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No One Will Ever Know that there is grated zucchini in these moist chocolate zucchini muffins.
My muffin recipe made our autistic son into a chocolate zucchini muffin warrior.
Huge win, which I explain below.
Let me show you how easy it is to make these delicious double chocolate zucchini muffins.
Sometimes I make them in one bowl, so if you’re pressed for time, it all works out.
Table of contents
Hidden Ingredients In Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
You might already know our son has mild autism and sensory processing disorder.
As a baby, he ate almost anything we put before him, including avocado.
Sadly, as he entered the school system, something changed, and that went out the window.
Getting him to eat anything other than pizza and grilled cheese has been a massive struggle.
We began gardening as a family to educate him on the benefits of growing fruits and vegetables as a first step.
Unfortunately, this has not triggered a response of desire to try anything from the garden.
Dad Takes A Win For The Family
Something magical happened when I made these chocolate zucchini muffins that worked.
He loves chocolate and muffins, so I knew I was off to a great start.
Just for the heck of it, I grated and squeezed one small green zucchini and added it to the muffin batter.
While at it, I incorporated homemade apple sauce I had made days before in our crockpot.
The worst that could have happened was that he rejected the muffins.
Amazingly, and I say this with great joy, HE LOVES THEM.
You have no idea how proud we are of him for trying something new to him.
He’s asked me to make them a few times and comes to the kitchen looking for the Tupperware container on the counter.
We have a weekly muffin production line and a hungry nine-year-old boy in our kitchen.
Ingredients In These Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
I’ve adjusted my recipe a few times to reduce the amount of sugar and chocolate chips.
Initially, my recipe had 1/2 cup of white and brown sugar, so if you find 1/4 cup of each is not enough, increase it.
I’ve also started putting only five chocolate chips on the top of the muffin before baking instead of inside the batter.
If you don’t care for vegetable oil, you can substitute avocado oil, which I’ve tested and worked on.
- 1 cup Grated Green Zucchini
- 2 tbsps Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
- Two large Eggs
- 1/4 White Granulated Sugar
- 1 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1/4 Dark Cocoa Unsweetened
- 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Make-Ahead Freezer Friendly Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Since our son has a muffin in his lunch daily at school, I make and freeze batches of chocolate zucchini muffins.
I also make his favourite copycat Tim Hortons chocolate chip muffins to freeze, which he gets as a treat on the weekends.
Store these chocolate zucchini muffins in the freezer for up to three months or on the counter for 2 to 3 days.
Since my muffins have no preservatives, they aren’t shelf stable like those at the grocery store.
How To Make Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Preheat oven to 350F and line or grease a standard muffin tray
- Beat the sugars, oil, and eggs until fluffy in a large bowl.
- Gently mix in two tablespoons of apple sauce.
- Mix the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda into a second bowl.
- One scoop at a time, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
- Grate one cup of green zucchini and place into a cheesecloth, kitchen towel or paper towel and squeeze as much water as you can from it.
- Gently stir in the grated zucchini and chocolate chips.
- Fill 12 muffin cups evenly. *Optional- add extra chocolate chips on top
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
The key to making the best muffins is to never over-mix the batter.
I hope you enjoy my chocolate zucchini muffins, and let me know your thoughts or any changes you’ve made to my recipe.
Thanks for stopping by,
Mr. CBB
Keto Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Bars
You will love how easy it is to make these Keto Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Bars!
Ingredients
- Almond Flour Crust
- 2½ cups Almond Flour (not Almond meal)
- ¼ cup Granular Sweetener of choice
- 1 cup cold butter cubed
- 1 tsp Almond Extract
- 1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
- Custard Filling
- 8 small eggs or 4 large eggs beaten
- 1 cup Sukrin Gold brown sugar or granular brown sweetener of choice
- 2 1/2 cups fresh sliced strawberries
- 2 1/2 cups fresh sliced rhubarb
- 1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- Topping
- 6 ounces softened cream cheese
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup Swerve or another sugar substitute
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-heat Oven to 350 degrees
- Mix all the dry Almond Crust ingredients in a large bowl until combined, then cut in the cold butter until the crust looks crumbly.
- Grease your 13×9 baking pan with butter or line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Press the almond mixture into the base tightly and bake for 10 minutes or until golden.
- Remove from oven and let cool.
- For the filling, add the eggs, xanthan gum, vanilla extract, Sukrin Gold brown sugar, heavy cream, almond milk, and salt in a stand-mixer or bowl and mix to combine. Fold in the rhubarb and strawberries. Pour mixture over the cooled almond crust and bake for 35 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees until the custard sets. Remove from oven and cool completely.
- Add the topping ingredients to a stand mixer or bowl and cream together to form a fluffy topping. Spread evenly over the top the custard squares. Cover and chill in the refrigerator. Cut into squares and serve.
- Top with extra strawberry or rhubarb slices for added appeal.
- Freeze for up to 2 months or refrigerate for up to a week.
Notes
You can freeze the strawberry rhubarb squares for up to 2 months or refrigerate for up to one week.