Cherry Coconut Muffins

The other day I stumbled across a couple of blogs and, for some reason, all of these muffin recipes just kept calling out my name. I saw so many I wanted to try that I had to bookmark them for later.

I thought of my friend Carolyn when I decided on these muffins because we share an affinity towards all things coconut. Also, learning lately about how healthy and healing coconut is made me want to make them even more.

I think these muffins turned out great! They stayed moist and were very flavorful. I made them a little smaller so they would be easy to grab as a snack or have a couple for breakfast.

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 heaping cup cherries, pitted, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup coconut oil, softened (or butter)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
2/3 cup milk; half coconut milk, half cow's milk (or whatever combination you want)
1/2 cup sour cream (yogurt works well here too)
1/2 cup shredded coconut, plus more for topping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or paper line about 1 1/2 muffin tins.

In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl beat coconut oil and sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 mins). Add eggs and almond extract and mix to incorporate. Alternately mix in by hand the flour mixture and the milk. Fold in sour cream, cherries and shredded coconut.

Spoon batter into muffin caps 1/2 to 2/3 full. Sprinkle coconut over tops. Bake 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and remove to wire racks.

Linked to...
This Week's Cravings @ Mom's Crazy Cooking