Oh hey. Remember me? Yeah, I know it's been a while... but I have a really good explanation.
You see, for most of the last six months, my kitchen was under construction. Which kind of makes it hard to come up with new recipes.
The longer version of that story is that The Mister and I realized that since the Toronto real estate market is completely bonkers overpriced, the little starter home we bought a decade ago was now, for better or worse, our forever home.
So we took a big chunk of our savings and embarked on a big renovation. New walls, new floors, new windows, new entryway, and obviously... new kitchen.
What was meant to be a two- to three-month project dragged through Thanksgiving, and then eventually through Christmas and New Year's Eve. In the meantime, I borrowed kitchen space from relatives, baked dishes in a toaster oven, and tried to get creative in terms of my photo shoots (including setting up a little "picnic" scene on the one patch of grass in my backyard that hadn't been trampled into oblivion).
But the good news is that I finally have my kitchen back, and it is beeeeeeeautiful.
I have a shiny new gas stove (squeeee!), sleek white cabinetry, and loads of counter space to work on. And after all this time, I have a zillion recipe ideas bouncing around in my head that I can't wait to turn into reality!
In the meantime, though, here's an older recipe I've been hanging onto for a rainy... errr... snowy day.
This recipe was entirely accidental. You see, in my hurry to prepare dinner one night I grabbed what I thought was a can of corn niblets from my pantry, only to discover to my dismay that it was actually a can of crushed pineapple.
Thankfully, I realized my mistake before I dumped the contents of the can into the simmering pot of chili, because I'm pretty sure pineapple and black bean turkey chili don't mix.
(I could be wrong, mind you, because pineapple on pizza is pretty freaking amazing... but I'm totally okay with living the rest of my life without trying turkey-pineapple chili.)
I did manage to grab the right can on my second trip to the pantry, but that still left me with an open of pineapple I needed to use up somehow... and, coincidentally enough, I also had a half-finished can of coconut milk that also needed a purpose.
Which is how these muffins came to be. I paired that can of pineapple and that last bit of coconut milk, and layered loads of lovely tropical flavour to bring a little sunshine into an otherwise pretty miserable winter. They are the antidote to slushy sidewalks and blistering cold winds.
Much like their namesake cocktail, these muffins pair tangy pineapple and sweet coconut with a splash of dark rum, minus the hassle of busting out the blender.
Unlike the cocktail, however, it's perfectly enjoyable to enjoy a couple of these first thing in the morning or as an afternoon snack at the office.
They do look pretty cute topped with a paper umbrella, though, if you really must.
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Pina Colada Muffins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
A combination of coconut and pineapple gives these muffins loads of sweet, tropical goodness. They're just the thing to bring a little sunshine to your day when the weather outside is less than tropical and you can't afford to hop the next plane to Mexico.
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 1 can (398 ml / 14 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
- 2 tbsp dark rum (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
- 1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Lighly grease the cups of a 12-cup muffin pan, or line with paper cups.
- In a large bowl, stir the coconut oil with sugar until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in coconut milk, crushed pineapple, rum, and ¾ cup coconut.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl, and stir until just barely combined. Divide batter between muffin cups and sprinkle with the remaining coconut. Bake until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with a moist crumb, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool off completely.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Breakfast
a couple of weeks ago from the lovely folks over at Ten Speed Press, I knew right away that the Pumpkin Pecan Granola and I were going to be fast friends....
