Father's Day

Mom's Blueberry-Coconut Muffins

by:
July 13, 2021
4.4
26 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 20 minutes
  • Serves 1 dozen large muffins
Author Notes

My mother would take us blueberry-picking every summer. We weren't always that enthusiastic about the picking, but with these muffins offered as our reward, we always seemed to muster the energy to get the job done!
I haven't changed a thing about this recipe, however, sometimes I sneak a couple of tablespoons of wheat germ into the batter to give them an extra bit of nutrition. —Rhonda35

Test Kitchen Notes

Although she had never made them herself, Amanda remembers these muffins from childhood (“Mom” refers to her and her sister Rhonda35’s mother). Butter, egg and milk make for a light, cakey texture, but the addition of toasted coconut is what sets these apart from standard blueberry muffins. The base is not too sweet, allowing the tartness of the berries and the coconut to take center stage. We used colossally large commercial blueberries because they were all we could find, but if you can get your hands on some little wild ones, we’d recommend it. - A&M —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup coconut, toasted
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Directions
  1. Preheat oven 400 degrees F.
  2. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin and, if desired, line with paper muffin cups. Set aside.
  3. Sift together the 2 cups flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Stir in toasted coconut.
  4. Combine egg, melted butter and milk. Add to dry ingredients and mix lightly till combined.
  5. Toss blueberries with 1 T flour. This prevents the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins. Fold into batter.
  6. Spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake at 400 degrees F for 17-20 minutes or till they test done.
  7. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and finish cooling on a rack.
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97 Reviews

Sunshineisland October 2, 2023
Fantastic! So yummy - made 1 batch then made a double batch
All mini size - 1 recipe makes about 34 mini
 
Rhonda35 October 2, 2023
How long did you bake the minis? Great idea!
 
Ccake September 16, 2023
These were wonderful!!!!!!!Pretty much best I’ve had. Berries well distributed. Did not think they were too sweet. I worry about carry over cooking ….realize they will continue to cook when coming out…don’t let them dry
Fantastic!!!!!!!!!enjoy
 
Rhonda35 September 17, 2023
So glad you enjoyed them!
 
Jan September 1, 2023
If you ever have any left for the following day, try splitting and reheating in a fry pan with butter. I had this the first time in Maine in a little breakfast place where they did them on the griddle. Amazing!
 
Rhonda35 September 2, 2023
100% support this idea!!
 
TWS September 19, 2022
For those with only dry unsweetened coconut flakes on hand I successfully subbed it. I increased butter to 5tbsp and sugar to 3/4 cups to compensate for lost moisture and sweetness and it came out great. I also cut the baking powder to 2tsp for those wanting to reduce it. We also did raspberries instead of blueberries since that’s what was on hand. Baked the full 20 minutes they were very moist and tender with plenty of rise. Great baking project with my toddler since all easy to mix by hand and seemed very forgiving given all the changes I made.
 
Lisa F. July 13, 2021
These were absolutely delicious! They turned out light and fluffy, and the toasted coconut adds a surprising and delicious touch!
 
Jamie L. January 17, 2021
I enjoyed these muffins a lot! I would make again but maybe try less baking powder. It seems like a bit much and I can actually taste remnise of it in the muffin itself. Otherwise perfect
 
Rhonda35 January 18, 2021
I'm glad you enjoyed these! Let us know how they turn out with less baking powder. :-)
 
Thelma L. August 14, 2020
I have baked these muffins following the recipe exactly quite a number of times and they are always a crowd pleaser.

We were recently at our cabin and wanted some breakfast muffins. The pantry and fridge were low on baking items and we didn't want to go into town until the following day. I had to make do with what I had. I used this recipe as the base and altered from there. Here's what I did:

1. I used 1/3 cup of brown sugar. We were out of white sugar and 1/3 cup of brown sugar was all I had left. With the sweetened coconut, the muffins turned out plenty sweet for us
2. I wasn't sure if the brown sugar was going to be overpowering, so i added a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3. We were out of milk so I used a cup of buttermilk

I also used frozen blueberries, mixed with flour, and plopped them into the batter frozen and popped them right into the oven. There seems to be mixed opinions about how to use frozen blueberries. I usually use fresh, but frozen, and using them frozen, worked for me.

So how did they taste? Oh my stars. They were so darn delicious. The four of us ate all 12 by lunch. Total oinkers. Luckily we burned some of it off during a 5 mile hike that afternoon.

So I've made the recipe as stated and they are a keeper!

And I've made them so totally altered that we call them Cabin Muffins.

Just thought I'd share my experience. I really enjoy this lovely site and always look forward to trying something new!

Thelma Louise
 
Rhonda35 August 15, 2020
Thanks for sharing your Cabin Muffin version of this recipe, Thelma Louise! I look forward to giving it a try.
 
Beg May 24, 2020
Helloo, Thank you for this amazing recipe, I made them before just the way you di and they were perfect! Now I have a question, can I make them in 15cm circle pan like one giant muffin :) I made some coconut streusel for topping.. I just want to try a different look but I want to know your opinion ♥️
 
Rhonda35 May 24, 2020
Hi Beg! I'm glad you like these muffins. I have never used this recipe to make one giant muffin, but I sure do like the idea! You'll have to increase the baking time, but I don't think you'd need to change anything else. Would you please report back if you try your idea? I'd love to know if it works or not. Good luck!
 
Shawna C. February 3, 2020
My son and I made these! They turned out great! Added a sprinkle of coconut tot he top of them!
 
Rhonda35 February 3, 2020
How cool that you and your son cook together! I'm so glad you tried my recipe. Enjoy!
 
Loretta B. August 3, 2019
Great recipe! I used huckleberries instead of blueberries and added 1/2 tsp coconut extract per another reviewer. For fun, added a tiny bit of lime zest. My coconut was unsweetened so I sprinkled sugar on top before putting the muffins in the oven. I prefer less-sweet baked treats so that was just right for me! The texture was perfect and the berries didn't sink (though they were smaller than blueberries of course).
 
Rhonda35 December 3, 2019
Your changes/substitutions sound delicious, Loretta!
 
Meghan P. September 3, 2018
I made these today for my kids' breakfast stash in the deep freezer (it's replenishing day!) and my batter wasn't dry at all, the muffins rose beautifully in the oven, and they taste great! I made a couple small subs but not veering from the original recipe, really. I wanted to sub in almond flour for some of the white flour but I was out, so I'll report back next time as to how a flour sub works out (I am histamine intolerant and won't eat this batch but my family loves them). Anyway...

I added a few drops of coconut extract, used vanilla hemp milk, and replaced the sugar with a mix of xylitol and stevia. I did use unsweetened dried coconut and it didn't impact the final product at all. They get two thumbs up from my very picky kindergartner!
 
Rhonda35 September 4, 2018
Glad to hear these got two thumbs up!
 
Ahaley July 30, 2018
I made these to try something new and enjoyed the process. They came out moistband the blueberry was a guest of flavor. Though they were not particularly sweet it was still a good breakfast muffin. I brushed melted butter on top and out toasted coconut on top.
 
Rhonda35 August 11, 2018
Glad you enjoyed them!
 
Kate F. June 21, 2018
So I made these and I didn’t use sweetened coconut. I think that was my first mistake. It definitely isn’t sweet enough and has a strange flour taste (that May just be user error). Also I can’t taste the coconut. Might add more next time. So yeah probably just my fault.
 
Barbara K. May 31, 2017
Thanks! can't wait to try them!
 
Barbara K. May 30, 2017
a Tablespoon of baking powder seems like a lot; most muffin recipes, even bran muffins, call for 1-2 teaspoons of baking powder. Could this be a typo?
 
Rhonda35 May 30, 2017
It's correct - I've been making them with 1 T of baking powder for 4+ decades. Many muffin recipes use both baking powder and baking soda and, perhaps, that is why you are used to a lower amount of baking powder? Regardless, a tablespoon is correct for this recipe. Enjoy!
 
Mary March 26, 2017
The coconut really adds a new texture and flavor to Blueberry Muffins. We LOVED them and will add this recipe to our list of Sunday Morning Breads. Thank you.
 
Rhonda35 March 26, 2017
So glad you enjoyed them, Mary!
 
Laura V. March 17, 2017
These turned out OK. I live in the UK and we don't have the sweetened moist Bakers-type coconut. I think that needs to be specified because it makes a big difference--both in terms of sweetness and moistness. I wish I had read the comments first. With dessicated cocout, I would definitely sub out some coconut milk a touch more sugar and love the idea of some lime...and think that whipping an egg white and folding it in would make a big difference.
 
cosmiccook August 17, 2016
I recently made Stella Parks muffins from your sister site Serious Eats try her recipe
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/07/classic-blueberry-muffin-recipe.html?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_campaign=d2aa43468b-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0b0a23b0ad-d2aa43468b-124584193
 
Katelyn August 5, 2016
I made these, falling the recipe exactly, and they were browned on top and raw in the center. The taste was off and the texture was very unpleasant. I'm glad so many others had such luck with these, but I'll stick with my moms blueberry muffin recipe.
 
Rhonda35 August 7, 2016
I'm so sorry they didn't turn out properly for you, Katelyn. I'm glad you have your mother's recipe as a tried and true fallback.
 
kumalavula May 30, 2016
i followed this recipe with the exception of adding a little essential lime oil to the wet ingredients. it gave it a little tangy kick which played well off the coconut and blueberry. the dough seemed a bit dry to me but not impossible to manage and they came out great. i might add some nuts the next time around but an easy thing to whip up on the spur of the moment as most ingredients are in my kitchen all the time.
 
Rhonda35 May 30, 2016
I like your addition of lime oil - good idea!