Triple A Muffins
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup chopped dried apple
1/2 cup orange juice
2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
Topping
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup Demerara sugar
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a standard 12 cup muffin pan by greasing or use paper liners. In a small bowl, combine the apricots, apple, and orange juice. Let the fruit soak in the orange juice at room temperature for 15 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the flour and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and orange zest. Add the buttermilk mixture and the fruit mixture all at once to the flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. For the topping, sprinkle the slivered almonds and the Demerara sugar over the muffin batter. Bake in preheated oven for 15 - 20 minutes, or until muffins test done. Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to continue cooling.