Zucchini Muffins
- Tracy Scheckel
- Oct 22
- 5 min read
I have always been curious about why, when we make zucchini muffins, we go to terrific lengths to make them taste like anything but zucchini. From brown sugar and cinnamon to chocolate chips, and even muffins and cakes that resemble chocolate cake or brownies, why do we insult the zucchini that way. That was my thinking one day when I was looking to take a trip down that rabbit hole of mine.
There are SO many great ways to prepare zucchini from fritters to Ciambotta to salad, I decided to celebrate instead of mask the vegetable with a savory and nutritious muffin. With no real recipe in hand, my first order of business was to consult my new buddy ChatGPT on the basic proportions or ingredients for zucchini muffins. The result: 2 eggs, 3C flour, 2t baking soda or powder, 1/2t salt, 1C milk, 1/4C of fat, 2C shredded zucchini, 1C shredded cheese, and seasonings.
After a cruise through the fridge and pantry to see what was on hand, I came up with a recipe that will become a staple on my "what to bring to a gathering" arsenal. Keep in mind, that with the ingredients listed above, you can create your very own unique recipe.
One thing I am not fond of with zucchini muffins is sogginess so I decided to drain some of the liquid from it after shredding. I knew I wanted to incorporate -- you guessed it -- onions and garlic into my savory mix, so instead of adding more moisture with fresh onion and garlic, I use dried minced product and tossed it with the shredded zucchini and salt to give it all a chance to meld together and mitigate some of the water from the zucchini. After tossing the mixture together, I placed it in a mesh strainer sitting on top of a bowl. Because I have a cast iron addiction, I have a small fry pan that acted as a perfect weight set on a piece of wax paper and set into the strainer. I let that sit for about an hour while I gathered and prepared the other ingredients.
Lets talk fat, I decided on melted butter, but oil, shortening, or even some bacon fat would have worked depending on where you want the flavor and vegetarianism to land. While I wasn't striving for vegetarian, it just worked out that way, but I can assure you, if there was bacon and or drippings handy, those muffins would have waved goodbye to vegetarian anything!
During my research, I read a tip about starting the muffins in a high 425-450 degree oven for 5-8 minutes and then dropping the temp down to 350 for the remaining time. supposedly it accelerated the rising to make higher muffin tops. I opted for baking soda versus baking powder for this recipe and did employ the high temp start. In all honesty, I didn't get the boost in rise. I may try baking powder next time though. What I did notice that I liked was that the cheese in the batter that rose to the top got that wonderful crustiness to it.
In the cheese department, I opted for mostly shredded cheddar but also added some grated parmesan. I also totally ignored the quantity from Chat and went for a total of 2 cups of cheese.Along with the garlic and onion I mentioned, I added a good amount of my herbs de Provence and a bit of crushed red pepper, and then for color and because I just love them, I minced up some sun-dried tomatoes that were packed in olive oil. Note, if you only have the totally dried tomatoes, you should hydrate them in some boiling water before chopping and adding them to the batter.
As with any muffin, when combining the batter, I try not to over mix. It should be more shaggy and not like cake batter. I whisk all the dry ingredients together to insure even distribution of the baking soda and spices. Instead of the 1/2 teaspoon of salt that Chat recommended, I used 1 full teaspoon but tossed it with the shredded zucchini to help draw out the liquid. Similarly, I whisked the butter, milk and eggs together in a separate bowl. And I stirred the zucchini into the flour mixture until it was well combined and coated BEFORE I added the egg and milk mixture.
After the flour mixture, shredded zucchini, and milk / egg mixture were all blended together, I added the minced sun-dried tomatoes and the cheeses. The batter should be think and kind of chunks. I used 2 muffin pans with removable cup bottoms, I sprayed with cooking spray and divided the batter evenly between the 12 cups. I always sit these muffin pans on a cookie sheet when I bake with them ; they've never leaked, but why take the chance.
I baked them at 425 degrees for 8 minutes and then without opening the oven door, reduced the heat to 35o for another 25 minutes or so. Depending on the size and color of your muffin pan, they may cook faster or slower. Between the aroma ad the golden color of the cheese, I knew when to start testing doneness, and my skewer came out clean at about 33 total minutes. If you're wondering why there are only 11 on the cooling rack, it's because I risked scalding to taste on because I couldn't resist the aroma. It would have been worth the burn!
THE RECIPE:
2C shredded and drained zucchini
1t salt
1T minced dried garlic
2T dried onion flakes
3C flour
2t baking soda (or powder)
2T herbs de Provence
1t crushed red pepper
1C milk
2 eggs
1/4 C melted butter
1/2 C+/- minced sun-dried tomatoes (in olive oil)
1/2 C grated parmesan
1-1/2 C shredded sharp cheddar
Toss the shredded zucchini with the salt and dehydrated garlic and onion and transfer to a mesh strainer set over a bowl.
If possible use something to weight it down to hep press the moisture out.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, soda, herb de Provence, pepper until everything is well combined
Whisk the eggs, milk and melted butter together until smooth. (It will thicken as the butter cools).
After the zucchini has drained for up to an hour, stir it into the flour mixture until well coated and combined.
Stir in the minced tomatoes.
Finally stir in the cheeses until well distributed in the batter.
Divide the batter evenly into your prepared muffin or cupcake pan.
Bake for 5-8 minutes and reduce the oven temp to 350 and bake for 20 to 30 minutes testing for doneness when they are golden brown and smelling delicious.
