Muffin Mondays: Apple Coconut Muffins

I rarely have a plan for my Saturday morning muffins. I love to browse my cookbooks for muffin recipes, and this recipe comes from a cookbook that I absolutely love and I don't use it half as much as I should, The Frog Commissary Cookbook. Every time I flip through this book I see about 10 recipes that I'd love to make, and their breakfast section is outstanding.

On Saturday mornings Lucy and I go out for a walk, and when we get home I make my coffee and start looking for a muffin recipe. This means that I am generally limited by the ingredients I have on hand. Occasionally, as I'm looking for a recipe I'll find a recipe that sounds delicious and I'll tag that recipe and make sure that I procure the ingredients for the next time I make muffins (usually the next Saturday). These apple coconut muffins are great because the main ingredients are two things I almost always have on hand, apple and coconut. They're simple and subtle and actually quite tasty. It was very difficult for me to make the recipe as directed because I really wanted to up the spices in the recipe. Apples just seem to cry out for cinnamon, don't you think? I did make the recipe as directed, though, and I'm glad that I did. The flavor of the nutmeg is very subtle but it comes through in a way that I don't think it would if cinnamon were added.

These are nice muffins. They're not overly assertive in any one way, the apple is subtle, the coconut is subtle, and I think they'd please a range of appetites. Dudley loved these, and he's generally not fond of fruit in his baked goods. They're great with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk or orange juice, and I think that, made in minis, they would be a nice addition to a brunch table.

Apple Coconut Muffins
The Frog Commissary Cookbook


1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 ounces shredded sweetened coconut (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped peeled apple

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease twelve 3" muffin-pan cups. Cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla. Beat together the eggs and milk. Combine well the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Alternately add the wet and dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Blend until just combined. Stir in the coconut and the apples. Fill the cups full. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool 5 minutes and remove from the tins to cool further.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.