Apricot Bulgur Muffins

I know I say this every single time I come up with a new muffin recipe, but this time I truly mean it (not that I don’t always do…) These Apricot Bulgur Muffins, they’re the best darn muffins I’ve ever made!

These guys have absolutely everything I’m looking for in a good muffin: they are seriously dense, hearty and incredibly chewy! Not only that, but they also happen to be veritable nutrition powerhouse in a very tasty package.

Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever had a muffin with so many different textures and flavors before. The addition of bulgur wheat sure adds a lot of chewiness to them, while the chia seeds add a little bit of a crunchy pop, or is that a poppy crunch? Then there’s the rolled oats, the dried apricots, the walnuts and dried coconut, every single ingredient seems to add its own little thing to the overall consistency of the muffin. And these guys sure pack A LOT of flavor, too!

They certainly make for an awesome portable breakfast or snack, and are guaranteed to keep you satisfied for a very long time!

The only problem is, they’re so darn good, it’s kinda hard to stop at just one. Well, if your name is Sonia and you happen to have a serious thing for muffins, they are anyway…

On a completely unrelated note, I just finished watching the Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life revival series on Netflix and I am completely devastated. I don’t want to talk too much about the show, just in case some of you are watching too and haven’t gone through all the episodes yet, but let’s just say it didn’t really go down well with me.

I’m not really pleased with the way things turned out, and especially not with the way it ended; not really pleased at all. In fact, I feel like it hasn’t even really ended. I was hoping to get clear answers, I was hoping to see certain wrongs get righted, but none of that happened. Now there’re even more questions left unanswered, and wrongs that not only didn’t get righted but that now feel as though they are even wronger.

Now I’m left with some kind of a bittersweet taste in my mouth. While I really appreciated the extra time that I got to spend in Stars Hollow with my beloved characters, I feel sad, crushed and sorely disappointed, and all I want to do is spend the entire day searching the Net for answers that I know don’t even exist.

I guess I’ll have to create my very own happy ending in my mind, one that works for me… but that’s not how I roll. I like it when stories bring closure and clear endings. Happy endings.

Well, happy for me, anyway.

At least, I love what they did to Emily… (who by the way happened to be one of my favorite characters; her comeback lines are just hilarious!)

But anyway, let’s get back to the kitchen. That’ll take my mind off of Stars Hollow, if only for a little while… (although if you want to discuss in comments, I’d be more than happy to!) 

To make these hearty muffins, the first thing you need to do is soak some bulgur wheat in boiling water.

Combine 1 cup of each in a medium sized bowl and let them sit for a bit, while you work on the rest of the stuff; like preheating the oven to 425°F and lining a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners, for starters!

Then, in a separate bowl, combine whole wheat flour, rolled oats, flax seed meal, chia seeds, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon and salt and mix well with a whisk until thoroughly combined.

While you’re at it, you might as well prep your add-ins, i.e chopped dried apricots, chopped walnuts and dried coconut and set them aside.

In a third bowl, combine some date paste, honey, avocado oil and buttermilk.

Whisk to combine and then add 3 eggs and whisk vigorously until they are completely incorporated.

Your bulgur should have soaked long enough by now — 5 to 10 minutes is all it takes really. So long as the water has been completely absorbed, it’s good to go.

Add it to the wet ingredients and mix well with a rubber spatula…

…then throw in the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated, no more.

Fold in the reserved chopped apricots, walnuts and shredded coconut and again, stir until just incorporated, no more.

Delicately scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure you have all the dry ingredients mixed in.

Divide the batter equally between 12 large muffin cups. The batter will need to be mounded higher than the paper cups, so try and shape the tops into nice rounded domes. The use of a large spring-loaded ice cream scoop will make your job much easier.

Alternately, you could also divide the batter into 18 to 24 smaller muffins. Of course, you’d need to adjust cooking time accordingly.

Garnish the top of each muffin with a piece of walnut or dried apricot, if desired.

Bake in a 425°F oven for 10 minutes, then decrease the temperature to 350°F and continue cooking until the tops are nice and golden and appear set, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Note that there is a very big chance that the tops of the apricots will get pretty dark in the oven. If that happens, don’t sweat it. All you need to do is pop them out and flip them around once the muffins have cooled down a bit.

Let the muffins cool for a few minutes in the pan then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

While these muffins are very good straight out of the oven (like really, what muffin isn’t) I find that these guys are at their best the next day, because the chia seeds will have had more time to absorb moisture and will be a tad more “poppy” and a bit less “crunchy”.

Store the finished muffins in an airtight container in a cool dry place, or in the refrigerator, for up to a week.

If you like your muffins particularly dense and chewy, then by all means, opt for the fridge!

You’ll be in for a very pleasant (yet highly nutritious) treat!

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5 from 7 votes

Apricot Bulgur Muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

These Apricot Bulgur Muffins are seriously hearty, dense, and chewy! A veritable nutrition powerhouse, they make for an awesome portable breakfast or snack

Servings: 12 large muffins

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

Wet Ingredients

• 1 cup dry bulgur
• 1 cup boiling water

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• ½ cup date paste
• ½ cup unpasteurized honey
• ½ cup avocado oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 3 large eggs

Dry Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt

Add-ins

• 1 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut,

Garnish

• Dried apricots
• Walnut halves

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners.
• Combine the dry bulgur and boiling water together in a bowl and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes, while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
• In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well with a whisk until thoroughly combined.
• In a third bowl, combine the date paste, honey, oil and buttermilk. Whisk to combine and then add the eggs and whisk vigorously until they are completely incorporated.
• Add the soaked bulgur to the wet ingredients and mix well with a spoon or rubber spatula, then throw in the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated, no more.
• Fold in the chopped apricots, walnuts and shredded coconut and again, stir until just incorporated, no more. Delicately scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure you have all the dry ingredients mixed in.
• Divide the batter equally between 12 large muffin cups. The batter will need to be mounded higher than the paper cups, so try and shape the tops into nice rounded domes. The use of a large spring-loaded ice cream scoop will make your job much easier. Alternately, you could also divide the batter into 18 to 24 smaller muffins. Of course, you'd need to adjust cooking time accordingly.
• Garnish the top of each muffin with a piece of walnut or dried apricot, if desired. Note that the apricots might get pretty dark in the oven. If that happens, you can always flip them around once the muffins have cooled down a bit.
• Bake in a 425°F oven for 10 minutes, then decrease the temperature to 350°F and continue cooking for 8 to 10 minutes, until the tops are nice and golden and appear set, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
• Let the muffins cool for a few minutes in the pan then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Store in a cool dry place or in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.

Nutrition

Calories: 389kcal, Carbohydrates: 51g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 42mg, Sodium: 195mg, Potassium: 521mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugar: 23g, Vitamin A: 468IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 137mg, Iron: 2mg

Course: Bakery

Cuisine: American

Author: Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

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