Zucchini Carrot Pumpkin Muffins

I had this crazy idea the other day to combine three of my favorite kinds of quick breads. Zucchini bread, carrot cake bread and pumpkin bread. They all have a spiced batter and require fall vegetables for texture and flavor. I started off by using a cup of pumpkin puree, then added a bit of grated carrot to it and a half cup of grated zucchini. I was a bit nervous about how the liquid in the carrot and zucchini would effect the texture of the muffins, but since I was able to squeeze most of it out, it wasn't a problem. These baked up perfectly and smelled divine! I topped mine off with a bit of whipped cinnamon cream cheese topping, but these are just as tasty without. Nuts or raisins would also be a great addition to this recipe along with pepitas (pumpkin seeds). Enjoy and happy baking!

Zucchini Carrot Pumpkin Muffins

Ingredients:

1½ c. all-purpose flour

1 c. sugar

¼ c. brown sugar

1 c. pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

2 eggs

¼ c. vegetable oil

¼ c. unsweetened applesauce

¼ c. water
¼ c. finely grated carrot, liquid removed
½ c. finely grated zucchini, liquid removed

¾ tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Whipped Cinnamon Cream Cheese Topping:
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
¼ c. butter, room temperature
½ c. powdered sugar
¼ tsp. vanilla
¼ tsp. cinnamon
2-3 tbsp. milk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line one standard size muffin pan with liners or grease with baking spray, set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with mixing speed on low, combine sugars, puree, vegetable oil, applesauce, water, and vanilla extract. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined.

3. In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and ground cinnamon. With mixing speed on low, gradually add in the dry ingredients, mixing until no flour pockets remain. Remove bowl from stand, gently fold in carrot and zucchini, set aside.

4. Place in oven and bake for 18-22 minutes or until the tops spring back and are golden brown in color. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. While muffins cool, to make the whipped topping, combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Gradually bring up the mixing speed to high, beat until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. The mixture should be very soft and spreadable, this is like frosting, but with less sugar. If more milk is needed to create a smoother consistency, add more and continue beating. Spread onto the tops of the cooled muffins.

Recipe adapted from Libby's Pumpkin Cranberry Bread | Makes 12 standard size muffins

Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Muffins

One of my all-time favorite breads is my mom's zucchini bread. It's sweet, moist and loaded with garden-fresh zucchini. The other day I was craving something chocolaty for a late afternoon snack and I realized that I had a few extra zucchini laying around. I didn't want to bake anything that would require frosting, but I did want it to be a little decadent. So I decided to make some muffins that incorporated both chocolate and zucchini. I had the first batch of these in the oven and when it occurred to me that I forgot to add the sugars! Yep, we'll blame that one on my "pregnancy brain."I immediately pulled them from the oven and tossed them. A sad day indeed. Thankfully I had another zucchini on hand so I started over, this time being really careful to remember the sugars. I did. In my attempt to be slightly more healthy (slightly because this is a chocolate recipe), I used 1 c. all-purpose flour and ¾ c. whole wheat flour. The recipe below uses only all-purpose (for convenience), but I must say, the chocolate does a great job of masking any wheaty flavor that you might otherwise be able to detect (side note: my favorite brand is King Arthur Flour Premium 100% Whole Wheat Flour, in fact I use a lot of their products and get great texture and taste in my baked products). Anyway, these muffins turned out great! I ate three within about 15 minutes! No joke. There's something about the zucchini that convinced me that it was ok to keep eating more... or maybe it was all of the gooey chocolate bits ;) I'll let you decide!

Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
1¾ c. all-purpose flour
½ c. sugar
¼ c. brown sugar
¼ c. oil
½ c. sour cream
½ c. milk
1 egg
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
½ c. grated zucchini, pressed to remove moisture
½ c. chocolate chunks + ¼ c. for on top (one 4oz Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate bar, chopped)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line or lightly spray one standard size muffin tin, set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together sugars and oil for 30 seconds. Add sour cream, milk, vanilla and egg, mix until just combined.
3. In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt. With mixing speed on low, gradually add dry ingredients until the mixture becomes smooth and no flour pockets remain.
4. Remove bowl from stand and fold in zucchini (I used the smaller "cheese" holes on my grater for the zucchini, the large ones would have been too thick and chunky) and chocolate chunks. Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each ¾ of the way full. Top with additional chocolate chunks.
5. Place in oven and bake for 16-18 minutes or until the tops spring back. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Life Made Simple Original Recipe | Makes 12 standard size muffins

Double Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

Last weekend my mother-in-law sent us home with a bag full of zucchini. One of my favorite uses for zucchini is in bread, so of course I decided to whip some up. Only Stephen isn't a huge fan of bread, so this time I made it a little more decadent by adding cocoa powder and chocolate chips- additions very welcomed by him. When it came out of the oven it smelled amazing and tasted pretty darn good too!

Double Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. sugar
6 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c. + 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 c. zucchini, grated
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. espresso powder (optional)
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans (either with butter or baking Pam).
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat oil, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Add grated zucchini and mix until incorporated.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, salt, soda and cinnamon (optional: espresso powder), whisk together. With mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients, one cup at a time. Mix until incorporated.
4. Remove bowl from mixer and gently fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter evenly between the two pans. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour.
5. Remove from oven and let cool in pans for 25 minutes. With a knife, gently go around the edges of the loaves, then turn loves over onto a wire rack to cool completely.