Blueberry Coconut Muffins

I suspect that blueberry muffins might be the most popular type of muffin out there, since they are so ubiquitous at coffee shops and bakeries. They’re popular for a reason: blueberries are delicious, attractive to look at and add a lot of moisture to muffins. A good blueberry muffin recipe also makes a great base for other flavors, like these Blueberry Coconut Muffins, where I added shredded coconut in along with my blueberries to give the muffins a chance to stand out from the crowd of other blueberry muffins.

The batter is simple and sweet, with a hint of vanilla extract to give it some flavor. It is easy to mix up in just a few minutes, and it is thick enough to prevent the blueberries from sinking into the bottom of the pan after you divide the batter into your muffin tin. The coconut sprinkled on top of the muffins toasts during baking, adding a subtle crunch and enhancing the coconut’s overall flavor. The muffins are moist and tender, with a fluffy interior that gets a slight chewiness from all the coconut in the batter. They are best when they’re fresh, but they will keep well for a few days if you can’t eat them all at once.

I used frozen blueberries in these muffins. Frozen berries have a few advantages over fresh blueberries, such as the fact that they are available year round and they are very easy to fold into a muffin batter without having to worry about the berries breaking up. Even when blueberries are in season, I will still often use frozen berries in my baking. Both fresh and frozen berries will work equally well in this recipe. Similarly, both sweetened and unsweetened coconut will work equally well. Sweetened coconut is more common and will add a bit of extra sweetness to the finished muffins, but unsweetened will still lend a great coconut flavor.

Blueberry Coconut Muffins
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup shredded coconut, plus extra for topping
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and egg until well combined, then whisk in vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Stir in half of the flour mixture, followed by the milk, then stir in the remaining flour mixture until it is almost completely incorporated. Fold in shredded coconut, then gently fold in blueberries.
Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin pans. Top each with 2-3 tsp shredded coconut.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean and the muffins spring back when lightly pressed.
Cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes 12.