Blueberry Coconut Muffins

I have been wanting to experiment with some more options for Benjamin.  I have heard so much about coconut oil but not tried it yet.  I have also wanted to finally try dairy-free baking chocolate chips.  This is my first test-run with baking with coconut oil.  It was great!   I asked a friend who does't have dairy-free needs to try them.  She gave them a thumbs up too!  I'll definitely experiment more after this success, and I'll make these again!

I used the below recipe from the blog TwoPeasandTheirPod.com.  They said to use shredded coconut and blueberries as the mix-ins.  I used chocolate chips with the first batch (12 muffins).  Then I used blueberries with the second batch (no shredded coconut for us).  And -I'll admit it- I don't enjoy cleaning the muffin pan so I turned the second batch into "blueberry muffin cake."  

- 1 1/2 cups flour

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled to room temperature

- 1 large egg

- 3/4 cup coconut milk

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- Mix-Ins:  1 cup blueberries, OR 1 cup blueberries with 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut, OR 1 cup chocolate chips (dairy-free for us in this one)

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease or line muffin pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.  In a separate bowl, mix coconut oil, egg, coconut milk, and vanilla together.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula.  Stir until just combined.  The batter will be thick.  Gently fold in the mix-ins. 

Divide batter among prepared muffin cups.  Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Transfer muffins to a cooling rack and cool.

We'll see what coconut oil inspires next!