Zucchini Muffins with Dark Chocolate Chips

I had a couple of zucchinis left over after making my zucchini quiche, so this morning I whipped up some zucchini muffins with dark chocolate chips.  Zucchini because it’s healthy, dark chocolate chips because then I’ll eat them and muffins because, like quiche, they’re a great way to hide veggies.

Here’s the basic recipe I use from my Betty Crocker Cookbook.  I use this for most all of my muffin recipes.  Sometimes I use blueberries, other times, I use bananas or cranberries or zucchini.  Sometimes I follow it exactly, other times (like this morning) I use healthier alternatives.  Here’s my recipe for (healthier) Zucchini Muffins with Dark Chocolate Chips:

Ingredients:

1 cup skim milk

1/4 cup applesauce

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 Tbsp whole ground flax seed meal mixed with 3 Tbsp water

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar (you could use brown rice syrup or Agave nectar for a healthier alternative.  I didn’t have any this morning)

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 small zucchini, grated

3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease bottoms of muffin tins or use paper baking cups.

Beat milk, applesauce, vanilla and flax seed mix.  Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder and salt all at once just until flour is moistened.  I’ve learned this is important.  Over-stirring muffin batter will result in dense, chewy muffins.  The less you stir, the lighter and fluffier your muffins will be.

Fold in zucchini and dark chocolate chips.

Divide batter evenly among muffin tins.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Allow to cool 5 – 10 minutes before serving.

It’s up to you if you want to tell your kiddos that these have zucchini in them.  I tell them so they’ll think, “Hey, zucchini isn’t too bad!”  Then the next time I fix something with zucchini in it and they scrunch up their faces, I can say, “Remember how much you liked those zucchini muffins I made?”  Clever, huh?