Spiced Zucchini Muffins with Dark Chocolate

We’re a muffin family, I’m realizing. E loves muffins, L loves muffins. I love them, too, although I doubt I would have identified that before. I would have said I was a scone person or something like that (and I am, but I’m also a muffin person). I should clarify, though: we are homemade muffin people. The heavy, oily, overly sweet variety found in coffee shops and bakeries? Not for us. The soft, moist, homemade version punctuated with just the right amount of fruit, nuts, or chocolate, just the right amount of sweetness? Bingo. When in doubt about what to do with extra berries or dying bananas, I can always, always transform them into a batch of muffins and see them quickly disappear over the course of a couple days. Sometimes I top them with streusel. Sometimes I add flaxseed or switch out half the flour for whole wheat, like I did in these (muffins don’t have to be unhealthy to be good).

I also like muffins because they can be a weekend breakfast and then go on being breakfast or snacks throughout the following week. Sealed in a plastic zippered bag, they stay moist and tender. They’re quicker to grab and less messy than a slice of quick bread.

And indeed, what I’ve discovered is that almost any quick bread can be baked in a muffin or popover pan – most of them make a fantastic muffin. Last weekend, I mixed up a batch of pumpkin bread batter, and instead of putting it into a loaf pan, I decided to bake it into jumbo muffins. All I did was reduce the baking time to 30 minutes. They were perfect – moist, delicious, just enough chocolate. L ate a whole one all by herself.

But even as the world is being overtaken by all things pumpkin, the last of the zucchini beckons. There isn’t much of the summer harvest left on the stands at the farmers’ market, but there is always zucchini. Having taken some of that late summer abundance home with me, I was going to make zucchini bread, but when I went to grab my loaf pan out of the cupboard, my eyes fell upon the popover pan, and I grabbed it instead. A popover pan is for popovers, of course, but it also makes “tall” muffins, as you can see in the photo above. I like it because the shape reminds me of the muffins at Wealthy Street Bakery in Grand Rapids. I love Wealthy Street. Anyway, you can make muffins in any muffin pan you have around – no need to go out and buy a popover pan. It was just my inspiration in the moment.

So I mixed up a simple batter with whole wheat flour and flaxseed meal, shredded a zucchini in the food processor and stirred it in, added a couple of handfuls of dark chocolate chips (for the antioxidants, of course, and not because I have any kind of affinity for chocolate), and filled the cups in my popover pan. Forty-five minutes later, I had muffins ready to go with my afternoon cup of coffee.

They were tender and moist, and better than a slice of zucchini bread, because every bite included a little bit of the slightly firm outer crust. The dark chocolate chips mingled with the touch of cinnamon and ginger in a way that made these the perfect transitional baked good, helping me move from summer to fall.

Zucchini Muffins with Dark Chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray your muffin or popover pan with oil, or line with paper or foil baking cups if you prefer (I never do).

In the bowl of a food processor or by hand on a metal grater, shred enough zucchini to give you 1-1/2 cups.

In a medium bowl, whisk together:
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

In a large bowl, stir together until thoroughly combined:
2 large eggs, beaten until frothy
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup sugar (I always use evaporated cane juice)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup plain yogurt (not Greek style) or buttermilk

Add the dry mixture to the wet, and stir gently until combined. Stir in the shredded zucchini and one cup dark chocolate chips.

Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full and bake 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of your pan, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Makes 24 regular muffins or 12 jumbo muffins or popovers.

Here’s the printable recipe.

Enjoy!