Sunshine and Coconut Muffins

Have I mentioned that I recently purchased a distressed bag of organic, unsweetened shredded coconut? Or how much I love coconut? I tend to add it to a lot of recipes such as bread or scones because I like it. I am though, quite a lazy coconut lover because I never think to toast it until midway through the recipe. Needless to say, the other morning when I really wanted some muffins I started looking for a quick coconut muffin recipe. I found a recipe at Teeny Cakes but modified it so much that it doesn't look anything like the original recipe.

Orange Coconut Muffins with Honey
2 c. organic flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 TB shredded unsweetened coconut
Zest of an orange
1 large organic egg (or two smaller ones)
4 TB organic, unsalted butter, melted
1/2 c. organic milk
1/2 c. organic orange juice (I used organic, peach, mango juice)
1/2 -2/3c. honey
extra shredded coconut to sprinkle on top

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whip egg, butter, milk, juice and honey.
3. Mix dry ingredients together.
4. Add dry ingredients to batter until just combined. Do not over mix.
5. Put into muffin tins.
6. Sprinkle tops with coconut.
7. Bake 20-25 minutes.

These were really good. The orange flavor wasn't very strong and neither was the coconut. It was a mildly sweet, slightly fruity muffin. I served the orange on the side and it was a perfect breakfast. Since I used the orange, peach and mango juice blend, that might be the reason that the orange flavor wasn't very strong. Also, I cook mine in a cast iron biscuit pan so they tend to be a little flatter than most muffins, since I am a big fan of muffin tops I am okay with it. Your muffins, if you use a traditional muffin pan will be more muffin shaped. Next time I would love to try toasting the coconut and maybe trying a blend of orange and pineapple juice. These were pretty quick to put together and bake with the most labor intensive task being the orange zest grating. Perhaps because my sense of taste and smell is still a bit off these muffins had more of an impression than a distinct flavor. To me they tasted of sunshine and coconut. (As bizarre as that sounds.)

Enjoy!

This article was shared on The Chicken Chick