There’s a zucchini in my dessert!
I love zucchini: the taste, the color, even the name. (It’s fun to say, right?) Therefore, it is only natural that I’d enjoy zucchini paired with one of my other great loves: chocolate!
Such as in the above recipe: Chocolate Grasshopper Pie.
In general, zucchini lends moisture and softness to recipes without leaving an offending flavor. So, although it might sound strange, the squash makes a great addition to desserts.
I’m not the only one who likes zucchini in her desserts. My friend, Lindsay, does as well. And if Lindsay likes it, it must be good… because Lindsay is a best-selling cookbook author!
Lindsay and I first became friends through our blogs, and I’ve been so excited to watch my sweet friend flourish into a vegan-cookbook phenom. You might know her super-cute blog, The Happy Herbivore. Today, I am honored to have Lindsay as a guest on my blog, highlighting a recipe from her cookbook—Chocolate-Zucchini Muffins!
In Lindsay’s words: Moist and chocolatey, you won’t believe that these muffins are healthy, almost completely fat-free and have a veggie slipped in! This is also a great way to use up all that leftover summer harvest zucchini!
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Servings: 12
- 1¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1¼ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 whole banana, mashed
- ½ cup raw sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
- ½ cup raw sugar (optional)
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin pan and set aside. If using paper liners, lightly spray inside of liners with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together. In another bowl, cream mashed banana with applesauce and sugar (use extra 1/2 cup for a very sweet, dessert-like muffin). Add in soymilk, vanilla, zucchini and any other optional add-ins you might like such as vegan chocolate chips or chopped raw walnuts. Stir until evenly combined. Add flour mix to wet mix in 3-4 batches and stir until just combined. Spoon batter into greased muffin pan and bake 18-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Chef’s Note: These muffins store well both in the fridge and freezer & the raw sugar in this recipe may be reduced to 1/2 cup.
EDIT: The cookbook giveaway is now closed.
Congratulations to Jemma!
Please email me, at chocolatecoveredkatie@msn.com, with your mailing address, so I can get your cookbook to you! 🙂
I love zucchini breads and muffins, but would love to try making a vegan version. Thanks!
My favorite zucchini recipe (as of right now..it changes weekly..ok, minutely..) would be zucchini pizza. So yummy and absolutely healthy as can be. 😀 It would be exciting to flip through this cookbook as I’m a beginner in this world of food. 😀
I love anything baked with zucchini and I am also loving using zucchini as raw pasta!
I could eat my mom’s zucchini bread every meal, every day…and I’m certain the same is true for these muffins that I’ll be trying soon!
Mmmmmm I love Lindsay’s recipes! My mom and I are awful gardeners but our neighbors are generous enough to give us their surplus of zucchini. I love shredding it to make raw pasta noodles and topping it with marinara sauce and nooch.
My favorite muffin flavor is probably pumpkin. Actually, anything pumpkin is my favorite.
I love roasted zucchini! So yummy 🙂
Chocolate in zucchini bread???? When I was a kid, my mom used to make zucchini bread that was to-die-for! Can’t wait to try this! I loooooove zucchini. I use it in so many things. Lately, I mostly use it as a raw pasta substitute, or in raw miso soup.
My favorite zucchini recipe is Zucchini Crumb Coffee Cake!!
Grilled zucchini can’t be beat in summer though!
My favorite muffins are morning glory – love the shredded carrot and raisins inside. I’m sure I would love a similar zucchini muffin
My favorite DAILY treat is an adaptation of Elana’s Pantry Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins. I just add more zucchini (tip from HH!) and flax seed instead of eggs and oil then add a little less agave, which sweetens it perfectly, and it comes out a gooey mess!