Pinneapple Coconut Ginger Muffins

For using up that crystallized ginger you bought months ago for another recipe in here (the pine nut polenta cookies?), here is a great recipe for mini muffins that freeze really well.

Pinneapple muffins
Breakfast or dessert
Children love them too!

Ingredients:

• Nonstick spray
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp powdered ginger
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup finely minced crystallized ginger
• 2/3 cups coconut milk (regular or low-fat)
• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp canned crushed pineapple packed in juice, undrained
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 400. Lightly spray mini muffin tray with nonstick spray.
2. Combine the flower, salt, baking powder, sugar, powdered ginger, and coconut in a medium-sized bowl.
3. Add the minced crystallized ginger and stir it around until coated. Then comb through the mixture with your fingers, picking up the larger pieces of ginger and snipping them into smaller pieces with scissors. The ginger should be in bits the size of currants.
4. Measure the 2/3 cup coconut milk into a 4-cup liquid measure, then add the pineapple with its juice and the egg and vanilla. Beat gently with a fork or a small whisk until smooth.
5. Slowly pour this mixture, along with the butter, into the dry ingredients. Using a spoon or a rubber spatula, stir from the bottom of the bowl until the dry ingredients are all moistened. Don't overmix; a few lumps are okay.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups and bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven, then remove the muffins from the pan and place them on a rack to cool. Wait at least 30 minutes before serving.

I had a fresh pineapple that I wanted to use, so I chopped that up into very small pieces and it worked out splendidly. The shredded coconut I used was unsweetened, but it didn't seem to matter as these muffins were so flavorful without the added sugar!

Recipe taken from Molly Katzen's book Sunlight Cafe.