I’ve always wanted to bake with with zucchini…I honestly don’t know what took me so long to try it because I love zucchini bread…have you ever had it?
Inspired by a Cooking Light recipe (they never fail!), I took a bread and converted it into muffins, boosting it with some extra fiber from additional whole wheat flour and moistness from applesauce subbed in for the oil. I also added some additional spice, in the form of cloves. Cloves can be pretty strong so I used just a tiny amount but I think the kick from the cloves was actually the key ingredient in this recipe. Here’s how I made them:
Zucchini Walnut Muffins (makes 24 muffins)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1 tbs baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1.5 large zucchini)
1 cup fat-free vanilla greek yogurt
2 eggs
3 tbs unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Grate the zucchini and spread out on a large plate; cover with paper towel and place something heavy on top (like a pot) and allow to sit for about 10 minutes to remove some of the water from the zucchini. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the flours with the next 8 ingredients in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt, vanilla and applesauce. Fold in the zucchini and the walnuts.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated. No electric mixers required for this one. :-)
Pour into lined muffin trays, filling each cup 3/4 full with batter.
Bake for exactly 22 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean).
I love that these taste so great and are also nutritious – they have around 125 cals per muffin and each boasts over 3 grams of fiber and about 3 grams of protein. So awesome for snacking or as I’ve been eating them 2 at a time for breakfast, warmed and spread with almond butter…yum! You need to make these – get out that zucchini and a grater and watch your fingers. ;-)
I’ve always wanted to bake with with zucchini…I honestly don’t know what took me so long to try it because I love zucchini bread…have you ever had it?
Inspired by a Cooking Light recipe (they never fail!), I took a bread and converted it into muffins, boosting it with some extra fiber from additional whole wheat flour and moistness from applesauce subbed in for the oil. I also added some additional spice, in the form of cloves. Cloves can be pretty strong so I used just a tiny amount but I think the kick from the cloves was actually the key ingredient in this recipe. Here’s how I made them:
Zucchini Walnut Muffins (makes 24 muffins)
Grate the zucchini and spread out on a large plate; cover with paper towel and place something heavy on top (like a pot) and allow to sit for about 10 minutes to remove some of the water from the zucchini. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the flours with the next 8 ingredients in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt, vanilla and applesauce. Fold in the zucchini and the walnuts.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated. No electric mixers required for this one. :-)
Pour into lined muffin trays, filling each cup 3/4 full with batter.
Bake for exactly 22 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean).
I love that these taste so great and are also nutritious – they have around 125 cals per muffin and each boasts over 3 grams of fiber and about 3 grams of protein. So awesome for snacking or as I’ve been eating them 2 at a time for breakfast, warmed and spread with almond butter…yum! You need to make these – get out that zucchini and a grater and watch your fingers. ;-)