Moist zucchini muffins with toasted oats and pecans will provide a sweet, delicious start to your day and sneak in some extra vegetables!
With Fall in the air, I’m back to baking. We spent Labor Day weekend with friends in Vermont and the temperatures at night dipped into the high forties. That chill was enough to spark my craving for Fall foods. A couple of beautiful zucchini from Dreyer Farms inspired me to make some zucchini muffins. My older daughter won’t touch them (green specks, eew!), but my little one devours them.
Although it takes a little extra time, I’d definitely recommend toasting the oats. It gives the muffins a bit more texture and flavor. I used chopped pecans, but you could substitute whatever nuts you have on hand or leave them out altogether.
Once these are gone, it might be time to get on the Fall pumpkin bandwagon and make some pumpkin cream cheese muffins. I got two little kabocha squash today that would be perfect…
- 1 stick (8 Tbsp.) unsalted butter
- 2 medium zucchini (7-8 oz. each)
- ½ cup oats (not quick cooking)
- 1½ cups flour, plus 1 Tbsp.
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 tsp. Kosher salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup milk
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ½ cup pecans, coarsely chopped
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
- Melt the butter and allow it to cool slightly.
- Coarsely grate the zucchini over a clean towel and squeeze out the excess moisture.
- Spread the oats on a baking sheet and toast for 5-7 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then combine in a medium bowl with the flour, baking soda, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt.
- Stir in the sugar, butter, milk, egg and vanilla.Fold in the grated zucchini.
- Toss the pecans with 1 Tbsp. flour and then fold them into the batter.
- Divide batter among the cups of the muffin pan.
- Bake for 27-30 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
These sound delicious. I do have a request. Recipes that use zucchini will often say to use medium zucchini (7″?). As zucchini can vary greatly in size, I find it really helpful when recipes specify the weight of an ingredient such as zucchini, carrots, etc. In fact, since I am baking gluten free (and doing flour substitutions) I have found it much easier and quicker to bake when recipes specify the weight of flour and sugar. Some specify the weight of eggs – to me that is going a bit too far! Just a thought. I love your recipes and enjoy your posts.
Margot, Great suggestion. In this case, the zucchini were each about 7-8 oz. before I trimmed the ends. I’ve updated the recipe to specify.