Choco-Apricot Muffins

Marz's Note:

This was published in Cook's Country (Feb/March 2008 edition) and was a runner up in a muffin contest. Kudos go to Joyce Hart from Prior Lake, MN, for coming up with this excellent muffin recipe I just test drove this evening. This is truly a wonderful muffin!

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 12

Yield: 12.0 muffins

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1⁄3; cup granulated sugar
• 1⁄3; cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ cup butter , melted and slightly cooled
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ¾ cup dried apricot , chopped
• 2⁄3; cup sliced almonds

Filling and Topping

• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄3; cup apricot preserves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Grease and flour 12 cup muffin tin.
3. In a large bowl whisk the first 6 ingredients. In a small bowl mix the sour cream, melted butter, eggs and extracts until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry until combined, fold in chocolate chips, nuts, and dried apricots.
4. For the Filling:.
5. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Spoon half the batter in prepared muffin tin. Place a dollop of preserves in center of the batter and top with remaining batter. Sprinkle with sugar mixture and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in tim for 5 minutes and transfer to cooling rack to cool off completely.

Reviews

[Chef de Sucre]

Fantastic! I did not have enough sour cream on hand, so I used some peach yogurt and topped it of with a little milk to get the right consistency. Very good with dark chocolate! I did not do the filling either, but I am sure that would be excellent as well. Thanks for the recipe!

[Rainette]

Oh....my....goodness!! These are heavenly in my opinion. My husband doesn't like apricot but just told me these are the best muffins I've made so far. I didn't do the filling or glaze but don't feel like I've missed out on anything. These are just fantastic and will be made time and time again at our house! I can't rave about them enough!