Coco-Nut Carrot Muffins

Dense Muffins with Shredded Coconut, Walnuts, & Fresh Grated Carrot

"My mother was very strong. Once, she picked up a coconut and smashed it against my father's head. It taught me about women defending themselves and not collapsing in a heap."

Alice Walker

I'm not entirely sure what that quote means, or whether or not I should be alarmed by it. It does, however, have the word 'coconut' in it, and I did crack a smile when I first came upon it. That's good enough for me. 

I am a coconut NUT. Those who frequent the site might have noticed that lately I put coconut milk in everything - like here, here, and here. I have similar feelings about ginger, but that is for another entry and another day. While this recipe does not utilize coconut flour, as the name might suggest, it does have coconut milk, coconut oil, and copious hand fulls of shredded coconut. They are crunchy, moist, flavourful and - I like to think - reasonably healthy. In fact, these are probably my all time favourite muffins. I might go bake up another batch right now. 

You will need,..

2 cups flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tbs baking powder

1/2 tbs baking soda

1/2 cup milk

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups grated carrot

1/2 cup shredded coconut, plus more for topping

2 eggs

1 tbs vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a full-sized muffin tin with oil, spray, or butter. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside. 

In a separate bowl, blend milk, coconut milk, vanilla, coconut oil, and eggs. Once combined, make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and gradually pour the liquids into the well - folding in gently as you go. 

Add grated carrot, walnuts, and coconut. Combine but do not over mix.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling each almost to the top. Top muffins with extra shredded coconut and more walnuts, if desired. 

Bake for about 20-30 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before removing from tin. 

Recipe should yield about 12 muffins, depending on the size of the tray.