg.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until just blended. It is okay for the batter to have some lumps.

Drain the water from the apricots, and mix them into the batter.

Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top springs back when lightly pressed.

Cool in the pan over a wire rack.

Have a muffin! (I had two!)


Shared with:
Muffin Monday

The star in this recipe is dried apricots. If you decide to make these muffins be sure to buy plenty of apricots because I guarantee your family will ask for them again.

The ingredients in this recipe are very basic for me except for the apricots and the buttermilk. You may always keep buttermilk handy, but I never have. Fairly often, I would pull out a recipe and realize that I didn't have buttermilk, then I'd have to make a trip to buy some before I could carry on with my cooking.
Until . . .

. . . I read the Pioneer Woman's cookbook. If you don't have buttermilk and you need a cup of it for a recipe, just use a scant cup of milk and mix it with a tablespoon of distilled white vinegar. Somehow it magically becomes buttermilk before your very eyes! This is the coolest! For the recipe today I purposely didn't buy buttermilk, just so I could make my own. This is something you really need to try, if you haven't.

A scant cup of milk + 1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar = 1 cup buttermilk


I'm usually not in favor of substitutions in recipes. I hardly ever would substitute anything in my cooking until my eyes were opened to the buttermilk substitute by the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. Live and learn. She's my hero. I went all the way to Dallas when she was there to get her to sign my copies of The Pioneer Woman Cooks and her novel Black Heels to Tractor Wheels.

Print Recipe

Apricot Muffins 

1 cup chopped dried apricots
1 cup boiling water
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a 12 cup muffin pan by spraying with non stick cooking spray.

Now let's mix up the muffins.

Start with a bag of dried apricots.

Chop the apricots.

We need enough chopped apricots to make 1 cup.

Place the chopped apricots in a small bowl. Pour 1 cup boiling water over the apricots. Let stand for 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, oil, buttermilk, and egg.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until just blended. It is okay for the batter to have some lumps.

Drain the water from the apricots, and mix them into the batter.

Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top springs back when lightly pressed.

Cool in the pan over a wire rack.

Have a muffin! (I had two!)


Shared with:
Muffin Monday

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