Coconut Cranberry Muffins with White Chocolate

Me and my muffins. The "assumption" at work is, if I have a day off, I am supposed to come into the office on my next working day with a batch of muffins or cookies. Can you believe they actually expect that of me? LOL. Grumpy tells me that the kids and faculty only like me because I feed them. Hmm. I wonder if that is why he likes me? Sigh. My life is fully of Grumpy hubby, whiny grad students and yes, even a whiny faculty or two when I haven't brought something in.(A.A. & N.N. you know who you are! A.A. - You just have to get downstairs to get a treat before noon. What do you expect!) Bringing in muffins (OK, and cake, and cookies) - Sometimes I think they don't want me to leave because if I did, they would go hungry. not! Well, maybe the students would....I've known some kids to sit at their computer (like my oldest son) and not want to get up for food. I really doubt it was studying that kept him there - most likely gaming.... So, any of you moms out there with a child in a university - well if your child is at my university, in my department, I'm making sure they are being well fed!! Just look below.....

This morning I had an extra 40 minutes so I decided it was time to make a new muffin I had bookmarked from Cooking Light. I basically followed the recipe, but of course, I didn't follow it to a T. I will mark my changes in red below.

C0conut-Cranberry Muffins
from Cooking Light

2 cups all-purpose flour
⅔ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries (I used part cranberries and part mixed dried fruit, not the really hard dried fruit, softer dried fruit)
⅔ cup light coconut milk (I had to use a little more as the batter wasn't picking up all the dry ingredients)
¼ cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons sugar (I used crystal sugar flakes)
½ cup white chocolate chips - this is my addition. I had a few left so I just threw them in. I know, not in keeping with cooking light and kind of defeated the purpose - but I did it anyway. Sometimes you gotta be a rule breaker! :-p

Preheat oven to 400°.Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Stir in cranberries; make a well in center of mixture. Combine coconut milk and next 4 ingredients (through egg), stirring well with a whisk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.Place 12 muffin cup liners in muffin cups. Spoon batter into lined cups. Sprinkle evenly with 2 teaspoons sugar. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pans immediately; place on a wire rack. See the photo above? That is my baby Rudy Rut-ton. He' s getting so big so fast! He is a hellion too. Sure, he doesn't look it below because he's dead to the world....but earlier this evening, he climbed up my treadmill to get hold of a decorating garland I had hanging from the handle. What a stinker! Yeah, he was tuckered out from his racing around the house like a mad man after I got home from work!