Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Holy hell, are these delicious. I literally had to give all of these away so as not to continuously eat them. The reason for their creation? A friend's birthday request for zucchini bread matched with my constant need for dark chocolate.

After some research, I stumbled across the recipe from College Baker Girl. Her online version was the closest match for what I was aiming for in my foodie quest. I tripled her original recipe and of course altered it for my personal tastes: less whole wheat flour with the addition of white flour, added brown sugar and almond extract, replaced the oil with cinnamon applesauce. Imagine fruity, sweet, filling, chocolaty, moist...yum.

Now, stop reading and check out your cupboard, see if you have the ingredients to make these. If not, off to the store with you! You can thank me later. Enjoy!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Adapted From: College Baker Girl

• 1 1/2 cup white flour
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup white sugar 
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/8 tsp salt
• 3/8 tsp baking powder
• 9 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup milk, rice or almond works as an alternative milk
• 1 cup applesauce
• 3 eggs
• 2 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract 
• 2 1/4 cup shredded zucchini
• 6 tbsp dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a muffin tray.

In a large bowl combine the flours, sugars, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and cocoa. Mix thoroughly.

In another bowl, whisk together the milk, applesauce, eggs, vanilla and almond extracts. Add the shredded zucchini and stir. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just combined. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin tray, filling each cup to the top and sprinkle with dark chocolate chips.

Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. If making mini-muffins, bake 12-15 minutes.