Mama’s Apricot Muffins
My mama taught me to make these and now I crave them all the time. These dried apricot muffins are soft and buttery, with chewy bits of apricot in every bite and a full cup of sour cream doing the job that eggs and milk usually do. The batter takes about 10 minutes to stir together, the muffins bake in 20, and one batch makes 12 to 15 depending on how full you fill the cups.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Apricot Muffins
- Serves: 12 muffins
- Main Ingredients: chopped dried apricots, boiling water, sugar, unsalted butter or margarine, sour cream, all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt
- Why You'll Love It: These Apricot Muffins are soft, buttery, and packed with chewy dried apricots in every bite. Sour cream keeps them extra moist, and they come together fast with just a handful of pantry basics.
I like them best on a slow weekend morning with a cup of coffee, and they taste just as good the next day after a few seconds in the microwave, which makes them an easy thing to bake the night before a brunch. A warm one split open with a pat of butter is hard to beat.
Why This Batter Is So Thick
This recipe has no eggs, and that’s on purpose. The only liquid in the batter is the sour cream, because the boiling water is just for plumping the apricots and gets drained off before they’re stirred in. That gives you a batter that looks more like a soft cookie dough than a pourable muffin batter, and it bakes up tender with a soft, cake-like crumb.
If yours looks dry and crumbly instead of thick and creamy, it usually comes down to one of three things: flour scooped straight from the bag, which packs in extra, butter that was too cold to cream properly with the sugar, or light sour cream. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off, let the butter sit out until it gives when you press it, and stick with full-fat sour cream, and the batter will hold together the way it should.
Ingredients for Apricot Muffins
- Dried apricots: Chop them into small pieces about the size of a raisin so there’s a little apricot in every bite. Soaking them in boiling water for 5 minutes softens them, and patting them dry keeps extra water out of the batter. Other dried fruit works the same way it does in my oatmeal muffins with your own mix-ins.
- Sour cream: Full-fat sour cream keeps these moist and holds the batter together. Plain Greek yogurt works too if that’s what you have in the fridge.
- Butter: Use softened unsalted butter so it creams up light and fluffy with the sugar. Margarine works in a pinch.
- Flour: Regular all-purpose flour, spooned into the cup and leveled off. Too much flour is the quickest way to end up with a dry batter.
You’ll find the full measurements in the recipe card below.
Helpful Tips Before You Start
- Set your butter and sour cream out about 30 minutes ahead so they mix together smoothly.
- If the apricots stick to your knife, kitchen scissors make quick work of chopping them.
- Stir in the dry ingredients just until you can’t see any more flour. Overmixing a thick batter like this one makes the muffins tough.
- An ice cream scoop is the perfect size for filling each cup about 2/3 full, and it keeps the thick batter from making a mess of the pan.
How to Make Apricot Muffins
1. Soak the Apricots
Chop the apricots and cover them with boiling water. Let them sit for 5 minutes while you mix the batter.
2. Cream the Butter, Sugar, and Sour Cream
Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add the sour cream and mix well. The mixture should look smooth and creamy before you move on.
3. Stir in the Dry Ingredients
Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl, then stir them into the creamed mixture just until combined. The batter will be very thick, and that’s exactly how it should look.
4. Fold in the Apricots
Drain the apricots, pat them dry with paper towels, and stir them into the batter until the little golden pieces are spread all the way through.
5. Fill the Cups and Bake
Scoop the batter into a greased or paper-lined muffin tin, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake at 400°F for 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
I usually end up with 15 muffins instead of 12, and I’ve always figured the extras belong to the cook.
Other Dried Fruits to Try
Once you’ve made these with apricots, try them with other dried fruit. Dried peaches get a lot of love in the comments, and one reader shared that the peach version is her kids’ favorite weekend breakfast. If you have extra dried fruit on hand, it also makes a wonderful filling for my easy Southern-style fried pies.
A few additions readers have tried and loved:
- A tablespoon of vanilla and a tablespoon of orange zest, from one reader’s grandmother’s version
- Cinnamon sugar sprinkled over the tops before baking
- 1/2 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts
And if peaches are your favorite, my peach cobbler muffins are worth a spot on your list too.
What to Serve With Apricot Muffins
These are sweet enough to enjoy on their own with coffee, but for a brunch spread I like pairing them with something savory.
- Cozy ham, egg, and cheese casserole for a hearty main dish
- Bacon breakfast casserole if your crowd loves bacon
- An easy oven omelet that feeds a group without standing at the stove
- Fresh fruit salad with lemon honey dressing to keep things light
Storing and Reheating
These keep well at room temperature in an airtight container, and I often bake them the day before I want them. A few seconds in the microwave and they taste like they just came out of the oven. You’ll find storage times and freezing directions in the recipe card notes.
Apricot Muffin FAQs
Does the soaking water go into the batter?
No. The boiling water is only there to soften the apricots. Drain it off and pat the apricots dry before stirring them in, since this recipe is built around sour cream as the only liquid.
Can I use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream?
Yes, plain Greek yogurt works in place of sour cream. Full-fat gives you the closest texture. One reader even used a little less mascarpone because that’s what she had, and she loved how they turned out.
Can I use fresh apricots?
Yes. Chop ripe fresh apricots and skip the soaking step. Fresh fruit is juicier than dried, so pat the pieces dry before folding them into the batter.
How do I make mini apricot muffins?
Fill a greased mini muffin tin about 2/3 full and start checking them around 10 minutes, since they bake in roughly half the time of the full-size muffins.
More Muffins to Bake
- Mama’s apple spice muffins when you want something warm and spiced
- Warm brown butter pear muffins for fall mornings
- Fresh strawberry muffins when berries are in season
- Raisin bran muffins that are ready when you are
Mama’s Apricot Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped dried apricots
- 1 cup boiling water for soaking, drained
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened (or margarine)
- 1 cup sour cream full-fat
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Soak the chopped apricots in boiling water for 5 minutes.1 cup chopped dried apricots, 1 cup boiling water
- In a large bowl, cream the sugar and softened butter until light and fluffy.1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- Add the sour cream and mix well.1 cup sour cream
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a separate bowl, then stir them into the creamed mixture just until combined. The batter will be very thick.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Drain the apricots, pat them dry with a paper towel, and stir them into the batter.
- Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups about 2/3 full.
- Bake at 400°F for 18 to 20 minutes, until lightly golden and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
Wow! I bake a lot and needed to use up some dried apricots. I wasn’t expecting much from these muffins but they are spectacular! I didn’t have yoghurt or sour cream but strangely had marscapone which I substituted a little less. I also added a half cup of frozen grated coconut as I love apricot and coconut together. Thank you for a truly delicious treat
Wow! I bake a lot and needed to use up some dried apricots. I wasn’t not expecting much from these muffins but they are spectacular! I didn’t have yoghurt or sour cream but strangely had marscapone which I substituted a little less. I also added a half cup of frozen grated coconut as I love apricot and coconut together. Thank you for a truly delicious treat
We received a platter chuck full of dried fruit for Christmas, too much for 2 people and my husband was going to be no help. So, I decided to bake with these goodies. I found this recipe to use up the dried apricots and peaches. And because I LOVE almond, I put in half the vanilla and substituted the other half w/ almond flavoring along with some finely chopped almonds. I couldn’t believe there were no eggs! The batter IS different but the muffins are FABULOUS. Five star+++
Thank you so much Theresa for the comment and the rating. Am so glad you found these to be fabulous!
Great use for that dried fruit 🙂
Happy Holidays and thanks for being part of the Southern Plate Family