Pureed Apricot Mango Muffin Recipe – Sweet!

I have never tried using dried fruit other than raisins before so I really was curious about how this Apricot Mango muffin recipe was going to turn out.

I LOVE dried apricots and mangoes so I was thinking that it was going to be a good thing!

I was so sure that I made a double batch.

You can half this recipe to make a smaller one if you want. 

Or double it to make a big one. 

I got 24 muffins from this recipe as is shown here.

PUREED APRICOT MUFFIN RECIPE 

1st Step: Bring 225g (about 1/2 of a 1lb bag of dried apricots) to a boil with 1 1/2 cups of water. Simmer with the lid on for about 15 minutes. Puree in your blender or food processor. I added a few dried mangoes as well, they are supersweet.

Ingredients…

• 4 eggs

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup oil

• 1 1/2 cup apricot puree 

• 1 tsp almond extract

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt 

(NOTE: See below for more details, but I made this recipe with 1 cup puree and 1/2 cup plain yogurt. You can do it with 1 1/2 cups apricot puree and no yogurt or 1 1/2 cups apricot puree and 1/2 cup plain yogurt, it's your call) 

• 2 cups flour (I like to use a blend – see QK flour blend, sometimes it's different according to what I have to grind – nuts, seeds, sometimes I add some gluten free flour – I did this time)

• 1/2 cup ground almond

• 1/2 cup ground oatmeal 

• 2 tbsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS

• SKOR chips
• brown sugar
• cinnamon or spice if you like 

Mix the wet ingredients into a large mixing bowl.

Mix the dry into a smaller one.

Add the dry to the wet and put into muffin cups. 

Preheat the oven to 400*. Bake 18 – 22 minutes.

THE ICING ON THE CAKE – I MEAN MUFFINS…

I always like to put something of interest into our muffins or cookies if possible, especially if they are known to contain fruit or something nutritious.

That seems to set off an internal warning system that says – DO NOT EAT! – but a few chocolate chips or a little sugar seems to dull the pain.

So I sprinkled the top with a bit of brown sugar and a little pile of SKOR chips – I love those things!

But they are expensive so I use them sparingly.

It gave a nice sweet and crispy top to the muffins. You can add a bit of spice too if you like.

They are very light and nice tasting so you don't HAVE to do this step but it is nice. Or use your own favourite topping. 

I found that the almond extract gave a nice flavour. You could sub that for a different one that you may like, there are so many cool ones out these days. If you can find a Watkins dealer, check out their extracts – they have root beer – delicious! And perfect with SKOR chips!

NOTE: I have to tell you that I botched the recipe when I made it, sort of. I should have been wearing my glasses! I thought it said 1/4 cup apricot puree, but it said 3/4. So I thought I had enough for a double batch but didn't realize until I was writing out my version that I had it wrong.

So I added what I had but it only amounted to 1 cup.

The apricot/mango puree is VERY SWEET so your muffins will probably turn out sweeter than mine did. You can do it with 1 cup if you prefer them to be less sweet OR you may want to omit the 1/2 cup plain yogurt if you use 1 1/2 cups. I added that for a little more moisture.

It's your call.

So what's the verdict.

Delicious!

The topping made them prone to browning on top (also the fact that I had the oven on broil for the first 10 minutes of the first batch) so I cooked them for a shorter time than I may normally have. It's something you can play with also and may want to watch. I used my toaster oven (I LOVE that thing – it was a gift from my son for Christmas. I didn't use it much until I melted the plastic plate in the oven – that's a whole other story :0) But now I use it all the time)

You may not have the problem in a full size oven. 

I will definitely be using dried fruit puree in more recipes as the main sweetener.

One of the great things about these muffins is their light texture.

These muffins get a 10 in my book.

I'll have to wait for the 3 Mikey's to try them for a more indepth commentary.

They are of course the real test – in more than just muffins!

A LITTLE NOTE ABOUT DRIED MANGO AND APRICOT NUTRIENTS

I know that there are some health concerns about eating dried fruit because of the way that they are processed – with sulphites and colour. I would love to find an alternative without those.

I don't really know too much about that, but here are the nutrients listed on the bag for the apricots and mangoes just to let you know what kind of nutrition they will add to your muffins, as well as fibre as a daily percentage.

6 Apricots - Vitamin A 8%, Calcium 2%, Iron 4% and Fibre 12%.

6 Mango Slices - Vitamin A 6%, Calcium 6%, Iron 2% and Fibre 8%.

So now you know and can make a better informed decision as to whether or not you'd like to use dried fruits such as apricots or mangoes in your muffins. I don't think I would make a staple diet of them, but once in awhile probably won't hurt. 

A FEW MORE RECIPES AND BLOGS TO EXPAND YOUR APRICOT FRUIT PUREE EXPERIENCE

Apricot Cupcakes with Almond Butter Frosting: One Way to Bake with

To come up with the apricot cupcake recipe, I started off with the same recipe that I used to make my pumpkin chili cupcakes. However, I subbed the pureed apricots for the pumpkin, added some honey, used different spices, and added some …

Organic Recipes Blog: All About Apricots

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A Finger in Every Pie: Enormous Changes at the Last Minute

Long story short, I more or less morphed what I 'd read and devised my own recipe, with a puree made of lightly cooked and sieved apricots, the juice of a lemon, eggs, butter, and about one-fourth the sugar called for in other recipes. …

Sass & Veracity: Apricot Cookie Tarts

These chews are little apricot tarts with a lot less fuss and fanfare. The recipe employs dried fruit, so you don't have to wait until apricots are in season to enjoy their tart sweetness. Use a food processor to purée the apricots, …

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