So what are you going to do with all that extra zucchini you have? So yours are growing into vegetable baseball bats too, huh. How about making….
Zucchini muffins! Healthier zucchini muffins that is. And it was my turn to bring the after church snack on Sunday. After agonizing for days; I got inspired with a recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction because it had a butter streusel topping. [Sorry, that’s not the healthy part!) But I like my healthier spin on an old favorite and hope you do too!
Brown Sugar Oat Streusel
1 & 1/3 cups old-fashioned or quick oats
1 cup dark brown sugar
4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold {I used 2 less Tablespoons of butter and it didn’t affect the topping much}
2 Tablespoons semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
Zucchini Muffins
2 large eggs beaten
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar {I substituted with Xylitol and it tasted and baked just like sugar}
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 applesauce {If you don’t have applesauce you can use an extra 1/2 cup vegetable oil making 1 cup oil total}
2 cups grated zucchini {Use 1 large yellow & 1 large green squash and I even added 2/3 cups more zucchini to squeeze in more veggie}
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt {I used sea salt}
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 and 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips {I used dark chocolate} Or you can use pecans or walnuts for uber-healthier muffins and skip the chocolate chips altogether depending on how nutty you are.
1 & 1/3 cups old-fashioned or quick oats
1 cup dark brown sugar
4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold {I used 2 less Tablespoons of butter and it didn’t affect the topping much}
2 Tablespoons semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
Zucchini Muffins
2 large eggs beaten
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar {I substituted with Xylitol and it tasted and baked just like sugar}
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 applesauce {If you don’t have applesauce you can use an extra 1/2 cup vegetable oil making 1 cup oil total}
2 cups grated zucchini {Use 1 large yellow & 1 large green squash and I even added 2/3 cups more zucchini to squeeze in more veggie}
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt {I used sea salt}
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 and 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips {I used dark chocolate} Or you can use pecans or walnuts for uber-healthier muffins and skip the chocolate chips altogether depending on how nutty you are.
Recipe makes 24 medium sized muffins. And they freeze really well!
Directions
Make the streusel first and set aside. Combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour together. Cut in the butter in with two knives until crumbly (pieces about the size of a pea). Then add chocolate chips.
In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar or xylitol, oil/applesauce combo, vanilla and shredded summer squash. In a big bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and/or chocolate chips and nuts. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
I filled the muffin cups 2/3 of the way up to leave room for the streusel topping. Then I pressed the topping on top making sure a few chips showed. Bake for just under 5 minutes at 425F degrees and then lower the temperature to 350F degrees and bake for another 10-15 minutes until done. My toothpick came out clean after just 10 minutes but my oven runs hot.
Helpful Tips….
- I think most people think “green zucchini” when making zucchini bread. But I found out that yellow zucchini works equally as well. To add visual appeal and color use one of each!
- Yellow squash is significantly higher in beta carotene, a natural form of vitamin A, than green zucchini. It contains similar amounts of fiber, carbohydrates, vitamin C and vitamin K.
- Yellow squash is naturally low in sugars, which makes it an ideal food for those of us with blood sugar issues.
- I substituted xylitol for the traditional white sugar the recipe called for and it worked well. Xylitol is a sugar replacement that has 40% less calories than processed sugar and 75% less carb intake. Xyla is a low-glycemic sugar that is metabolized independently of insulin and is safe for diabetics!
- Overall, smaller (younger & more tender) squash both green & yellow work best as there are less seeds to deal with and the skin isn’t so tough. But if you’re trying to use up the zucchini baseball bats then do what you gotta do.
- I added 2/3 cup more zucchini per batch than the recipe called for and didn’t notice.(added veggies = bonus spin)
- Draining the shredded zucchini in a small colendar before adding to the mix is an excellent idea as I found the zucchini I shredded right away to be way to soggy.
- If you like me have extra zucchini in your garden, you can freeze the shreds in a small Ziploc bag in the freezer, but I would drain it first as described above. Then when you want to make these muffins again, you just have to pull out the bag and defrost. After they defrost, I would drain the grated zucchini again to get the excess water out.
I rarely bake. [My metabolism has stopped working!] So when a non-baker like me hits a home run….you know they’re good! Give them a whirl and them me know what you think.
Do you like zucchini? What do you do with your extra zucchini?
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