Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Until about three years ago I loathed zucchini in baked goods. Growing up my grandfather had an enormous garden and he grew all kinds of vegetables, zucchini included. My grandmother always used to make baked goods with zucchini in them all summer long, and it really infuriated my 7 year old self. I still ate the food anyway because I grew up in a family where we ate what we were told or else we went hungry until whatever we refused to eat showed up on our plate at the next meal. We had to eat it sooner or later, so we quickly learned it might as well be sooner so we could just get it over with. Because I was essentially force fed as a child (I know I know, #firstworldproblems), I still hate a lot of really popular foods today. Like tomato soup. And stuffed peppers. And stuffed tomatoes. At the age of 30 I am pretty confident I will never eat these foods again, because I simply don’t have to. But who knows. I changed my mind about zucchini baked goods, so maybe I will with tomato soup too. But then again, it’s pretty easy to come around to something involving chocolate.
This has been my first week being a part time employee. It’s been WEIRD. Tuesday I was super productive so that was awesome. I cooked two new recipes for the blog, this one included. I got my car washed and then vacuumed it out. I have this awful excuse about vacuuming my car always. “I’m just going hiking next weekend and it’ll get dirty again so there’s no point in vacuuming it” I tell myself all the dang time. This is pretty much always true, but I’m pretty sure the last time I vacuumed my car was over a year ago so it was BAD in there. I have long blonde hair and I shed like a husky so it was mostly just my hair but it just needed to go. Then I tried to buy some new things like dishes, utensils, and other props to enhance my food photography but I hated everything I saw so I purchased nothing. Except new running socks because I’ve been needing those. I have a really hard time parting with money unless it’s food or hiking gear related. Then I don’t bat an eye. But everything else? Forget it. I have to fall in love with it at first sight in order for me to even consider opening up my wallet. I have no idea how I got so stingy. I guess this is a good trait to have now that I’m no longer working full time. Heh heh.
Just in the off chance you’re reading this and you’ve never baked with zucchini before, I’m going to share a very helpful tip. In this recipe it is absolutely imperative that you squeeze as much liquid out of this zucchini as you possibly can. This should be done after shredding it (I used a food processor to do this) and before folding it in to the batter. To remove the extra liquid is simple. I put the shredded zucchini into a paper towel and just squeeze the heck out of it. Most of the water runs out and then you’re left with just the shredded zucchini. This can also be done with cheese cloth if you prefer. Skipping this step can lead to very soupy baked goods. Not good not good! Take the extra two minutes to remove the excess liquid and you will be glad you did!
Mike gobbled these muffins right up which was a little surprising. He balked at the fact that they had zucchini in them (I hadn’t even told him the story about my 7 year old self), and he also gets upset that I never cook with regular old wheat flour. But you know what? These muffins have such a traditional texture and consistency, you’ll be able to trick even your harshest gluten-consuming food critic. I sure did!
Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350° F and line a muffin tin with silicone or parchment paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Whisk in the maple syrup. When combined, add the almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, cocoa powder, sea salt, and baking soda. Stir with a spoon. Batter will be very thick and dry. Stir in the avocado oil, 1 tbsp at a time. Batter will be thick and wet but easily stirred with a spoon. Fold in the shredded zucchini and then the chocolate chips.
- Distribute the batter to the muffin tin. Cups will be nearly full. Bake at 350° F for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out dry. Let sit in the muffin tin for 10 minutes, and then remove muffins from the tin to let cool completely on a wire rack. Store leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
