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! 🙂
a friend just gave me a recipe for zucchini-blueberry bread that i can’t wait to try out!
coincidence -i just made a zucchini-eggplant-onion-cannelli bean stir fry for my mom and i today, we put it on top of rice pasta and it was pretty good! even though we undercooked the pasta and it was kind of crunchy…and i had the vegetables on the stove top too long and they shrunk hahaha
Lemon poppy seed or blueberry…can’t decide!
Those muffins look delicious! I love zucchini pasta or cut up in a stir fry!
My parents always use zucchini to make their zucchini casserole. It is basically spaghetti without the pasta ^_^
First of all, she has a wonderful name. 🙂 I love zucchini and make a MEAN chocolate zucchini cake. Yum!!! I also just love adding it to salads or sauteeing it as a side 🙂
😛
Zucchinis aren’t a common occurrence in my house, but I want that to change! I’ve heard from a couple people in comments on my grilling post that they’re good sliced up and grilled! I really want to try it now 😀 How awesome would grilled zucchini be on a fresh salad?
And favorite muffin flavor- hmmm. I’d have to say banana! I love the flavor of banana in the morning!
Mmm, did i hear zucchini AND chocolate together? Now I’m most definitely bookmarking this lovely recipe 🙂 Good call, HH and Katie!
Zucchini bread takes the cake, no doubt about it! Love your blog and Lindsay’s, too! There are lots of healthy foodie bloggers out there, but only a handful that I visit on a regular basis. My friend and I have a few-months-old whole foods blog: skinnyfatgirls.wordpress.com. Oh, and my favorite muffin flavor would have to be…blueberry! Or cinnamon. Or chocolate chip. Or cornbread muffins. Oh good grief, muffins rock this world.
Zucchini bread, but I bet muffins would be just as good!