Coconut cupcakes

Okay, apparently we are all cupcake addicts. I'm glad I'm not alone. Although actually being alone with a tray of cupcakes is not a bad thing, in my opinion.

Today's cupcake is simple, tender and delicious. And it tastes like coconut, and you know if I can add coconut to anything I will (witness the coconut rice pudding and the coconut frosting on sis's wedding cake).

Coconut cupcakes (makes 21, recipe from Martha Stewart)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup packed sweetened shredded coconut
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 large eggs plus 2 large egg whites
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

**Mix the dry ingredients together (including the shredded coconut) with a fork and set aside.

**Cream the butter for three minutes, then slowly add the sugar and continue beating until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time.

**Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in three parts, alternating with the coconut milk and the vanilla.

**Pour batter into prepared muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes.

As much as I love Martha Stewart recipes, sometimes they are a bit quirky. This one makes 21 cupcakes, for example. Why? I want a cupcake recipe to make either 12 or 24, which seems logical. But they taste good, so I tried to put aside my OCD.

Martha calls for seven minute frosting with these, but I've never cared for it. It's just a bit marshmallowy for my taste, and while I love marshmallows, I do not want them on my cupcakes. Instead, I used the Magnolia Bakery creamy vanilla frosting that I posted about here, but I added toasted coconut instead of orange zest, along with a teeny tiny bit of coconut flavoring. Yum.

Need more proof of my cupcake addiction? Get more here, here, here and here.