zucchini muffins

isn't the squash lovely at the greenmarket lately? we recently had lots of leftover zucchini from a shoot and i realized that it's been ages since i baked with zucchini. both of our moms used to make great zucchini bread and we grew up loving it but for this recipe i reached for a book off our much neglected cookbook shelf. this recipes is adapted from apples for jam, a beautiful book full of simple comforting recipes and chapters that are organized by color. we've made a few things that are delicious so far but just love flipping through the pages for inspiring stories and images.

we are taking a little vacation - happy to be in sunny CA & hot AZ with lots of morning walks on the beach, breakfasts here and fish tacos here. we'll try to post some of our eating adventures and travel pics from the road so stay tuned.

Zucchini Muffins

makes 12

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup olive oil

1 tsp vanilla

zest of 1 small lemon

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

pinch of salt

3 zucchini, coarsely grated

2/3 cup hazelnuts, toasted, skinned & coarsely chopped

preheat oven to 350 degrees F. in a small bowl, beat sugar, olive oil and vanilla until smooth. add lemon zest and stir to combine. add eggs, one at a time and whisk until pale yellow and thick. in a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. gradually fold together wet ingredients into the dry just until combined. mix in zucchini and hazelnuts and stir. fill a greased muffin tin with batter and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. if making a loaf, bake for 55-60 minutes. enjoy!

morning muffins

well, it looks like baking has been a bit of an obsession lately in our house. i guess the warmth of the oven and the smell of fresh baked goods in the morning can be a little addictive. we love berries, and blueberries seemed a fit for these light tasty little treats. these muffins are filled with streusel for a melt in your mouth fluffiness. recently we have been taking the gourmet coffee tour of the city at home, trying to find a favorite, although i think they all taste so good i don't think we will ever pick just one. we have gone through bags of stumptown, counter culture, and now ninth street espresso. between the aromas coming from the oven and the coffee pot, our house smells like morning all through the day.

Blueberry Muffins

makes 1 dozen

for streusel:

1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/8 cup oats

1/8 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tbs unsalted butter, melted

for muffins:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

4 tbs butter, melted

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

zest of 1 small lemon

1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 12 cup muffin tin. in a small bowl, combine streusel ingredients and set aside. in a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder salt and sugar. in a medium bowl, combine eggs, sour cream, milk, cooled butter, vanilla and lemon zest. pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined. fold in blueberries until evenly distributed. fill each cup halfway full, then top with 1/2 tbs of streusel and cover with remaining batter filling each cup to the top. bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. enjoy!

bite size

these cute little muffins are super moist and packed with spices. i normally am not into mini baked goods but when i set out to make these, i discovered that we were missing an important piece of baking equipment - a muffin tin! not sure why i have every other shape under the sun - muffin top, mini muffin, mini loaf, multiple tart pans, bundt pan, panattone, on and on. needless to say i went out and bought a regular muffin tin to add to the collection. this batter is originally for making a loaf but it's great as muffins as well. it came from a family friend over twenty years ago and we've been baking it ever since. i never measure the spices too exactly and you get something a little different each time. enjoy!

Applesauce Spice Muffins

2 cups flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

2 eggs

3/4 cup raisins

preheat oven to 350 degrees F. mix all ingredients well and stir in raisins. pour into a well greased tin and bake until done in the center when poked with a cake tester, about 12-15 minutes for small muffins, 25-30 minutes for regular muffins or 50-55 minutes for loaf.