Apple Zucchini Muffins

Equipment

• Muffin tin
• Coarse cheese grater

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 2/3 cup oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp baking soda (see note 1)
• 3/4 tsp baking powder (see note 2)
• 2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium to large)
• 1 cup shredded apple (about 1 large apple) (see note 3)

Prep

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Grate the zucchini
3. Grate the apple
4. Spray muffin tin with spray of your choice (see note 4)

Instructions

1. Whisk sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract together in a bowl until smooth (see note 5)
2. Stir flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder into sugar mixture just until batter is combined
3. Fold zucchini and apple into batter
4. Spoon into muffin tin
5. Bake until a toothpick into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Start with 10-15 minutes and check at least every 5 minutes, shorter time as they get closer. It’s usually about 25 minutes total for me.

Notes

1. Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate. This raises pH. On its own, it can not leaven (it needs an acid).
2. Baking powder include an acid so it can leaven foods on its own (make them rise).
3. The type of apple isn’t critical. In something like an apple pie where the apple is making up the texture as well, the type would be much more important. So just use whatever you usually prefer.
4. I prefer olive oil sprays. You can also line the pan with butter if you would prefer.
5. Sugar is included with wet ingredients which always confused me, until I realized that just a couple of hundred years ago, honey would have been the main source of sugar. And being liquid, it made sense to go with the liquids. In addition, it would be so sticky that it wouldn’t always mix well with dry ingredients.
6. Variations:
   • Add chopped walnuts or pecans for great texture plus protein and fiber!
   • Add oats
   • I prefer both walnuts and oats