Starbucks Low Fat Apricot Blueberry Muffin

With the changeover to the new pastries at Starbucks, there are a few favorites that you’re not going to be able to find anymore – at least, not at Starbucks. These missing pastries will vary regionally, according to the suppliers that Starbucks used to use. In my area (LA/Southern California), one that has disappeared is that is the Low Fat Apricot Blueberry Muffin. I tended to favor coffee cake over the muffins most of the time, but this muffin had a great combination of fruit and was generally moist and tasty, especially for a lower fat muffin!

At Baking Bites, I posted a recipe that is very similar, perhaps even a little better, than the original. They’re moist and packed with fruit. The Starbucks muffins I remembered had slices of apricot on top, and I used the same idea here so that it’s easy to identify the components of the muffin. These keep well, but since they’re very fresh, they’re just a little lighter and fluffier than the originals that inspired them.

Just-Like-Starbucks’ Low Fat Apricot Blueberry Muffin
(originally posted at Baking Bites
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup fresh apricots, thinly sliced (about 4 medium)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, melted butter and vanilla extract. Pour into dry ingredients and stir until mixture is almost fully combined, then add in the blueberries and apricots – reserving 12 small, thin slices of apricot – and give the batter a few more stirs, just until no streaks of flour remain visible.
Divide batter evenly into muffin cups (cups will be very full) and garnish each one with one of the small reserved slices of apricot.
Bake for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each muffin comes out clean.
Turn muffins out of the pan onto wire rack to cool.
Store leftovers in an airtight container when muffins have cooled completely.

Makes 12