Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Fabulous double chocolate zucchini muffins with walnuts added to the mix. Wonderfully moist and chocolatey and a great use for that extra zucchini harvest.

These chocolate zucchini muffins have the most wonderful texture, which is sturdy, but still moist. The double chocolate from both cocoa powder and chocolate chips makes these muffins rich in chocolate and with the added walnuts, they are almost brownie-like. And there’s lots of zucchini hiding in there, too!

Ingredients and Substitutions

Zucchini – for the base recipe, you will need one medium supermarket-sized zucchini. No need to peel.

Chocolate Chips – regular semi-sweet chocolate chips are all that’s needed for these muffins.

Cocoa Powder – natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed), is specified. Hershey’s Natural (not Special Dark) is a great option. Fry’s, which is common in Canadian kitchens is Dutch Processed.

Why not Dutch Processed? Well, it’s a chemical thing, but suffice it to say that using Dutch-processed instead of natural will interfere with the leavening process in this recipe and unexpected things may happen.

Espresso Powder – the bit of coffee powder added to the batter really heightens the chocolate flavour. If you don’t have espresso powder, instant coffee powder is fine, or simply omit it if you have neither on hand.

Vegetable Oil – I’ve always found that vegetable oil performs best in baking, so I do recommend it if you have it on hand. If not, use a similar neutral-tasting cooking oil, such as canola or sunflower.

Sour Cream – full-fat sour cream is recommended. If you don’t have sour cream, plain Greek yogurt is fine.

Walnuts – walnuts are the perfect addition to chocolate, for both flavour and a bit of crunch. If you want a nut-free muffin, simply omit it.

Step-by-Step Photos

1. Measure out the shredded zucchini and place onto a tripled-up paper towel to drain a bit of moisture off of it. Grease a muffin tin (or line it with paper liners, if you like).
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
3. Add the chocolate chips and walnuts to the dry ingredients and stir in.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined.
5. Add the shredded zucchini to the batter and fold in.
6. Scoop batter into muffin cups (8 cups for the base recipe) and top with additional walnuts before baking.

Recipe Tips

• Don’t squeeze or press any more moisture out of the zucchini, beyond letting it stand on the paper towel. The extra bit of moisture helps keep these muffins lovely and moist.
• It can be a bit tricky to test these muffins for done-ness, as it is easy to hit a chocolate chip when testing, which may make it seem like they are not done. I like to test a couple of different spots in the muffin, just to be sure.

Storing and Freezing

Store baked muffins in an airtight container for several days or freeze up to 3 months for longer storage.