For a summer-inspired dinner yesterday, I grilled zucchini slices to have as a side with our barbecue chicken. We still had one left over, so I decided to mix it up and make a sweet treat instead. Since it would only be for the two of us, I didn’t want to make a batch of two dozen. Instead I created this chocolate zucchini recipe that only yields eight muffins, which is a much more manageable amount. Although I could probably finish a dozen myself, I would prefer to be able to fit into my jeans.
If you’re looking to sneak some vegetables into your diet, this is a good way to enjoy some zucchini. It’s not exactly healthy, but I guess you have to start somewhere. The zucchini flavor is hardly noticeable as the chocolate is the dominant flavor. You can vary the amount of chocolate by using more or less cocoa powder and by adding or omitting the chocolate chips.
The muffins turned out nice and moist with a firm top, creating a nice texture. Next time I might try the recipe with bananas or apple sauce instead of the oil and substituting the all-purpose flour with whole wheat to make it a little healthier.
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
{Makes 8 muffins}
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup grated zucchini
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/8 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tin with paper liners (I found these cute parchment paper cups at Target).
- In a large bowl, beat the egg. Beat in sugar and oil, until combined. Add cocoa, vanilla and zucchini, stirring until fully incorporated.
- Stir in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, mixing until just moist. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into prepared muffin tins filling them 2/3 of the way full. Sprinkle the tops with additional chocolate chips, if desired. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
