Sometime during my childhood, a grandparent or family friend wrapped up a copy of Pretend Soup, a cookbook for preschoolers and young children, for my birthday gift. Each recipe spanned four pages: two with only text (for the adult supervision); two with hand-drawn illustrations and short, simple sentences (for the kids). Multiple nights each week, while Mom stood at the stove stirring boiling pasta or flipping grilled cheese sandwiches, I perched on a chair at the dining table pouring over the cookbook’s pictures, and later I pretended to create each dish at my Fisher Price toy kitchen.
As a determined 8-year-old, I decided to surprise Mom by baking something from the cookbook all by myself. After directing her to stay upstairs in her bedroom while I worked, I picked out the “Hide and Seek Muffins”: basic vanilla muffins with a large fresh strawberry chunk in the center. I flipped open to the illustration pages, pulled out the required ingredients, and nearly cried.
The drawings only explained how to mix everything together… They never stated how much of each ingredient!
For a few minutes, I seriously debated making up the measurements as I went. But even as a kid, I figured out that would probably end in disaster, so I eventually caved, hoping Mom wouldn’t catch on, and ran upstairs to her bedroom.
I slyly posed my question. “Mom, IF you were going to make muffins… How much flour and baking powder would you use? Just if you HAPPENED to…”
She played along, explaining that it depended on how many muffins and the amounts of wet ingredients, but guessed between 1-2 cups of flour and 1-2 teaspoons of baking powder.
I dashed back downstairs (sliding down the banister, of course) and studied the cookbook a little longer. I finally settled on choosing a different and more straightforward recipe, but as I turned the pages to look at the previous options in the cookbook, I realized that the measurements were actually listed on the adult text-only pages after all!
I traced my finger down those pages instead, carefully mixing up the batter at the kitchen table while standing on a wooden chair, and poured it into the muffin tins. As soon as I wiped away the stray drops, I dashed back upstairs to show Mom the trays of raw batter. As a kid, I wasn’t allowed to touch the oven; with incredibly klutzy tendencies, I probably would’ve burned myself!
Mom followed me back downstairs, popped the muffin tins into the oven, and I set the timer. Half an hour later (the strawberry centers took longer to cool than the muffins!), we devoured half the batch well before Daddy arrived home from work.
Since that day as an 8-year-old, I haven’t actually baked any more surprise-center muffins, but when this memory recently resurfaced, I decided that definitely needed to change! With spring in the air and summer already on my mind, I created these healthy Tropical Surprise Mini Muffins. Filled with the bright flavor of coconut and juicy pieces of pineapple, these little guys immediately transport your taste buds to warm sandy beaches with tall swaying palm trees. With so few calories, they’ll even get you ready for swimsuit season!
Similar to Pretend Soup’s, my recipe is very basic. Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another—no mixer needed today! Unlike that original recipe, you’ll treat this one more like cake batter by alternating between adding the flour mixture and milk to the egg mixture, stirring in each just until incorporated. Alternating additions are mandatory. They prevent over-developing the flour’s gluten strands and guarantee that the muffins turn out light and airy, not dense and dry. Trust me; it’s worth the extra step!
To ensure the muffins stay light and almost white (like those sandy beaches!), I omitted the egg yolk. Just whisk the egg white with melted coconut oil (clear!) instead of butter (yellow!). I also added in a tiny bit more coconut oil to make up for the missing fat from the egg yolk, which helped create a more tender texture.
The majority of the coconut flavor comes from coconut extract, not the coconut oil. Do not skip the coconut extract! You can find it on the baking aisle near the vanilla extract. It’s shelf-stable and keeps for ages, and you can use the leftovers to make my almond joy cupcakes too!
For the pineapple centers, I diced the fruit rather finely. Unlike a huge chunk, smaller bits are easier to bite into without pulling out the entire filling! To prepare these tiny treats, fill each mini muffin cup a little less than halfway with batter. Use a ½-teaspoon measuring spoon to plop the pineapple into the center, and gently press the fruit into the batter with your index finger. Top with the remaining batter, filling each cup almost to the rim. (That’s how you get those tall domed tops!)
Positively bursting with the taste of paradise, these Tropical Surprise Mini Muffins will remind you of summery days spent sipping on piña coladas—just sans the rum! Because of their juicy pineapple centers and bright coconut base, these soft and tender treats don’t seem lightened up or skinny at all. With so much flavor packed into each little muffin, they’ll help you slim down for summer and make you proud to pull out your swimsuit again!
Each soft coconut muffin is filled with a juicy pineapple surprise center, making these tender little treats taste just like paradise! Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 15 mini muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and coconut extract. Stir in the sugar and Greek yogurt until thoroughly combined and no large lumps remain. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour, stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts and the milk in 2 equal parts.)
- Fill each mini muffin cup slightly less than halfway with batter. Place about ½ teaspoon of diced pineapple into the center of each, and gently press the fruit into the batter. Top with the remaining batter, filling each almost all the way to the brim. Bake at 350°F for 11-12 minutes or until barely firm to the touch. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Note: Vegetable or canola oil may be substituted for the melted coconut oil.
You are TOO cute, clearly meant to bake for a living!! I love your determination to make those muffins. These look wonderful, and I love the secret surprise.
Thank you Brittany!! I definitely started at an early age… And I loved my Fisher Price kitchen from the moment I got it as a Christmas gift as a 3-year-old. Baking has been in my cards all along! 😉
Oh my goodness… I bet that melted your mom’s heart. You’re also clearly an island girl at heart- look at your collection of tropical recipes!
Thanks sweetie! 🙂 I definitely have summer and vacation on the brain… If only I could bake and blog in paradise. Then my life would be complete!
What a cute story to share, Amy! Sounds like you found your love of baking at an early age! These muffins look so yummy and tropical, love that you only used an egg white to create a lighter tone.
Thanks Gayle! My parents really started my love early… They bought me that Fisher Price kitchen as a Christmas gift when I was 3, and I rarely played with anything else for my entire childhood! Now I just spend all of my time in a regular kitchen instead. 😉
Such a sweet story!! 🙂 I loved baking as a child as well. I’m not surprised we both ended up right here sharing our love of baking! These muffins sound lovely. I’m a huge coconut fan!
Thank you Jocelyn! Hopefully your first attempts at baking as a child weren’t quite as confused as mine. 🙂 With how many delicious treats you make these days, I’m sure you were a natural the moment you started baking!
Just tried making this and I didn’t realize I had left out the milk until I was stirring and it was super thick. I think the instructions should include adding the milk to the egg mixture before stirring in with the flour (or if the milk is stirred with the flour and the egg mixture is added later, that should be indicated). I hope they still turn out ok!
I’m sorry about the confusion Chelsea! In the directions, I said to alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk to the egg mixture, so add 1/3 of the flour, half of the milk, 1/3 of the flour, etc. I hope the muffins still turned out for you too!
Hi! These look super yummy and i cant waint to try them! ☺️
I just have two questions ; can the sugar be substitued for anyother sweeter like honey, maple syrup or even stevia? And what other oil could i use instead of cocunut oil? Would extra virgin olive oil be too strong?
Thankyou so much, i love your recipes 🙂
If you use honey or maple syrup, you won’t be able to taste the coconut flavor in the batter very well because those sweeteners’ flavors are too pronounced. Stevia may work, although you’ll most likely need to increase the amount of milk in the recipe. I included my preferred oil substitutions beneath the recipe. Olive oil may be a tad bit strong, so I’d suggest melted butter if neither of those oils in the Notes section work for you. I hope you enjoy the muffins Angie!
Okay thank you! One last question, is there anything to replace the coconut extract with? I just can’t find anywhere! I’ll have a look online, but if there was anything else that would work it would be great! Thanks, im looking forward to making these! 🙂
Almond extract would be another lovely flavor, if you can find that Angie! 🙂
I LOVE ❤️ this recipe. I made it, and it was gone in a day! It tastes so buttery and the tropical feel really comes through. Thanks so much!
(P.S. I give this recipe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
I’m so glad you loved these muffins Cacey! That means the world to me that you’d give this recipe 5 stars. Thank you!! 🙂 You’re such a talented baker — that’s the best kind of compliment if all of your muffins disappeared in a single day!!