Chocolate Olive Oil Zucchini Muffins
I grew up in a town where everyone had their own garden and everyone had zucchini to get rid of. If you’ve ever grown zucchini, you know how a tiny little squash can grow to insane proportions in the blink of an eye. I learned this lesson as an adult with my own little garden, but luckily I recalled a trick from my childhood. Grate the zucchini and bake it with chocolate! No one will complain when you present them with a basket of chocolate chip muffins, but I can’t say the same for a giant zucchini. The zucchini and the olive oil make for the moistest muffins that are just as good on day two.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 cup yogurt
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup grated zucchini
chocolate chips for topping
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners if desired and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, butter, sugar, and vanilla with a whisk. Add the egg and yogurt and whisk well. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder into the mixture. Give it a good stir to mix it all through. It will seem very thick, but the grated zucchini will add a lot of moisture! Fold in the grated zucchini until totally combined. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full. Sprinkle chocolate chips over top of each muffin and bake for about 30 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin should come out clean. Let them cool completely before removing and eating! You should get about 12 muffins, but it doubles easily if you have more zucchini to use up!
