The Stay at Home Chef: Piña Colada Bran Muffins

I've never been a huge fan of super-sweet muffins. I figure if they're that sweet, they have fallen over the very thin line into cupcake territory. Plus, I should at least attempt to be somewhat healthy with one meal of the day, right? So, I stuck with some bran to make these healthy-ish and kept the sugar to a minimum.  A delicious breakfast.

Note: You need to find the All Bran cereal that looks like little sticks.

Piña Colada Bran Muffins
Adapted from The Stay At Home Chef blog

1½ cups Kellogg's All Bran Original cereal
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple
¾ cup buttermilk
⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
⅔ cup lightly packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon coconut extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup shredded sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 450°F. Lightly spray a muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with paper cups.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, soak bran cereal, pineapple (including juice), and buttermilk for about 10 minutes until it gets all soggy.

Add in melted butter, egg, brown sugar, vanilla extract, coconut extract, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and coconut. Stir thoroughly. This mixture will be very thick.

Divide the batter equally among the 12 muffin cups, filling almost all the way full.

Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes. Without opening the door, reduce the heat to 350°F and let the muffins continue baking another 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins