After posting about blueberry cheesecake ice cream and smores brownies, I figured I should make something a little healthier. I had some zucchini and apples that I needed to use up so I threw them into a healthy muffin recipe not really sure what to expect. I had 2 zucchini and 2 apples. I couldn't decide if I wanted to grate the apples or dice them, so I grated one and diced the other. I really liked the bites of diced apple running through the muffin. These came out great and I'll definitely be making them again!
This was my first time making a "healthy" muffin, so I still used a little real sugar and real oil. I think next time I make them I would cut the sugar out completely and just use a little more agave or honey. I definitely recommend keeping the walnuts in the recipe. I'm not usually a fan of nuts in muffins, cookies, or brownies, but in this case the walnuts added a really nice texture to the muffin.
Zucchini Apple Muffins
Recipe: Makes about 16 muffins
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup AP flour
- 2 cups grated zucchini (squeezed, then packed into a measuring cup) [about 2 medium zucchini]
- 1 apple, peeled and grated
- 1 apple, peeled and diced
- 1 egg
- 1 egg white
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 agave or honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce
- 3 tbls canola oil
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- Preheat oven to 350F and line muffin cups with paper liners. Grate zucchini by hand or using a food processor, then gently squeeze grated zucchini to remove some of the water.
- In a medium-sized bowl, beat egg, egg white, then add vanilla, sugar, and agave nectar and mix to combine. Stir in the grated zucchini, and apple then the oil and applesauce.
- In a smaller bowl, combine AP flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Stir dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture, then fold in chopped walnuts and apples.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let muffins cool a few minutes in the muffin tin or cups, then remove and cool a few minutes more.
