Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

Bakery style zucchini chocolate chip muffins will blow your mind. The secret ingredient is in the spices. My mom won’t stop talking about these! So I know they’re good!

Like most things in the garden this year, I kind of over committed. With tomatoes, it was the 13 plants that have overrun my garden, and now my freezer because I haven’t been able to eat enough tomatoes. So they will be canned later this fall. The second has been the zucchini. Why did I think half a dozen container plants was a good idea? Next year, Ben really needs to rein me in.

LOL, like that will happen.

But in the interest of making useful things with zucchini I tried to use some of them up by making zucchini muffins, specifically these zucchini chocolate chip muffins. The kids liked them so much I had to make them again three days later. Then I had my mom test them out, and not ten minutes later she called me after she left my house and immediately asked for the recipe. And since I have had about 2,729 things on my mind, she’s asked me repeatedly so HERE MOM I’m finally writing down the recipe for you!

Ingredients for Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

The list of ingredients for this recipe is super simple, and has ingredients common in your pantry already. For the spices you can mix and match whatever you have on hand. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove are common, and provide a really nice warm flavor to any zucchini bread style recipe.

• Zucchini – younge zucchinis (or courgettes) are best, and have small tender seeds.
• Brown Sugar
• Vegetable Oil
• Eggs
• Vanilla
• Flour
• Cinnamon
• Salt
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Ground Nutmeg
• Walnuts – Totally optional
• Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• Sparkling sugar – or regular white granulated sugar is fine.

How to make Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

Like most quick bread recipes, these muffins come together in a snap. There are a few tips and tricks that will get you perfect results. These do use two leavening agents, baking soda and baking powder. And you can mix and match your spices for whatever warm cozy flavor combo you want.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line your muffin tin with cupcake liners. For these I use the tall tulip style liners that are also greaseproof. I love the tall muffin look they give you. You can use standard muffin liners if that is what you have.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, from the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and nutmeg.

In another large bowl, with a hand mixer if you have it, beat together the brown sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla.

For the zucchini, shred it using a box grater set over a tea towel. Gathering the ends of the towel, twist the towel and squeeze as much liquid out of the shreds as possible. Then stir it into the liquid ingredients. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and fold together until just combined, with a couple streaks of flour still remaining – so you know you haven’t overmixed. Lastly, stir in the chocolate chips. Allow the batter to rest about 10 minutes.

Line your baking tin with the cupcake liners. Fill each tin until it is level with the top of the muffin tin cavity. Sprinkle the tops with sparkling sugar, or regular granulated sugar. Bake for 5 minutes at 425 degrees, and then lower the temperatures to 350 for the remaining 15-17 minutes of the baking time. When a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out nearly clean, with only a couple of dry crumbs, your muffins are done. Allow them to cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes in the muffin tin, and then remove to cool completely.

Tips for Success

Why are my zucchini muffins soggy?

Zucchinis have an immense amount of liquid in them, and removing as much liquid from the shredded veggie ahead of time is imperative if you want to achieve a good quality bake on your muffins. I shred my zucchini in a box grater right on top of a clean tea towel. When I have shredded all of the zucchini, I can gather the corners of the towel, and twist the towel to extract as much liquid as possible. You can get up to a half cup out even!

Why bake muffins at two different temperatures?

One of the best tricks for muffins is to bake them at two different temperatures. For the first five minutes, baking them at 425 degrees will blast them with heat, activate the leavening ingredients and set the structure, and then lowering the temperature will help create the dome effect that is so gorgeous on top and prized in bakery style muffins.

Can I use big zucchini for these muffins?

Yes, of course! But with big zucchini comes big seeds which let’s be honest are not appetizing to look at in a baked good. So I recommend removing the seeds by halving the zucchini, and then scoring the area with the seeds with a knife to create a “V”, and then using a small spoon to essentially dig the seeds out of that. They come out really easy. It might not remove all of them, but it will get quite a lot out.

If you are using smaller zucchini that have tiny, tender seeds, you don’t need to do this step and the seeds will get shredded in the box grater just fine!

Tools For Making Muffins

Here are some of the tools in my own kitchen. I may earn a small commission on any purchases made through these links.

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Easy Rustic Sourdough

Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries

Zucchini Noodles with Peanut Sauce

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