Zucchini Applesauce Muffins
I discovered a couple forgotten zucchinis buried deep in the bottom of a refrigerator drawer. A couple weeks ago they were destined for the grill, but they were a bit wrinkly and becoming borderline unusable. Past their prime, I figured the best way to put them to use was to bake. After a great debate over doing a quickbread or something else, I settled on zucchini applesauce muffins.
I always joke that muffins are just rustic little cakes that often have a faux healthy vibe. Don’t be fooled by the applesauce! It added a subtle apple flavor to the muffins, but it didn’t replace another ingredient as it sometimes does in certain recipes. Nope, these muffins are a full-on treat with chopped bittersweet chocolate folded into the batter and even sprinkled on top. Bonus: they do have spelt flour!
Zucchini Applesauce Muffins
Loosely adapted from Martha Stewart Living September 2014
Makes 12 muffins
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup spelt flour
2-3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1-1/14 cups granulated sugar
3 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup roughly chopped bittersweet chocolate
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, stir together both flours, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, applesauce, sugar, zucchini and vanilla extract. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients followed by 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate. Transfer the batter the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with the remaining chocolate.
Bake the muffins for 22-25 minutes until the tops spring back when pressed. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the muffins and transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container.
