White Whole Wheat Apricot Muffins.

One of the biggest side effects of losing weight for me is that now I will basically click the "x" in Firefox if I see a recipe with more than a stick of butter.  This recipe is one of those that make me realize you don't need a lot of butter to make baked goods taste really amazing.  In fact, these muffins taste buttery!  With only 4 tablespoons of butter!  They don't require any silly "health food" ingredients either - real eggs, butter, sugar and flour. There's definitely a time and place for rich coffee cakes and danishes on the brunch and breakfast table, but if you can get rich-tasting goodies without the calories and fat, why not?

I followed the original recipe as-is, only substituting white whole wheat flour for the whole wheat called for.  I loved the apricots here, but next time I'm going to try a mix of dried fruit - dates, cherries, raisins, cranberries, etc.  Have fun!

White Whole Wheat Apricot Muffins
Adapted from Cooking Light
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk (I used fat free)
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons, 1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup chopped dried apricots

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. and spray a muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, zest, baking soda and salt and set aside.  In a smaller bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, butter, extract and egg.  Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry, stirring until almost mixed, then add in the dried apricots and stir just until they're combined.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and bake until lightly golden on top, 12-15 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack and store at room temperature, up to 3 days.