lemon coconut muffins

Gluten Free | Refined Sugar Free

when life gives you lemons...?

…I make lemon coconut muffins…duh!

These lemon coconut muffins are light, fluffy and contain the perfect balance of sweetness and that slightly tangy, citrus flavor. I am a huge fan of lemon baked goods because they curb that sweet tooth without being overly sweet and are extremely versatile, making them the perfect on-the-go breakfast, quick snack or after dinner sweet treat!

Why the lemon & coconut combo??

Well there I was on a Tuesday morning, contemplating what new recipe I wanted to create, when my cravings decided to split into two directions. Part of me was craving a fresh baked lemon loaf while the other part desperately wanted to recreate one of my favorite sweet treats, coconut macaroons. So then I thought…why not combine the flavors and see what happens? And my lemon coconut muffins were born!

I have the say, the combination of the citrus balanced with the subtle nuttiness and added texture from the coconut works perfectly (and really satisfied my mismatched cravings for the day!)

I hope you LOVE this simple and delicious recipe as much as I do! I think it’s time I go and make another batch…!

THE RECIPE

yields 18 muffins

prep time: 20 minutes // Cook time: 20 minutes

total time: 40 minutes

ingredients:

For the Muffins:

1 1/4 Cups Oat Flour
1/2 Cup Coconut Flour
1/4 Cup Desiccated Coconut
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
2 Tbsp Lemon Zest
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
3/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup
1/4 Cup Melted Coconut Oil
1 1/4 Cups Greek Yogurt, room temperature
1/2 Cup Coconut Milk, room temperature

For the Lemon Glaze:

1/4 Cup Unsweetened Greek Yogurt
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup
1 Tbsp Coconut Milk
1/4 Tsp Vanilla Extract

method:

Preheat your oven to 425F/220C degrees. Line your muffin tin with paper liners or grease with butter.
In a large bowl, combine oat flour, coconut flour, desiccated coconut, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt. Mix together thoroughly.
To a separate, medium sized bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, eggs, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, greek yogurt and coconut milk.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until just combined, being careful not to over mix. The batter should be thick and lumpy.
Divide the batter into the muffin cups and fill a little more than 3/4 of the way full (yields roughly 18 standard-sized muffins.)
Bake the muffins for 5 minutes and then reduce the temperature of your oven to 180C/350F and continue baking for an additional 15-18 minutes until the sides are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.
Once the pan has cooled down a bit (roughly 10 minutes) move muffins to a wire rack and continue to cool completely.
Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with extra desiccated coconut if desired!

For the lemon glaze:

In a small bowl, mix together the greek yogurt, lemon juice, maple syrup, coconut milk and vanilla extract.
Drizzle the glaze over the muffins once they are completely cooled.
Muffins can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for up to 3 months.

recipe notes:

When making the batter, make sure to measure out your greek yogurt and coconut milk ahead of time and let them come up to room temperature. You’ll want to do this to make sure that when added to the wet ingredients, the yogurt and milk are not too cold that they re-solidify the melted coconut oil. (This happened to me on my first trial of creating this recipe and it created frozen solid chunks of coconut oil in my batter…not fun!!)
For a more generous lemon glaze drizzle, feel free to double the ingredient amount. P.S. Save any leftover lemon glaze and dip fruit into it for a delicious snack! (strawberries are my favorite for this!)
While these muffins are best served the same day, I store these muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week to keep them fresh and to keep the yogurt-based glaze from spoiling. PRO TIP: When taking muffins out of the fridge, microwave them for 15 seconds to warm them up to perfection!