"Sugar and spice and everything nice"...that's what great muffins are made of. Adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen, these jumbo gems are amazing.
They're dark, rich, moist and loaded with deep chocolate flavor thanks to a three-quarter cup of cocoa powder. Double up the chocolate quotient with semi sweet chocolate chips and they're definitely a girl's best friend, made even more so because I substituted half the oil with pumpkin puree. Yup. Did you know you can use pumpkin as an oil replacement, just like you can use unsweetened applesauce? Brilliant wouldn't you say?
Add zucchini for your health, along with some allspice and cinnamon for more flavor and you've got the perfect breakfast muffin. Relatively healthy, definitely moist and very flavorful. Believe you me, have one with a cup of joe and the coffee will taste just like one of those expensive mocha drinks from a fancy coffee shop. Ah heck, ignore the amount of brown sugar in the things and have two. After all, isn't chocolate the ultimate female stress reliever?
Double Chocolate Zucchini Spice Muffins (adapted from Sweet Pea’s Kitchen)
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon allspice
1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1-1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil (not olive oil)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk
2 cups zucchini, finely grated (stems removed)
Preheat oven to 350. Spray 12 jumbo muffin cups with cooking spray and set aside. Combine together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, allspice and cinnamon and sift ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Add chocolate chips and stir to combine.
In a smaller bowl whisk together brown sugar, canola oil, pumpkin puree. Whisk in eggs one at a time combining well after each addition. Whisk in vanilla and buttermilk until well mixed. Fold in zucchini. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and mix gently just until combined. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of one comes out clean. Cool briefly then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Makes 12 jumbo muffins. (May be frozen and reheated in microwave). Download Double Chocolate Zucchini Spice Muffins
Heck YEAH!!!!! Perfect for the season!!!!!!!
Posted by: Lea | 11/26/2011 at 08:08 AM
Boy you're right on that...you know who even loves 'em.
Posted by: June | 11/26/2011 at 10:14 AM