Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Don’t know what to do with all the zucchini this summer? Or maybe you just love zucchini? This is the answer! Double chocolatey sweetness with less fat than the standard muffin. Greek yogurt makes this recipe packed with protein too! Win, win...satisfy your chocolate cravings and eat healthy too! Can be made gluten free as well.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Yield: 18 muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
1 egg
1/2 cup honey (or 3/4 cup granulated sugar)
1 cup nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose or gluten free flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, divided

Equipment needed:

Food processor or box grater
Small and medium mixing bowls
Dry and liquid measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Wire whisk
Rubber spatula
2 Muffin pans (enough for 18)
Cupcake papers (optional)
Dipper (~1/4 cup volume)

Ingredient Pic

When my garden is producing zucchini the size of baseball bats, I’m always baking something to use it up! Zucchini and chocolate go so well together and you’ll never even know it’s in there. Great way to sneak vegetables into your kids diet too. Breakfast or snack time... muffins are such an easy option. NO excuse not to eat breakfast with these around! Grab your processor or grater and let’s bake some muffins!

Preheat oven to 350 F.

First steps are to get the zucchini and dry ingredients ready for baking!

I use a food processor for the zucchini, as it is so much easier and efficient than hand grating. If you don’t have a processor... grate away. When I have huge zucchini, I grate all of it and freeze what I don’t use for later. I don’t peel them either and leave the skins on for added fiber. When they bake you don’t really see the green specks, but if family members are picky, go ahead and peel them. You really won’t see them them as the chocolate disguises them! Before processing, cube up the zucchini and remove the center large seeds. Pulse until all is uniform or pulverized.

For the dry ingredients, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt, in a small mixing bowl. Stir well with a wire whisk until all is uniformly tan in color and lump free. Set the dry ingredients to the side for a few minutes.

Time to make the batter!

Start with the wet stuff! Since you are making a quick bread, the wet ingredients will be combined and then the dry added last... so place the grated zucchini, egg, honey or sugar, Greek yogurt, and applesauce in a medium mixing bowl. Blend well with a rubber spatula, scraping the sides as you mix. Add the canola oil and vanilla and continue mixing. Pour in the dry mixture from earlier and mix together. Only mix until you no longer see clumps of the tan mixture. Resist the urge to mix until super smooth, as this will produce tunnels and a tougher muffing texture! Add 3/4 cups of the chocolate chips and blend carefully about 3 – 4 more stirs.

Wasn’t that quick and easy? Now to pan them up!

Grab 2 muffin pans that will hold 18 muffins and line with papers. Often, I don’t use papers for muffins and just spray the pans well, butthese are quite moist and hold together better with paper liners. Using a dipper or 1⁄4 cup dry measuring cup to scoop and fill the each well about 2/3 full. Making each muffin fairly uniform is important for even baking. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on the tops of each of the muffins. Place on middle rack of preheated 350 F oven and bake for 18 – 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out somewhat clean or a finger press bounces back.

The aroma is so yummy... No? Don’t be tempted to over bake zucchini muffins. As they set in the hot pans to cool, carry over baking will occur for a few minutes after you take them from the oven. Zucchini muffins have a tendency to be a bit moister that other types of muffins too. This batch was made with gluten free flour, so also a bit moister. Remove carefully from warm muffin tins after about 10 minutes and transfer to counter or cooling racks.

Go ahead and taste one! I always seem to put my thumb through one when I remove them from the oven... Baker’s Tasting Bonus!! These muffins can easily be placed in a Ziploc bag and frozen for later too... just bop in the microwave for a few 10 – 15 seconds and like ‘fresh-baked’! I challenge you for there to be any left to freeze once your family finds them though... Enjoy the chocolatey goodness!!