Milk Chocolate, Coconut, and Banana Chip Mini Muffins

I whipped these miniature muffins up the night before I took off to Florida so that I would have some goodies to bring my family. I was in the mood for something tropical and saw a can of coconut milk in the pantry, perfect! I didn't have a particular recipe in mind, so I just stuck to the Ratio of 2 parts flour: 2 parts fat: 2 parts liquid: 1 part sugar and came up with these exotic treats. In keeping with the tropical theme, I replaced regular sugar with palm sugar. It's flavor complements coconut in a wonderful way. As for the mix-ins, I knew shredded coconut would obviously be a component, and then I saw banana chips and thought they would add a nice crunch while still sticking to the theme. I'm usually not much of a milk chocolate person, personally preferring super dark chocolate above all else, but I thought that a mellow milk chocolate would fit in nicely with the other ingredients. I topped them with a simple coconut glaze and garnishes of coconut and banana chips.

I think they turned out really delicious and were exactly what I was going for- not super sweet with a tropical flare. Plus, I was pretty proud of myself for just pulling this recipe out of thin air! They ended up being a great way to kick off Spring Break, and received a whole lot of "Mmm's" from family and friends!
By the way, this recipe really doesn't make a lot so you may want to double the recipe (especially if you are making regular-sized muffins).

Milk Chocolate, Coconut, and Banana Chip Mini Muffins

my batter made 17 mini muffins

ingredients:

• 4 ounces whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 4 ounces (4 tbsp or 1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 ounces palm sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 tsp coconut extract
• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) lite coconut milk
• 1/4 cup broken banana chips
• 1 1/2 ounces (1/2 a regular bar) milk chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a mini muffin tin, set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the palm sugar and butter for about 3 minutes. Add in the egg and extract and beat until combined (remember to scrape down the sides!).
4. Alternately add the flour mixture and coconut milk to the butter/sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined.
5. Stir in the banana chips, coconut, and chocolate.
6. Scoop into prepared muffin tins and bake for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean!
7. Cool in the tray for about 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool further.
8. *The glaze is optional. I just mixed up a tablespoon or two of the coconut milk with some confectioners' sugar until I got the consistency that I wanted. Then I just topped half of the muffins with a banana chip, and the other half with some unsweetened flaked coconut.