Vegan Apricot Muffins with Walnuts & Cashews

Someone shared a nice vegan muffin recipe on Facebook the other day I thought I'd try with the nice apricots I have canned.  I changed so much in the original recipe, it's now an entirely new recipe.  I didn't have self rising flour, but that's easily remedied with a little extra baking powder.  Amazingly, I am out of almonds, that rarely happens, so I used some raw cashews and walnuts, roasted slightly in a dry sautée pan on the stovetop.  I used safflower oil, hemp milk and apricot preserves I made with last year's fresh apricots.

That's how I make most things. I grab a recipe using the ingredients I have on-hand, fruit in season, etc., and use it as a guide.  These muffins came out so light and fluffy a friend of mine at work said they were 'Betty Crocker' fluffy.

The orginal recipe I used was Almond & Peach Muffins from a blog called "Parsley Soup"

My version of this recipe: 

Apricot Muffins with Walnuts & Cashews

2 cups Whole wheat pastry flour
1 TB plus 1 tsp Baking powder
3/4 cup Turbinado sugar
1/2 cup Ground cashews
4 oz Sunflower oil
1 cup non dairy milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 pint apricot preserves (I used agave and agar to make my preserves last year)
Pan roasted chopped cashews and walnuts to decorate
Apricot preserves to glaze

1.  Sift flour, baking powder into large mixing bowl.

2.  Stir in the turbinado sugar and ground cashews.

3.  Whisk the vegetable oil, non dairy milk, and vanilla in a smaller bowl and pour into the flour mixture.

4. Quickly stir in the peach preserves reserving some for the glaze.  The total stirring should take less than 30 seonces and it's fine it it's really lumpy.  Muffin dough doesn't like to be mixed too much.

5.  Pour the mixture into muffin cups and sprinkle the roasted nuts on top.

6.  Bake at 400º for about 20 minutes or until risen and cooked through.  Give it the toothpick test.  If it comes out clean, they are done.

7.  Heat the apricot preserves slightly and spread on top of the hot muffins with a pastry brush.  I put a little of the apricot bits on top too.

Enjoy with a glass of non-dairy mile.  YUM!

These received great reviews with everyone who tried them.