Cherry Apricot Coconut Oil Muffins

It’s no secret I adore Ina Garten. Her recipes are spot on, I love her style, and I kind of just want to camp out in her garden. That makes sense to camp out in the North East year-round, right?

 

No?

 

However, as much as I admire Ina one thing drives me nuts – she measures EVERY.SINGLE.THING. All the time.

 

And I get it! It leads to consistently delicious results, which is always a good thing, but I have zero time and close to zero room in my dishwasher for measuring every tiny ingredient. The other thing that kills me is when she so properly combines all of the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry in another, and then slowly combines them together for each and every baked good ever. I know there are reasons for all of this, but again – no time, no room.

 

So here’s the deal with these crazy muffins. They’re sweet with a lovely depth of flavor from the coconut oil, and the texture of the chopped dried fruit is fantastic. And they’re a one-bowl deal too, which I always love. Just make sure you don’t overmix – the very second the dry flours have dissolved into the wet ingredients you just stop and then fill up the muffin tins. Done! Easy peasy, no extra dishes, and you get some rockin’ muffins out of the deal.

 

Heather – 1. Monday – 0.

 

CHERRY APRICOT COCONUT OIL MUFFINS

Makes 18 mini muffins

Ingredients:

• 3/4 unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 whole egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional, but so yummy!)
• 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour (whole wheat pastry flour works well too)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Line a mini muffin pan with muffin cups (or grease well) and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the applesauce, coconut oil and brown sugar until smooth and creamy.
4. Add the egg, vanilla extract and almond extract and whisk to combine.
5. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, dried cherries and dried apricots all at once, allowing the dried fruit to rest on top of the flour, and gently fold in.
6. As soon as the dry ingredients are mixed in, fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way full with batter.
7. Gently tap the pan on the counter to release air bubbles.
8. Bake at 375 for 13-18 minutes until the tops just begin to brown.
9. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before devouring.
10. Enjoy!