It’s strange not to be getting a classroom set up this time of year. To get my classroom layout fix, I went to help my friend set up her room. She’ll be teaching kindergarten, and her space is amazing! Her classroom has its own coatroom with a full length cubby for each kid, plus a bathroom. The room has lots of windows on two sides, tons of built-in storage, and TWO sinks at the back–one kid height and one regular. On top of all that, the building is air conditioned! In six years of teaching, I definitely never had it that good.
Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins (Gluten free, Paleo)
These grain-free double chocolate zucchini muffins strike the perfect balance between healthy and indulgent eating, and are great for breakfast or dessert.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup milk or coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon tapioca flour/tapioca starch
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup grated zucchini (1 small to medium zucchini)
- 3.5 ounces dark chocolate, chopped, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the butter and eggs for a minute or so. Add the honey, milk or coconut milk, and vanilla and whisk to combine well.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flours, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl and mix well. Fold in the zucchini and half the chocolate chunks.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, and sprinkle the tops evenly with the rest of the chocolate chunks.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the top springs back when you poke it. Let cool for five to ten minutes in the pan, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
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Hi, Thanks for the recipe – it sounds great! How long do you think these will last outside of the refrigerator once baked? I’m looking for something to take along with me on a vacation to have for breakfast…
I think they’d last at least 3-4 days! Hope you enjoy them.
How long should I bake if making mini muffins?
Hi Lauren! I've never made these as mini muffins, but I would check them after 10-12 minutes and every 3 minutes after that if they need more time. They're done when the tops are springy and a toothpick comes out clean.
Hi Rebecca. This recipe looks wonderful, and my family will be thrilled to see them on the table for an indulgent breakfast! In answer to your question, the reason the muffins you brought to your friend didn't stick to the wrappers is simple. When you wrapped the still-warm muffins in foil, you created a steam pocket. Leaving a hole at the top allowed some of the steam escape, so you didn't end up with soggy treats, but enough remained to loosen the paper from the muffins. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Wendy! Thanks for that great explanation. I am glad to have the answer to my muffin mystery 🙂
Dear Rebecca, Thank you so very much for a muffin without fruit! Do you think I can substitute zucchini or carrots for any fruit in a muffin recipe? I am making these today! Thank you again!!!Pat
Hi Pat, I'm sorry I didn't see your comment earlier! I don't know if grated zucchini or carrots will always work as a direct sub for fruit since the fruit is often in bigger pieces, but it might work in some recipes. It's worth a try! I hope you liked these.
These are delicious! Instead of the milk/coconut milk I used vanilla almond milk. I also used special dark chocolate chips. I am new to the paleo diet and am in the process of switching my family over to a cleaner way of eating. Are special dark chocolate chips paleo?
Hi Amos! It depends on how strict you decide to be. I usually use dark chocolate chips that do have a bit of refined sugar in them, even though that is not strictly paleo (I like Guittard Extra Dark or Enjoy Life–Enjoy Life is dairy and soy-free). Many other people do the same. If you want to avoid refined sugar altogether, Eating Evolved sells chocolate that is sweetened with maple syrup (you can get it at eatingevolved.com). Hope that helps, and I'm so glad you liked the muffins!
Try the silicone muffin trays and you won't ever have to worry about muffin liners ever again! They are simply amazing!! M. Milonas
That's a good idea!
I just made these and they're delicious! Just wanted to share the modifications I made in case anyone else is interested:
– I didn't have enough honey on hand, so I swapped it with maple syrup
– I didn't have tapioca starch either and just used arrowroot powder instead
– I added 1-2 tsp of cinnamon because I love it
– I added a shredded carrot since the zucchini I chose didn't quite fill up the 1 cup needed for the recipe
It came out wonderfully! I also used dark chocolate chips instead of chopping up a bar since that's all I had on hand. Will definitely be making more so I can stock up my freezer!
I am glad you liked them! Thank you so much for sharing your detailed modifications 🙂 It's awesome to know that these turn out well with a little carrot in the mix, too.
You have baking soda listed in the ingredients and baking powder listed in the directions – just wondering which is the correct one?
Thanks for catching that, Shari! It should be baking soda, and I fixed the mistake in the directions. I usually bake with baking soda since baking powder is not always gluten-free. Sorry about the error, and thank you for the careful read!
I made these and used salted butter with a bit less added salt – they were DELICIOUS! Definitely a recipe I'll make again 🙂
Thanks for the comment, Lily! I am so glad you liked them, and glad to hear they worked out with the salted butter 🙂
I looked at both your and AA's recipe for these muffins. They're pretty much the exact same, but you chose to add starch…Why? What does that ONE Tablespoon do?
Thanks!
Hi Sophie,
The recipes are different in a couple of ways: mine uses butter instead of cacao butter, which I never have on hand, and zucchini instead of cherries. Since zucchini has a lot more moisture than cherries, I found that my recipe needed more flour than Danielle's. I've found that I prefer the texture of baked goods when using a combination of almond, coconut, and tapioca flour, and this particular ratio worked for me for this recipe. I believe tapioca flour lends a little bit of lightness to things like muffins. That being said, since it is only a tablespoon, you could probably add a little bit more almond flour instead if you don't have any tapioca starch. If you try it, let me know how it goes.
Hope this helps!
Thanks so much for explaining 🙂
Have a good day!
I'm always looking for yummy recipes for all the Zucchini I pull out of my garden. I've made plenty of bread but love the idea of chocolate muffins. The Zucchini makes it so moist!
Thanks! Hope you like them!
Going to try this for sure – so glad I found this site…
Thanks, Lori! Let me know what you think!
Maybe the ones partially wrapped in sluminum foil cooked a little bit more …
Maybe, but they weren't really hot, just warm…maybe there was a little steam that helped them separate? Like steaming open an envelope?
I found to have A similar problem. Will have to try and wrap the muffins into something to see if the trick works