apricot and oat muffins

Oats are known to have health benefits. Studies have found that oats can help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease, when combined with a low-fat diet. They have a high content of complex carbohydrates and water-soluble fiber, which helps to keep one full so that one will not snack in between meals.

I personally find it difficult to eat a bowl of hot oatmeal although I have no problems adding a few spoonfuls of rolled oat to my cereal or using oats in my baking (eg. to bake Nestum and oat cookies).

I bought 4 non-stick muffin pans this year and I have developed a muffin craze nowadays. As I had not gone grocery shopping in the past week, I did not have many ingredients at home. I opened the refrigerator and saw two eggs and a few pieces of dried apricots left over from the box of dried apricots that I was given shortly before Chinese New Year this year (the bulk of which I used to bake apricot cookies to bring to my grandmother's home in Muar, Malaysia for Chinese New Year). I checked the larder and saw a tin of instant Quaker Oats which was almost finished. I decided that I might as well use the dried apricot and Quaker Oats to bake muffins.

Ingredients

1 cup self-raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup ground almond
1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricot
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
60g butter (softened)
1 egg
additional rolled oats (topping)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Line two 12-hole muffin pans with muffin paper cups.

3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl.

4. Add the rolled oats, ground almond and chopped apricots. Mix well.

5. Make a well in the centre of the ingredients in the bowl.

6. In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, honey, butter and egg. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix well using a spatula. The mixture will be lumpy.

7. Spoon the mixture into the muffin paper cups until the paper cups are 2/3 full.

8. Sprinkle the top with rolled oats.

9. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean.

10. Let the muffins cool before you store them in an air-tight container.