I am not a huge fan of summer because I cannot stand being hot and sticky in the ridiculous New Jersey humidity. It’s those warm summer months when I usually miss North Carolina most. Sure, it’s hot there too but the humidity is so much less and makes the heat much more bearable. But I do love swimming and as summer makes its way, she brings with her some of the most luscious fruits.
I especially love when I start finding cherries and apricots. The soft, velvety pale orange skin of apricots is so beautiful. Oh, and that taste! The peachy sweet but slight tartness just dance on my tongue and make me happy. And don’t even get me started on cherries! I yearn for that sweet red juicy fruit all year long. The moment I can get my hands on them, they find their way into so many things in my kitchen. Sometimes even by accident.
When I was making apricot muffins for this week’s Muffin Monday, I opened my cabinet to get some sugar. Out fell a bag of dried sweet cherries. They must have been partially open because they spilled right into the batter waiting beneath the cabinet. At first I was upset. Upset at the mess, upset at the idea of having to pick out all these dried cherries from my muffin batter. As I stood there for a few seconds though I realized, this might be accidental genius. So I decided to leave the cherries and see how they turned out.
Boy am I glad I did! These muffins ended up being moist and slightly tart from the apricots while the dried cherries added a little chewy sweetness to them. They’re a wonderful way to start the day and welcome summer which is on her way in.
*What summer foods are you looking forward to?
Enjoy!
~K
Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week one muffin at a time.
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Cherry Apricot Muffins
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 cup apricots, chopped
1/4 cup dried sweet cherries
– Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
– In a bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.
– Stir in the sour cream, milk and egg.
– Add in the flour, baking powder, salt and orange peel. Stir just until combined.
– Fold in the apricots and cherries.
– Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and bake for 20-22 minutes.
– Enjoy!
Adapted from Taste of Home
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
I just love the addition of the sweet cherries in this!
Thank you Chung-Ah! I loved this week’s assignment and adored your addition of peaches
Mmmm…cherries and apricots together in a muffin – brilliant!
Thank you, Renee! I’m so glad you think so
I grew up in St Louis which is hot and sticky and moved to Raleigh, NC at 28 where I lived for 10 years. I loved NC and it will always hold a very special place in my heart but we moved again to a suburb of Denver many years ago. I hated it at first, I missed all of those trees and the lushness and beauty of the spring but I’ll tell you this…I could never, ever leave Colorado now.
Why? Two words. Low humidity. I had no idea there were places like this for most of my life; cool nights (only 67 now) and temperate days. Not to say it won’t get hot. We can have a run of 95+ days but for the most part? Never gets over 80 in my house and without the humidity never gets uncomfortable. When the air conditioner I had broke down 5 years ago I replaced it with a whole house attic fan, I only ran the air for maybe 5 days each summer! So what I’m trying to say is this. Move here!!! We could share these and more fabulous muffins every week. 🙂
Even lower humidity?? Sold!! Although you’ll have to talk my husband into it 😉 We would have so much fun if I lived in Denver. Baking together and you could teach me how to garden too!
Those “accidents” are the best, aren’t they?? Sweet + Tart = Perfection!
They really are!
I tried apricots last year because of your love of them. 🙂 Guess the cherries just couldn’t resist them!
‘I am not a huge fan of summer because I cannot stand being hot and sticky in the ridiculous New Jersey humidity’ – Ha ha..we are cut from the same cloth. It was bearable as a teen because it was SUMMER, no school, pool and beach, but as an adult, blechh. I’m perfectly happy indoors with the AC cranked, even if it does seep through the walls. Having said all that..I love kitchen accidents that turn into amazing creations! Those dried cherries fell into your batter for a reason..it was fate, my dear 🙂 They look terrific..and the photos of them are beauiful!
I hear ya!! As a kid, I was all about the summer too for those very same reasons. Not so much any more 😉 but I don’t love winter either. I wish it would be autumn pretty much year round with a few mild warm days thrown into the mix. And thanks! I’m so glad you like the muffins 🙂
Hi Kate, thanks for stopping by my blog. I must confess, not a huge fan of humid weather either! Born and bred in Singapore, I could never live there again! The British summer, unfortunately, is infamous for its rain, but since I love the rain…!
Love your blog, I love the flavours you got going here, accident or not! I must confess I did think of joining Muffin Mondays ages ago but since Mondays are almost always detox days, mmm, not worked that one out yet! xx
Hi!! Thanks so much for coming on over and checking out my blog too! I’m so happy to hear that you like it and these little muffins. Perhaps we’ll see you on Mondays as well sometime. The nice this is, that you don’t have to participate every week. You can do as much or as little as you like. Either way, I hear you about needing a “detox day.” So enjoy your Mondays!
Ha! Glad I could inspire you to give the apricots a try, even if you didn’t love them the way I do 😉 but yes, the cherries just dove right in after those apricots!
Girl, these muffins look delish. Love the combination of apricots and cherries. They’re some beautiful muffins.
Cherries and apricots!! Double YUM! Great pictures, Kate! 🙂
LOL! I just posted about how much I love Summer! I’m not usually a fan of cherries unless they are fresh…but the pairing of sweet cherries with tart apricots sounds so appealing!
Sorry I’ve been absent for so long. I’m sure you know how it goes. Once the baby started crawling I was pretty much done for! He’s SOOO nosy and into EVERYTHING! LOL!!
I hope you and the kiddos are doing well!
Hi stranger!! Missed you around here but yes, I know how it goes. My littlest is just starting to crawl so I’m about to be in those very shoes. Hope all is well with you and thank you so much for your comment!
I tried these yesterday and they came out really well 🙂 very nice and moist and tasty.
Thank you for the interesting combination 🙂
Ooo! I’m so glad to hear you made them and most importantly, that you enjoyed them!! Thanks for the feedback. It’s always good to know that people are enjoying the things I’m putting out here.
Omigosh… I LOVE this! How funny that the cherries toppled into the batter. A happy accident, indeed! I *intentionally* put dried cherries in mine, but am now kicking myself for replacing the dried apricots with them, rather than just adding them into the mix! I bet it was a wonderful combination!
Summer foods I’m looking forward to? The simple stuff. Sweet berry cobblers and crumbles, light lemon cakes, BBQs, and all things fresh and green 🙂
Thanks so much Aimee! I’m so glad you liked my “happy accident.” It really turned out to be a very good thing. And oh my goodness, I’m right there with you… cobblers, crumbles, lemon cakes… yes!!!