Coconut Muffin
intro
Tender, lightly sweet muffins packed with toasty coconut flavor, boasting a soft fluffy crumb and crisp golden top, perfect for quick breakfasts or snacks.
Ingredients
Steps
Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F) with a rack positioned in the middle slot. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper baking liners, or lightly grease each cup with melted butter or non-stick spray to prevent sticking. Measure 2 tablespoons (10 grams) of the shredded coconut and set it aside in a small bowl to use as topping later.
Spread the remaining 90 grams of shredded coconut in an even layer on a small rimmed baking sheet. Toast in the preheated oven for 3-4 minutes, stirring once at the 2-minute mark, until the coconut is pale golden and smells richly nutty. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes to avoid melting other batter ingredients when mixed.
In a large 2-liter mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, fine salt, and cooled toasted coconut for 30 seconds, until all dry ingredients are fully combined with no visible clumps of baking powder.
In a separate 1-liter medium mixing bowl, whisk the room-temperature eggs, whole milk, cooled melted butter, and vanilla extract for 20 seconds until completely smooth. Pour the entire wet mixture into the dry ingredient bowl, and use a rubber spatula to gently fold the batter just until no dry flour streaks remain; do not overmix, as this creates tough muffins (a slightly lumpy batter is normal and ideal).
Use a 60ml (1/4 cup) cookie scoop or measuring cup to evenly divide the batter between the 12 prepared muffin cups, filling each cup no more than 2/3 full to leave space for rising. Sprinkle the reserved 10 grams of untoasted shredded coconut evenly over the top of each raw muffin portion.
Bake the muffins on the middle oven rack at 190°C (375°F) for 18-20 minutes, until the tops are deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the center muffin comes out with 1-2 small moist crumbs attached (no runny wet batter). Remove the tin from the oven, let muffins rest in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Tips
2.If using unsweetened shredded coconut instead of the sweetened variety called for, increase the granulated sugar by 25 grams (2 tablespoons) to maintain the balanced, mild sweetness.
3.For an extra rich coconut flavor, replace 60ml (1/4 cup) of the whole milk with well-stirred canned full-fat coconut milk, with no other recipe adjustments needed.
OMG these are SO good! I threw these together before school dropoff this morning since I had all the ingredients in my pantry, and my kids devoured them before the bus even got to our stop. The toasty coconut flavor is chef’s kiss, not too sweet, perfect for quick breakfasts. 10/10 will be making these weekly for meal prep!
Wait, can someone tell me if I can use sweetened shredded coconut instead of unsweetened? I only have the sweetened kind in my cabinet right now and I’m dying to make these for my book club tomorrow.
Made these to go with my morning lattes this week and they are perfectly moist! I was worried coconut muffins would be dry and crumbly like the ones I’ve tried from the grocery store bakery, but these stay soft for days in an airtight container. Toasting the coconut first makes such a huge difference in the nutty flavor, don’t skip that step!
Brought these to our neighborhood block party last weekend and they were gone in 10 minutes flat! Multiple neighbors came up asking where I got the recipe, I felt so fancy. Even my super picky brother-in-law who hates coconut ate two and said they were the best muffins he’d ever had.
Has anyone tried making these with gluten free all purpose flour? I have a gluten sensitivity and I’m always looking for easy muffin recipes that don’t turn into dense rocks when I swap the flour.
These are my new go-to Sunday meal prep bake! I make a double batch every Sunday, toss half in the freezer, and grab one on my way to work each morning. 20 seconds in the microwave and they taste like they just came out of the oven. Way cheaper than buying muffins at the café near my office too.
I added a half cup of crushed pineapple (squeezed really well to get the extra juice out) to the batter and it tasted like a little piña colada muffin! So good for summer. Would that mess up the moisture balance if I added a little more next time?
Super easy recipe even for someone like me who burns toast half the time! I didn’t have a muffin tin so I baked it in a small loaf pan and it still turned out great, cooked for about 10 extra minutes. Perfect for late night study snacks.
Full transparency: I have hated coconut my entire life but my partner begged me to make these, and I am SHOOK. They are so good? The toasting takes away that weird soapy coconut taste I always hated, and the crumb is so soft. I’ve already made them twice this week. Who even am I?
Wait, how long do these stay fresh on the counter? I want to make them for my office break room on Wednesday but I won’t have time to bake the night before, so I was going to make them Monday evening.
I topped mine with a little sprinkle of turbinado sugar before baking for that extra crunch on top, y’all. It was *chef’s kiss* — the sweet, crispy top pairs so well with the soft, coconutty inside. Served them with sweet tea at my family’s Sunday dinner and everyone raved.
Love that this recipe uses simple pantry staples I almost always have on hand, no random fancy ingredients I’ll use once and let go bad in the back of my fridge. I used the leftover toasted coconut to top my oatmeal the next morning too, zero food waste win!
Made these vegan by swapping the egg for a flax egg and using oat milk instead of dairy, and they came out so fluffy! I was worried the swaps would make them dense but they were just as light as the non-vegan version I made for my roommate last month.
Wait, would adding mini chocolate chips to these work? I’m a chocolate fiend and I feel like chocolate and coconut are a match made in heaven, but I don’t want to mess up the texture.