White Chocolate-Macadamia Nut Muffins

There are plenty of sweets on site with the white chocolate-macadamia nut combination, but not one muffin could I find. These are terrific. Toasted coconut is added and what a natural affinity these three flavors have for each other! These are sweet muffins, perhaps more suitable for teatime than for breakfast, but we eat them any time of day. I got the recipe from "White Chocolate," a book by Janice Wald Henderson.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Yields: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2  cups flour
• 1⁄2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 2  teaspoons baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1  cup milk, ar room temperature
• 8  tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 2  teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1  egg, at room temperature, lightly beanten
• 1 3⁄4 cups white chocolate chips
• 3 1⁄2 ounces  lightly salted coarsely chopped  macadamia nuts (scant 3/4 cup)
• 3⁄4 cup  shredded coconut, toasted

Directions

1. With the rack in the center of the oven, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter twelve 3-1/2 inch muffin cups, or line with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, butter vanilla, and egg.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Gradually stir in the liquid ingredients just until combined. Do not overstir.
5. Stir in the white chocolate chips, nuts and coconut.
6. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling to the top.
7. Bake in preheated oven about 20 minutes or until muffins are a very light brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool muffins in pan on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the pan and eat while warm or serve cooled to room temperature on rack.
9. Store in an airtight container up to 2 days or freeze up to 1 month.