Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

I was feeling quite under the weather recently and ridiculously thoughtful friends of ours dropped of a care package on the front doorstep one afternoon consisting of a magazine and delicious chocolate zucchini loaf that we devoured in no time (that's what she said). Since our garden is producing some very taste zucchinis I decided to give a baked zucchini recipe a try.  I doubled the batch so I can toss 12 muffins in the freezer for later. Thanks for the yummy treat and the inspiration CJ!

Sidenote: Aren't those muffin liners the cutest? I score them from Dollarama! Cha-ching! Totally going back there to grab more - I heart them. If you decide to use muffin liners I suggest spraying them with cooking spray.  Since there is no butter/oil in this recipe they tend to stick a bit to the paper.  If you are like me and have no shame, you can simply scrape your teeth along the paper to get the stuck on muffin while also eating reminisce of the liner...

Yield: 12 muffins       

Makes servings USMetricAdjust Recipe (Help)

 

Ingredients

3/4 cup all-purpose flour  

1/2 cup whole wheat flour 

1/4 cup ground flax seed

(*or you can do 1 1/2 cups white flour instead of white/whole wheat/flax combo)                                                                     

1/2 cup white sugar                                                                     

1 teaspoon baking soda                                                                     

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg                                                                     

1/2 teaspoon salt                                                                     

1 egg, lightly beaten                                                                     

1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce                                                                                                  

1/4 cup + 3 tablespoons almond milk (or regular milk)                                                                    

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice                                                                     

1 teaspoon vanilla extract                                                                     

1 cup coarsely shredded zucchini                                                                     

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips                                                                      

                                                              

Method       

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners. Combine flours, flax, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl & set aside. In a separate bowl mix egg, applesauce,  almond milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Combine both bowls. Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips. Fill prepared muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.