Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 355 F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with liners and set aside.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthwise, place cut side down on the lined baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake about 30 minutes, until tender. Once cooked, scrape the flesh out of the skins, discarding the skins or saving them for another purpose. Mash the sweet potato flesh until mostly smooth with some remaining small chunks.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice.

In a large bowl, whisk together oil, vanilla, eggs, and milk. Stir in the maple syrup and honey, mashed sweet potato, chopped dates, and shredded coconut.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring together until the dry ingredients are just incorporated. The batter will be quite thick.

Let the batter rest 10 minutes so the flour absorbs some of the liquid.

Spoon batter into prepared pan, filling each muffin cup with ½ cup of batter. The muffin cups should be three-quarters of the way full, which will lead to a slightly domed muffin top. Sprinkle with the coconut chips (if desired). Bake for 30 minutes or until golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean after insertion into the middle of a muffin.

Let rest for 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, with plain yogurt or butter on the side.

These muffins are extremely moist and will last quite well at room temperature, for up to 3 days, if well-wrapped. Alternatively, freeze them - they reheat quite well in the toaster or with the defrost setting of a microwave.