Double Chocolate Buckwheat Zucchini Muffins

“Ping!” goes the toaster oven. And faster than a speeding bullet, I’m in the kitchen. The aroma of chocolaty goodness is making my mouth water, and I can hardly wait to chow down on my last double chocolate buckwheat zucchini muffin. (I’ve been keeping a bag of them in the freezer for easy access but haven’t allowed myself to finish them off before posting the recipe. Sidenote: Yes – these freeze!) As I bite into the muffin, my face lights up. It’s tender, chocolatey, cakey, deliciousness. Hard to believe this type of decadence can be achieved with gluten-free whole grains and zucchini! I pat myself on the back for having the willpower to save this one – they are pretty hard to resist  – and am then immediately annoyed that I chose to save just one, rather than two. Or three. With these muffins, it’s hard to stop.

While I’ve been sitting on this recipe for a while, the appearance of zucchini at the Greenmarket signaled that it was time to share. After all, while zucchini is one of my favorites (if you’re put off by the texture, try cooking it this way) the sheer surplus of it during the summer months means it’s a good idea to have some zucchini bread recipes on hand. I mean, it’s possible to get sick of eating zucchini, but almost unheard of to get sick of double chocolate muffins or zucchini spice cake. (Btw, while I decided to post this recipe as muffins, you can also make a sinfully delicious loaf of zucchini bread by baking the batter in a silicone loaf pan – see notes below. Plus you’ll still have enough batter left over for 3 muffins!)

Aside from giving you a reason to stay excited about zucchini in the months to come, these muffins have other benefits too. They are made with whole-grains like sorghum and buckwheat, you can freeze ’em for easy snacking, and they don’t contain too much sugar. The only real downside to making these muffins – and this is based on a sample size of 1 – is the risk of getting that Do you know the muffin man? song stuck in your head. I mitigated this unfortunate side effect by stuffing my face with muffins. It seemed to work!

A couple (okay – several) notes about the recipe:

-You can either make 18 muffins (1 1/2 trays) or bake the batter in a buttered loaf pan for double chocolate zucchini bread. To make the bread version, I use my silicone loaf pan (cavity measures 9 x 4 x 2.5 ) and have enough batter left over for 3 muffins. The bread takes 1 hour and 10 minutes to bake; the three muffins take about 18 minutes.

-To freeze, remove liners and let cool completely; then place in an airtight freezer bag. When ready to enjoy, simply place the muffin(s) on a parchment paper lined tray in the oven or toaster oven and heat at 350°F until tender and warmed through, about 15 minutes.

-If you don’t freeze them, these muffins can be stored in the fridge and then heated for a few minutes in an oven or toaster oven when ready to eat. You can either heat them whole or cut them in half for a more toasted feel. While they are most decadent hot, I do also enjoy them cold from the fridge on occasion. However, they will be much denser and cakier this way – when heated, they are very tender.

-While almond flour can vary greatly across brands,  I’ve tested this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill and Honeyville brands and both worked perfectly. My guess is that most brands of blanched almond flour will work, since there is such a small amount in this recipe.

-This recipe is low FODMAP if you divide the total yield into five parts, so as not to exceed safe servings of zucchini. (2/3 cup grated zucchini = 1 cup chopped zucchini). This means you can eat about 3 muffins per sitting.

-There is no need to peel your zucchini unless you are breaking down a very tough, late-season giant, as I was here.

Double Chocolate Buckwheat Zucchini Muffins

Dry ingredients:

• 1 cup sorghum flour
• ½ cup buckwheat flour
• ¼ cup blanched almond flour
• ¼ cup gluten-free oat flour
• 1 teaspoon flax meal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• Pinch of salt

Wet ingredients:

• 1 stick butter
• ½ cup maple syrup
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup sour cream (lactose-free for low FODMAP)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups finely shredded zucchini, unpeeled (I used the shredding blade of the food processor.) *Weighed before shredding, this is about 11 ounces of zucchini
•   ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

If your zucchini is very wet after shredding, squeeze it gently to release excess water. (A quick squeeze will do; you aren’t trying to get it completely dry because you want the muffins to be nice and moist!)

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the sugar and maple syrup. Remove from heat and mix in the sour cream, then the vanilla and eggs. Stir in the zucchini. Add the dry ingredients and mix until well-incorporated. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.

Line 1 1/2 silicone muffin trays with muffin liners – the batter will yield about 18 muffins. (If you wish to bake this in a loaf pan, see notes above.) Fill each cup ¾ way full. Bake for 18-24 minutes, until the muffins are firm to the touch. (Baking time may vary if you don’t use silicone. Additionally, no matter the pan, the full tray will take longer to bake than the half tray.) Enjoy warm!