Banana Apricot Walnut Muffins
I have been craving muffins but not those cake-like muffins loaded with calories that should be a dessert rather then a breakfast item. I found a great banana loaf recipe in an old bread cookbook called The Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book. I changed this up to suit me and made them into Banana Apricot Walnut Muffins. My family have gone crazy for them. Eating the whole lot without any going into the freezer even. Usually I am the only one left eating muffins after the first day but these everyone loved. They are also refined sugar free, dairy free and egg free, but you would never know as they are super moist and delicious.
I am kind of a nutty gal, well, you know that already if you know me but I mean, I love nuts. Adding a few not only gives you fantastic flavor but bumps up the nutritional value of any muffin. Some of the muffins have a few walnuts scattered on top and some are left plain. Either way they are delicious!!
The muffins are super moist not from oil, butter, or eggs but bananas, there are two full cups of bananas in these muffins. That is about 6-7 bananas, I always have some stashed in the freezer.
These muffins would also be good with raisins or dates but I love the tartness that a dried apricot adds to the muffin. I used silicone muffin liners for this recipe. The muffins just pop right out of the liners. You can of course use standard paper liners also or just spray the muffin tin with cooking spray and put them directly in.
- ⅓ cup honey
- 3 Tbsp. canola oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 cups mashed bananas (about 6-7 frozen)
- 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup pastry or cake flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ cup chopped apricots
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts, plus more for topping
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with 20 liners. Mix honey, oil, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Add the bananas and the lemon juice. Whisk the flours, baking powder, and baking soda together, add to the banana mixture. Fold in the nuts and apricots. Sprinkle the muffins with the more nuts if desired.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins and bake for 18-20 min. Let cool in the muffin tins for 5 min and then remove to a rack to completely cool. Store in an airtight container for a few days.
Jana says
February 7, 2016 at 5:44 pmThese look really yummy! Great combination! However, calling them sugar free is misleading. They may be refined sugar free, but honey is certainly sugar, and bananas and apricots also contribute plenty.
Tara Noland says
February 8, 2016 at 9:51 amI don’t mean to be misleading but they don’t have refined sugar in them is what I leading to.
Florian @ContentednessCooking says
February 10, 2016 at 9:56 amFantastic combination, Tara!
Angela says
February 10, 2016 at 7:10 pmI love the sound of these muffins! I need to whip these up to have on hand for busy mornings! YUM!
Nicole Neverman says
February 11, 2016 at 5:51 pmThese muffins sound absolutely delightful!! I am loving the combination of banana apricot and walnut! Gorgeous!
Heather Mason says
February 19, 2016 at 9:11 amYum, these muffins look great. But you know, they are not actually sugar free. Honey is pure sugar. A tablespoon of honey has more sugar in it than a tablespoon of white or brown sugar.
Tara Noland says
February 19, 2016 at 9:25 amI know lots of things have sugar in them but I am referring to white sugar. The fruit all has sugar too.
Katerina says
March 13, 2016 at 12:09 amThey look very inviting and delicious! A great way to start your day!
Debbie says
January 20, 2018 at 6:08 amThey look so good, and I completely understand the sugar is from honey and fruit , more healthy than refined sugar I would think. Love the addition of apricots also. But, I do have a question I don’t use whole wheat flour I do have cake flour and all-purpose flour so could you substitute something for the whole wheat flour?? Thank you just found your site and love your recipes.
Tara Noland says
January 20, 2018 at 8:31 amYou can sub in all-purpose flour for the whole wheat. Try using about 1/4 cup more as AP is not a dense as whole wheat is. So in this recipe I would use 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour for the whole wheat. I hope this helps, Happy Baking!