Zucchini Muffins

Zucchini bread is hard to avoid at the beginning of fall. Summer harvest is coming to an end and all the vendors at the farmer’s markets are selling the last of their zucchini. Last week when I visited the West Lafayette farmer’s market I happily picked up 2 smallish zucchinis to make some delicious zucchini bread.

A few weeks ago I jumped on the zucchini bandwagon and made zucchini pineapple cupcakes for my guest post on Frosting for the Cause. Those lovely little cakes were my inspiration for the zucchini muffins. I wanted to use the pineapple in the muffins, but not add too much sweetness.

The muffins turned out to be a delicious breakfast or snack anytime of the day. The pineapple made them sweet enough to feel like dessert without being too heavy. I love this muffin recipe because it is easy enough for a weekday baking activity, and you probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry!

If you want to make your muffins even less sweet I recommend replacing some (or all) of the pineapple with rolled oats or shredded carrots. I think shredded carrots would be especially tasty.

If you are looking to make your muffins even sweeter you can sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar before baking, or make a delicious buttery crumble for the top of the muffins.

This recipe makes 24 regular sized muffins. I think that the mini muffins make a simple but thoughtful gift idea. I brought a batch to a friends house and they were eaten in 24 hours!

Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour (I used 2 cups AP and 1 cup whole wheat)
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup coconut oil (you can use olive oil, canola oil, or veggie oil)
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1 – 8 ounce can crushed pineapple, mostly drained but reserve the juice

To Make the Muffins:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease/line muffin tins.
2. Shred the zucchini and squeeze the juice out. Measure out 2 cups and set aside.
3. In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl mix together the sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla.
5. Carefully and slowly start mixing in the dry ingredients. Mix only until just incorporated.
6. Fold in the shredded zucchini and pineapple. If the mixture seems a little on the dry side, mix in a tablespoon of reserved pineapple juice until you reach a pourable consistency.
7. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins and bake for 20-30 minutes on the center rack.
8. Allow to cool before enjoying!

Your muffins should still be tasty for about 3 days after baking!