Whole Wheat-Coconut-Blueberry-Oat Bran Muffins: ei. "Cupcakes"

I don't know if it's laziness or just my inner eye coming into focus (or a secret desire to torture my family). But lately I've pretty much stopped looking at recipes completely. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Usually when it doesn't turn out, even though I've thought through all chemical relationships (baking powder, soda, sugar, egg reactions etc.), I can attribute the  flop to one simple thing: I forgot the salt. But today I am somewhat unreasonably proud of myself in my creation. My daughter begged me for cupcakes for breakfast (which may or may not mean pancakes). She pretty much begs for cupcakes every day at some point even though in her lifetime I don't believe I've actually made cupcakes. She knows pretty much every episode of My Little Pony by heart though and they eat a lot of cupcakes in Ponyville. If I lived in Ponyville, I might eat a lot of cupcakes too. But in Ada's case I'm pretty sure she would just lick off the frosting and ask for another.

I've been trying for quite some time to make a good bran muffin for the Hubster. Being Argentine, he hasn't ever experienced the glory that is possible in this full textured food. I feel it my responsibility to share it with him. But thus far he has rejected all of my buttery moist concoctions for lack of sweetness. I have this nasty habit of cutting the sugar in half. I just think that most recipes have too much. But I conceded in this case, for desire that my daughter eat something other than corn and tortillas with cheese today. I feel that the fullness of fibers will make up for it.  And I'm satisfied that tonight's yerba mate exchange will be a satisfying experience for all parties. Lately (okay, pretty much my whole life) I've been on a coconut kick. Don't try to substitute the unsweetened coconut with the larger sugary flakes, it won't work. Make sure that the coconut oil is at room temperature.

With no further delay:

Whole Wheat Coconut Blueberry Oat Bran Muffins
ei. "Cupcakes"

3 Whole Eggs well beaten
1 C Coconut Oil
2 C Sugar
1 & 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
2 C dry coconut flakes (unsweetened)
3 C Whole Wheat Flour
2 tbs Baking Powder
1 & 1/2 C Oat Bran

2 & 1/2 C Milk
2 C Blueberries (frozen or fresh)

Preheat  oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
Beat eggs well and then add, one at a time, mixing between, sugar, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and coconut flakes.
Then separately combine  flour, baking powder and oat bran. Mix together thoroughly with wet mixture. Pour in most of milk and mix thoroughly. The batter should be thick and goopy, not liquid like a cake batter. Add rest of milk in if needed. mix blueberries in with a large spoon to avoid breaking them apart.

Spoon into lined muffin tins to rim.
Bake for 8-12 minutes. Makes approximately 3 dozen muffins

Muffins are done when toothpick comes out clean and muffins are golden around edges. Pull out of tins and allow to cool before dolloping with:

Honey Greek-Yogurt Cream-Cheese "Frosting"

1 C. Greek Yogurt (cold)
1 C. Cream Cheese (room temperature)
Honey to taste

With a hand mixer beat all three ingredients until smoother than cottage cheese.
*NOTE* Wait until you are ready to eat the muffins to frost them. Since the topping is not a simple mixture of fat and sugar, it will dry out. Store covered in fridge until ready to use. Until then, cover muffins with cloth to prevent them from drying as well.



And for the record, My daughter loves them. She still licks the "frosting" off the top but then continues to eat the rest of the muffin without the cool creamy topping.

Tip: If you don't make cupcakes very often and don't carry the necessary supplies , you can line tins with squares of parchment paper, just push the middle down and run your finger around the bottom. Hold in place and fill with small spoon or small ladle.

EXITO!