Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Happy September! This past weekend the boy and I packed up our car, and moved all of his stuff from Ottawa to Montreal. It was certainly a strange move, one I wasn’t expecting to do a few years ago. But I’m looking forward to when I finish my diploma in Ottawa, and I can move there too.

I got back to Ottawa about an hour ago, and looked around at all the packing I need to do for myself, and I can’t help feeling overwhelmed. Moving is simply the worst. And unless my kitty decides to grow opposable thumbs, I’m packing on my own. The good thing about the move I’ll be doing is that I’ll end up living closer to school AND will be living in a house with a big kitchen!! So much is about to happen in this new kitchen, that it won’t even know what hit it.

I’m still finding a lot of great zucchini at the farmers market, so I decided to bake up some muffins that will be easy to eat during the moving process. These muffins are jam-packed with chocolate chips and healthy zucchini, and are super moist! I definitely recommend these.

To begin, preheat your oven to 350 F and line a muffin pan with paper liners. Then in a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

In another bowl, beat the sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla on medium speed until thick and creamy, about 2 minutes.

With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared liners. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the muffins cool for 5 minutes before removing them to the rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Recipe taken from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures
Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup zucchini, coarsely grated (about 1 small zucchini)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla on medium speed until thick and creamy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared liners. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the muffins cool for 5 minutes before removing them to the rack to cool completely.

Zucchini Sweet Potato Bread

Call me crazy, but I turned my oven on again. I’ve been baking in the early mornings to keep myself less hot and can’t say I regret it. I NEED a new breakfast in my life.

I chose this bread because it was quick and full of good stuff. Good stuff being sweet potatoes, zucchini and walnuts. Yum! I feel like I’m existing off of cheese and chocolate and I sometimes have chocolate cereal for breakfast! Hellllppppp! So, I made this quick bread to put some green and orange in my life. Also, this bread is moist and super tasty. It tastes like carrot cake actually, which makes me feel like I’m eating cake for breakfast. This makes me happy. Let’s get baking!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9x5x3- inch loaf pan and set aside. Sift the first 7 ingredients into a medium sized bowl.

Then, grate your sweet potato.

grate your zucchini…

and chop your walnuts.

In a separate, large bowl, mix the sugars, oil, eggs and vanilla extract.

Beat them together well.

Mix in the zucchini and sweet potato. Mmm it’s looking good now.

Add the dry ingredients and stir just to combine. Fold in the nuts and stir well.

Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Cool bread in pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Loosen the edges of the bread with a butter knife and turn out on a rack to cool completely.

Zucchini Sweet Potato Bread
Recipe taken from Joy the Baker
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar (I used 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup brown sugar)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup grated zucchini
1 1/2 cup peeled and grated sweet potato
1 cup chopped walnuts
(optional) you could also add 1/4 cup of raisins or dried cranberries to add some fruit if you’d like!

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9x5x3- inch loaf pan and set aside.

Sift the first 7 ingredients into a medium sized bowl.

In a separate, large bowl, beat the sugars, oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Mix in the zucchini and sweet potato. Add the dry ingredients and stir just to combine. Fold in the nuts and stir well.

Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Cool bread in pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Loosen the edges of the bread with a butter knife and turn out on a rack to cool completely.