Bake

Brown Butter Coconut Almond Muffins

by:
January 20, 2017
5
3 Ratings
Brown Butter Coconut Almond Muffins
Photo by Posie Harwood
  • Makes 12 muffins
Author Notes

These muffins have garnered a spot in my favorite baking recipe repertoire: They're tender-crumbed and just slightly sweet. The shredded coconut in the batter gives them a bit of texture; coconut milk and almond paste make them nice and moist, but don't add overwhelming flavor. —Posie (Harwood) Brien

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup coconut milk (canned)
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 7 ounces almond paste, cut into small pieces
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners, or grease the wells.
  2. In a pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Continue to cook, swirling the pan, until the butter begins to brown and smell fragrant and nutty (you'll see browned bits begin to settle on the bottom of the pan). Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
  3. In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, beat the coconut milk with the eggs until well-combined. Add the almond paste and mix thoroughly: The almond paste won't get fully incorporated; that's okay.
  4. Add the brown butter to the coconut milk/egg mixture and mix to combine, scraping down the bowl as you go.
  5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, and mix until just combined—do not over-mix!
  6. Stir in the shredded coconut.
  7. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin pan wells—the batter should come almost to the top but not quite (they will dome significantly).
  8. Bake the muffins for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown on the tops. Resist the urge to open the oven and peek at them! The heat needs to stay inside to make those nice domed tops.
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See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Kaeri
    Kaeri
  • stevemr
    stevemr
  • nohe812
    nohe812
  • Fran McGinty
    Fran McGinty
  • Posie (Harwood) Brien
    Posie (Harwood) Brien

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16 Reviews

Kaeri
Kaeri September 3, 2021
Rich almond flavor, great dense, moist texture. My almond paste container was 8 oz, so I just threw in the extra one ounce - came out delicious!
 
stevemr
stevemr February 21, 2018
I have a technical/food science question: Why is the coconut added AFTER the batter is made? Is there a reason not to add it to the sifted dry ingredients before adding the wet ingredients? Wouldn't that reduce the amount of mixing necessary, which would be a good thing?
 
Posie (.
Posie (. February 21, 2018
I find it’s harder to incorporate the liquid uniformly when the shredded coconut is in there which is why I add it after! Up to you—it shouldn’t make a huge difference.
 
nohe812
nohe812 May 22, 2017
I subbed ground almond pulp for the flour, 1:1, just to make it gluten free. It was really good, though, I'd probably make that version into a quick bread instead of muffins. The texture was great, and the flavor was yummy!
 
June
June April 8, 2017
I didn't even wait for these to cool all the way before taking one down. They smelled so delicious in the oven! Its been a couple of days and they are still perfect. I froze them after they had cooled completely then wrapped them individually in plastic wrap and then froze in a ziplock bag. I take a one out the night before I plan to eat one, leave it on a plate covered with a paper towel and pop in the microwave for 20 seconds before eating. They taste just like fresh baked. Also, I added another 2 tbs of butter but mine turned out super moist!
 
stevemr
stevemr January 24, 2017
Any thoughts about thick heavy coconut milk vs. light? The recipe doesn't specify, so I assume you prefer the full fat heavy version. Is that correct? Have you tried it with lite?
 
Eileen F.
Eileen F. January 24, 2017
I made the muffins yesterday with regular, not lite. I looked at the ingredients for the lite version, and decided against it. The muffins were good, but I don't think I would make them again. This morning when reheated, they were rather dry, although butter would probably have helped. They are better the day they are made.
 
Posie (.
Posie (. January 24, 2017
Definitely better the day they are made, agreed! If you prefer muffins on the more moist side, bump the butter up to 1 stick (I've made them that way and they are delicious but more decadent).
 
Eileen F.
Eileen F. January 22, 2017
Do you heat the coconut milk before measuring to combine the fat and liquid? I've only seen it in 12-14 ounce cans. Any suggestions for using up the remainder?
 
Posie (.
Posie (. January 22, 2017
No need to heat it up! With the extra, I love using it in rice pudding and oatmeal in place of regular milk (or in combination with regular milk). Enjoy!
 
Eileen F.
Eileen F. January 22, 2017
When I open a can of coconut milk, there is a thick layer of hardened oil at the top. (Maybe because it's cooler here.) So do you use that and the liquid, or just the liquid, or some of both? Your ideas for using up the rest sound great!
 
Posie (.
Posie (. January 22, 2017
Ah yes that can happen -- just stir it all together till combined then measure a cup (if you can't stir it, I'd heat it up slightly until you can). You want it all blended before you measure it out.
 
Eileen F.
Eileen F. January 22, 2017
Thank you. I used a can last week to make Alexandra Stafford's excellent curried lentils with coconut milk, and it took a lot of heat to melt, but oh, so delicious. These sound excellent as well.
 
Nadia F.
Nadia F. January 22, 2017
I actually out the content of the coconut milk can in the blender to mix everything back together. Worked like a charm!
 
Eileen F.
Eileen F. January 22, 2017
I thought about that, but it sounds like more work, especially to clean up, than heating it. Thank you, though.
Bought the almond paste this afternoon, so I can make it for breakfast tomorrow.
 
Fran M.
Fran M. January 21, 2017
I just started playing with almond paste I am loving it also. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I can't wait to try it.