Yesterday I posted an awesome recipe for Strawberry Muffins over at Today’s Housewife.
Be sure to check it out–they are incredible! Hope you have a fun weekend… I hope to recover from this not-so-fun late summer cold [hence the reason this wasn't posted yesterday...sigh.]. 
Need another Chocolate Zucchini recipe? Probably not, but I just had to share these muffins. I’ve tried many, many combinations of zucchini with chocolate… and this is my absolute favorite.
Truth be told, these muffins are probably my favorite thanks to the doubled up chocolate–cocoa powder and chocolate chips–as well as the slightly indulgent, rich buttermilk. You could definitely substitute another kind of milk or use lemon juice/vinegar with milk [which I personally do most of the time] but I think using the real stuff makes these muffins creamier, tangier, and lighter than they would otherwise be.
Fortunately for me [and others who aren't quite fans of the true taste of zucchini or other squashes]… all that chocolate along with warm spices masks the veggie component… and that same veggie component conveniently makes these muffins healthy and the perfect addition to your breakfast. Right?
Chocolate Zucchini Muffins [slightly adapted from Coconut and Lime]
click to print
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners and set aside.
Whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and oil. Next, in a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking pwoder, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then add zucchini and chocolate chips. Stir until just incorporated.
Fill each muffin liner 3/4 of the way full.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool fully.
Time: 45 minutes [10 minutes active].
Yield: 12 muffins.
Hey! Hope you had a happy Independence Day! Ben and I didn’t do anything super exciting… just had a little cookout [with awesome coleslaw and some Greek burgers he made], played Mario Kart on the Wii [I'm getting pretty good!], and watched a few fireworks on our balcony from the neighbors and the town’s celebration. We decided we didn’t want to deal with the traffic. But we always enjoy the 4th of July because it was on that day that we got engaged four years ago, when I was staffing a summer project with Cru in Virginia Beach. Ben and a friend drove out to surprise me… so fun. But anyways, back to the week.
I think these muffins might help your week out, don’t you?
My Grandma’s Blueberry Muffins are the absolute bestest blueberry muffins you ever did taste! So don’t you dare change a thing about them. I certainly wouldn’t dream about it, even though the amount of butter and sugar in these little guys is really enough to warrant the name “cupcake” instead of “muffin.” Like, seriously. But they are worth it! I promise.
Even more so than the sweet muffin or the naturally sweet, juicy, fresh-picked blueberries, the crumb topping is what I absolutely adore about these blueberry muffins. Could that get any better? I think not. These muffins might look like your average bakery blueberry muffins, but they are absolutely not. And I’m not saying that just ’cause they’re from Grandma. Not at all. These muffins are sweet and a wee bit over the top, but they are still super light and fluffy to let the berry shine… unlike heavy bakery muffins. I don’t even bother trying other recipes anymore because I’m never satisfied. My Grandma simply knew what she was doing with these muff muffs!
Once you try them, I’m sure you’ll agree! Enjoy!
Grandma’s Blueberry Muffins
click to print
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease or line muffin tins with paper liners, then set aside.
Put flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. Mix well. Cut in butter until crumb like. Reserve 1 cup crumb mixture.
Add eggs, milk, and vanilla to crumb mixture in large bowl. Beat until smooth, then gently fold in blueberries. Fill prepared muffin tins about 3/4 of the way full.
Place reserved crumb mixture into a small bowl, then dribble in melted butter. Toss with a fork to make crumbs. Sprinkle on top of each muffin cup.
Bake for 20 minutes or until crumb topping is golden brown. Store covered for up to one week, or can be frozen up to six months.
Time: 30 minutes [10 minutes active].
Yield: 24 muffins
Mmmm, muffins. One of my favorite treats. And I say treats because, of course, the best muffins aren’t those healthified kinds, but those decadent, unfrosted, glorified cupcakes. I mean, I absolutely adore healthy muffins. Looking through all the other muffin recipes I’ve blogged about before, I’m pretty impressed with myself and my healthy muffin ways. Carrots, zucchini, rhubarb, whole wheat flour, low sugar.
Don’t fret, I haven’t lost my way. Truth is, Ilike healthy muffins. I like them for a quick before-dinner snack or as an addition to my lunch. But I also like rich, ooey gooey sweet muffins. Muffins with chocolate. Muffins that taste bakery-fresh. Muffins with a little pizazz. Muffins like these.
When I go home for the weekend, inevitably my mom, sister, and I end up baking something or other. Sometimes multiple things. My mom has these giant folders filled with recipes she’s torn out of magazines and printed off the internet, just waiting to be made. Some are from the 80s and have funny names, while others we just laugh at as we’re leafing through. “That sounded good once?!?” Other times, there are gems in those folders. Banana Crumb Muffins are one of those gems.
These banana muffins are sweet, pillowy soft, and like most muffin recipes, whipped up in a matter of minutes. They’re a great way to use up those lingering bananas going brown on your countertop–the monkeys on the muffin liners wholeheartedly agree, but they did wonder how humans let so many bananas go bad. I told them I didn’t know, but I suspected it had to do with making delicious creations like these!
I loved the way the pure banana flavor came through, though I’m sure the addition of vanilla, nuts, or chocolate chips wouldn’t be problematic. What makes these muffins extraordianry is the crumb topping. Our topping melted into the muffin a little bit, but if you wait to add the topping until the muffins are almost done, I think it would hold its own a little more. Either way, they are sure to be very yummy!
Banana Crumb Muffins [from allrecipes.com]
click to print
Ingredients:
for muffins
for topping
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease standard sized muffin tins with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. In a large bowl, mix together bananas, sugar, egg, and butter. Slowly fold in dry ingredients until incorporated.
Spoon batter into prepared pans, about 3/4 of the way full.
In a small bowl, combine sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Pour in butter and mix with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle over muffins, then place pans in oven and bake for 18-20 minutes. When muffins are done, they should be golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
Cool in pans for 10 minutes before cooling on a rack.
Time: 30 minutes.
Yield: 14-16 muffins.
Carrot Cinnamon Muffins are good… like, really good. Not just pretty good or mildly good, but really really really good.
Like, good enough to blog about even though I made them in February. Yes, February. The beginning of February, if you must know. I’m really behind.
Back to the muffin at hand. I had to blog about them. After all, this photo has been sitting on my desktop for months, taunting me.
Yes, genuinely taunting me.
These muffins have a lightly spiced, sweet middle and a slightly crisp, golden brown top. Mmmm, classic muffin love right there.
But why have they been taunting me? After all, that’s a pretty harsh word. Taunt taunt taunt TAUNT… muffins on attack! [Umm, sorry I'm weird.]
Well, first, because they’re like the only way I’ve ever figured out to get Ben to eat extra carrots [besides that baggie I stick everyday in his lunchbox]. And second, because they have the flavor of carrot cake. They’re kind of a lighter, healthier, less sweet version of carrot cake. And lastly, and best of all… no chunkiness! No kinda mushy nuts, no lumpy raisins, no stringy pineapple. Just pure, sweet, spiced carrot goodness. In my opinion, the only time “chunky” with food is good is in regard to applesauce, or Chunky Monkey Ice Cream. [Maybe I do like other "chunky" foods, but I can't think of any so just go with me on this!]
To sum it up: Cinnamon Carrot Muffins are smooth, flavorful, and pretty delicious… that’s all, and here’s the recipe. Bookmark it, print it, or pin it because you’re gonna want to make it! I know I want them again, after staring at their gorgeousness for months on end.
Cinnamon Carrot Muffins [from Whole Living, April 2011]
click to print
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin tin with paper liners.
Use a food processor to grate carrots, then remove grating attachment. Add oil, buttermilk, and eggs and pulse until fully combined. Add brown sugar and pulse again.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then mix until just combined.
Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in muffin tin for 15 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool before serving or storing.
Time: 30 minutes.
Yield: 12 muffins.
Notes: Alternatively, grate carrots with a box grater and then mix wet ingredients by hand. The food processor is just faster, but not necessary.
