Lemon-Coconut Muffins

Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine recently published a bunch of muffin recipes and this one looked like the best to me! I love anything with coconut, and the tangy lemon zest goes great with it. I used applesauce instead of vegetable oil to make these muffins light and healthy. This is a nice alternative to those overly sweet muffins at the store!

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, plus more for topping
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 2/3 cup applesauce
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 T lemon zest
• 2 eggs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners
3. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, coconut flakes and salt.
4. In a large bowl, whisk the buttermilk, applesauce, sugar, lemon zest and eggs.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and fold until just barely blended.
2. Divide the batter among the liners (fill about three-quarters). Top each with coconut flakes, pressing to adhere. Bake until puffed and golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 13 to 17 minutes. Cool in the pan.

Adapted from Rachael Ray