Psst…! These are gluten-free. I’m not allergic or intolerant to gluten but I have a few friends who are and sometimes I bake for them just because. 🙂 They’re also dairy-free. They’re not sugar-free because I’m a baker, not a magician.
Ingredients:
- 0.5 cup cooked purple sweet potato (or yam) – I cook them in slow cooker on high for about 2-2.5 hours but you can also bake or steam until they are cooked through
- 1 can of coconut milk (1 standard can is usually 13.5 or 14 oz. Either will work)
- 0.25 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon of honey
- 2 eggs
- 1.5 teaspoon ube extract (if you can’t get this, you can substitute with vanilla extract)
- 2.25 cups sweet glutinous rice flour (if you buy this brand, 2.25 is about about half a box)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 0.5 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts (optional, you can omit if you are allergic or do not like nuts. You can also substitute with pecans or walnuts if that’s what you like better)
- 0.5 cup coconut flakes or shredded coconuts (either sweetened or unsweetened will work just fine)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare a muffin tin by spraying them really well with nonstick cooking spray. Please do not skip the nonstick spray. This is what will make the muffins… not stick (see what I did there?).
- In a small bowl, combine the purple sweet potato with a few tablespoons or coconut milk. This will make it easier to combine into the rest of the batter later on. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, the remaining coconut milk, sugar, and honey. Whisk together until the sugar has dissolved. Whisk in eggs and ube (or vanilla extract) until everything is evenly combined.
- In a separate small bowl, mix together the sweet glutinous rice flour, baking powder, and salt. Add this and the sweet potato into the wet mixture. Whisk until everything comes together. If you are using macadamia or other nuts, fold them in at the end. You should get a lovely purple-colored batter here. If you are using vanilla extract, you will not get the purple color but you can fool everyone by using a teensy bit of food coloring. Go ahead, I won’t tell.
- Fill the muffin tins with the batter. These won’t rise too much so you can fill it up to just below the rim. Drop the muffin tin on the counter a few times to knock out any air bubbles. Top each muffin with coconut flakes and then bake for about 35-40 minutes.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and let cool in the tin for a few minutes. Then, remove them from the tin and cool on wire racks. They taste almost exactly like regular muffins when they are warm but after they are cool, they have a really great chew. These also freeze quite well for future treats. When frozen, reheat them in the microwave for 30-40 seconds before enjoying. By the way, if you are planning to freeze them, omit the nuts because the texture won’t be as great.
A Dash of Yoyo 