There are four things that inspired me to bake these muffins this morning:
- It felt like Fall (so much so that I treated myself to my very first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season).
- After graduating last June, this is my first Fall not going back to school.
- Adam comes home from Florida today! He has only been there a few days, but I like him.
- Zucchini were taking over the garden. They are beasts.
The title is a mouthful (just like my mouth is full of these delicious muffins as I type this), but I thought that all of these key ingredients deserved their fair share of love.
* I slightly altered my recipe from: http://www.food.com/recipe/zucchini-nut-muffins-68082 (muffin) and http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/pumpkin-cinnamon-streusel-muffins/ (streusel).
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| Interested? Here's what you will need: |
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| 3 eggs, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 cup applesauce, 1 2/3 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 cups grated zucchini, 3 cups flour, 1 t. baking soda, 1/4 t. baking powder, 3 t. cinnamon, 1/4 t. nutmeg, 1 t. salt, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional), and 1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional). |
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| First, beat the eggs. Then add the oil, applesauce, zucchini, and both sugars. Don't be terrified by this mixture like I was... It turns out wonderfully. Promise. |
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| Now combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. |
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| If you have a sifter - sift all of the dry ingredients together. If you're like me and don't - think light, fluffy, sifted thoughts and use a fork. I'm not complaining with the finished product! | |
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| After mixing all the wet and dry ingredients together, add the chopped walnuts to the mixture. |
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| This step is optional (maybe for you, but it was totally necessary for me) - I divided the batter evenly between two bowls and added some chocolate chips to one of the bowls. Why do you ask? Because chocolate is awesome... Duh. |
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| Divide the mixture evenly in greased muffin tins - This recipe makes 24 full-sized muffins. |
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| Finally, mix up your streusel! I improvised and used two packs of cinnamon & spice instant oatmeal we had laying around, then added 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 t. cinnamon, dash of nutmeg, 1 T. flour, and 6 T. cold butter (chopped into pieces). |
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| Sprinkle the crumbly streusel evenly over all of the muffins, then pop those puppies in the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (I use an unbent paper clip). |
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| Enjoy! |
