Zucchini Everything Breakfast Muffins

I thought I would have breakfast outside with the chickens this morning - everything was popping with colour after the rain last night. The girls were a bit too interested in what I was eating though - certainly it must be better than the scratch feed I was offering them!

 

These breakfast muffins have become a staple in our household, and the big zucchini I harvested from the garden on Tuesday was the perfect size for a double batch.

 

Zucchini Everything Muffins

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil (or applesauce, or combination - when I double, I do a cup of each)

2 cups sugar

2 cups grated zucchini

2 tsp vanilla

 

3 cups flour (unbleached, whole wheat, or a combination)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 generous tbsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup oats

 

1 cup chopped nuts, grains, etc.

1/2 - 1 cup chopped dried fruits

 

Cooking spray for muffin tins

 

**Note, you can use fresh zucchini, or you can also grate, measure, label and freeze your excess garden or farmer's market zucchini for use in these muffins when the snow flies.  I plan ahead! Drain off any excess liquid after thawing.  I freeze slightly more than stated, to make up for some loss.

 

Beat the eggs until light and fluffy, add oil, sugar, vanilla, and mix in the zucchini. Measure out the dry ingredients, and add to the bowl - the batter for these muffins is very wet, so you will have no problem incorporating it together, and might actually be worried that the mix needs more flour.  That's why I've added oats to the recipe, and the muffins come out nice and moist. If you don't have oats, you might want to add more flour instead.

 

For the nuts, grains and fruit, I use whatever I have handy.  This week, I used figs, dates, cranberries, and home-dried cherries. I threw in some chopped almonds and pecans, some flax seed, millet and amaranth....then topped things up with chocolate chips for the heck of it - and because everything tastes better with chocolate. 

 

Spray your muffin tins, spoon in the batter, and bake for 18-20 minutes at 350.

 

Because I always double my recipes, when baking 4 dozen at once, I find I need to set my timer for 10 minutes, and carefully swap top and bottom rack muffin tins to ensure even baking - but that might just be my oven. I set for another 8, then eyeball, or use a skewer to determine if the muffins need the full 20.  What we don't need for the next few morning goes into the freezer. Pop out a few muffins for breakfast, and microwave to heat through (about 80 seconds for 4).