Zucchini muffins that (nearly) everyone will enjoy!

My rule when sharing recipes is this: recipe first, story later. Nobody likes to scroll through ramblings to find the recipe they want, so I won’t make you do that.

Credit: This recipe was adapted from the Crowded Kitchen

Gluten Free Zucchini Muffins

Ingredients:

· ½ cup coconut oil (melted)

· ½ cup unsweetened applesauce

· ½ cup coconut sugar (adjust to your desired level of sweetness)

· 2 tablespoons maple syrup

· 1 tablespoon alcohol free vanilla extract

· ¼ cup flax meal

· ¼ cup hemp milk (or other non-dairy milk)

· 2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour

· 1 cup almond flour

· 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon

· ½ teaspoon ground ginger

· 1 teaspoon baking soda

· 1 teaspoon baking powder

· ½ teaspoon xanthan gum (do not add if your all-purpose flour contains xanthan already)

· ½ teaspoon kosher salt

· 2 cups shredded zucchini

· ½ cup raisins

Instructions:

1) Preheat your oven to 335°F

2) Combine Hemp Milk and Flaxseed in a bowl and let stand while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

3) In a medium sized bowl, combine the remainder of your dry ingredients and give it a stir to mix them together.

4) With an electric hand-held mixer, or stand mixer, combine melted coconut milk, applesauce, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.

5) Add the flax meal and almond milk in with the rest of your wet ingredients.

6) Gently fold in zucchini and raisins.

7) Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Use a heaping 2 tablespoon scoop to fill cups.

8) Bake until slightly brown on top and firm all the way through, about 30 – 35 minutes.

Tips: I always double muffin batches and freeze them for snacks or quick breakfasts later. Why spend more time in the kitchen than you have to, right? If stored in an airtight container, these muffins should last for 4-5 days on the counter or several months frozen.

Storytelling time…

Zucchini season is in full swing and these muffins are a great option for those of you looking to use up some of that amazing zucchini you’ve been growing in your garden. For me, zucchini is basically the only plant I’ve been able to keep alive in our garden and it’s going nuts. So much zucchini, yay! Everything else I’ve grown is in full rebellion and on the verge of death, because killing plants is a side hustle at which I happen to excel. But I digress. (sigh)

I love these muffins because they meet nearly everyone’s dietary needs. Vegan, gluten-free, halal, kosher, anti-inflammatory, low sugar, nut-free, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. You could take these muffins to your kids’ bake sale and you won’t have to have an awkward conversation with Karen with the sugar allergy, or apologize to Sally who is desperately searching for her EpiPen because Billy has a nut allergy. They’re just wholesome tasty muffins that (nearly) everyone can enjoy. Why nearly? Well they’re not keto or paleo but you can’t win ‘em all, right?

I found this recipe on Crowded Kitchen and adapted it for my family. Here’s why I made the changes I did…

1. Cane sugar – For the most part, I try to avoid adding cane sugar into our food. It makes me feel swollen, upsets my husband’s stomach, and makes my kids bounce off the walls. The original recipe calls for 1 cup of cane sugar and a half cup of coconut sugar which is just too sweet for our taste. So I subbed with half a cup of coconut sugar and 2 tbls. of maple syrup, and that was perfect for us.

2. Vegan butter – Most vegan butters incorporate vegetable oils and soy, both of which we try to avoid. Coconut oil has some good benefits without some of the bad stuff that vegan butter has and it’s an easy swap.

3. Alcohol free vanilla – as a Muslim who wants to keep it halal, I pay close attention to the ingredients in food. Most vanilla extract is made with alcohol, and since we don’t consume alcohol, I always go searching for alcohol free vanilla extract. Trader Joe’s has one that is affordable and tastes the same as a typical vanilla extract. And yes, I know the alcohol “cooks out” when you bake something but this is one more small thing that I can do to do my best to maintain a halal kitchen.

4. Carrots - I am growing carrots in my garden but they are not ready yet. However, I have ample zucchini, so these are all zucchini all the time muffins, no carrots allowed.

There’s not much more to say about these muffins besides, go and make them! I would be shocked if you were disappointed. But if you are, tell me so I can add you to my list of people who would not like these muffins. So far, it’s short. But I’m saving a spot for your name. 😉