20(ish)--- Fruitcake Muffins with Honey Apricot Glaze

I've never had a piece of fruitcake. I guess there are still people out there who LOVE it. It is a holiday "treat" of sorts.

I health-ified fruitcake as much as possible. No weird jelly cherries here! I also replaced some of the butter with applesauce and used whole wheat flour. The cottage cheese really makes these muffins light-- very un-fruitcake-like, but so good!

These are a great gift or a lovely addition to Christmas morning breakfast!

Fruitcake Muffins with Honey Apricot Glaze

Makes 12

1 cup whole wheat all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup honey

1/4 cup apricot preserves

2 eggs

1 cup lowfat cottage cheese

2/3 cup dried apricots, diced coarsely

2/3 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped apples

GLAZE

1/2 cup honey

2 Tbsp apricot preserves

3 Tbsp lemon juice or orange juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a larger bowl, beat butter, applesauce and sugar, then add preserves and honey. Beat in eggs. Add 1/2 flour mixture and beat to mix. Next add cottage cheese and remainder of flour mixture and continue to beat. Stir in chopped fruit and apples.

Line a muffin tin with paper cups (prettier the better). Evenly divide mixture into muffin cups. Bake for ~25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and let stand while making glaze.

For glaze, bring honey and preserves to a boil in a small saucepan. Allow to cook for ~2 minutes. Stir in lemon or orange juice and remove from heat.

Lightly brush each muffin with glaze. Garnish muffins with fruit (optional) and re-glaze. Allow to cool completely before storing in airtight container.

Nutrition Info per 1 muffin: 210 calories, 5 g fat, 6 g protein, 34 g carbohydrates, 2.5 g fiber