Zucchini–Pine Nut Muffins Recipe
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These muffins are great for breakfast or a late-afternoon snack. Our editor in chief likes them topped with our Cream Cheese Frosting.
What to buy: Look for whole-milk yogurt with “cream on top.” These yogurts are more fluid because they contain fewer stabilizers.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups grated zucchini
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for coating the muffin wells
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Butter and flour a 12-well muffin pan; set aside. Toss zucchini and salt together in a small bowl. Place zucchini in a strainer, weight it down with a small bowl, and set it over a small mixing bowl to drain.
- Heat a medium frying pan over medium heat, add pine nuts, and toast until golden brown all over, about 5 minutes. Remove to a small bowl and reserve.
- Whisk together measured flour, baking powder, and ginger in a medium bowl to aerate and remove any lumps; set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together sugar, yogurt, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until evenly combined. Add dry ingredients and stir briefly until just combined. Squeeze zucchini by the handful to release excess water, then add to the batter, add the toasted pine nuts, and stir until just combined (be sure not to overmix).
- Fill each well of the muffin pan halfway with batter and bake until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Set the pan on a wire rack and let the muffins cool for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and serve.
I think 1/2 cup of pine nuts is a waste of money for these muffins
I never manage to remember to check comments before embarking on a new recipe.... that said, I made a number of tweaks to the recipe above that resulted in a decent outcome (not great though). In my version, half the flour was whole wheat, the sugar was reduced to 1/2 cup or so and I included a more diverse spice mix (cinnamon, allspice in addition to the ginger). That said, the texture remained odd - lumpy? - and they certainly didn't look like the muffins in the photo.
Aunt Viki, don't forget the frying pan in the washing count (I use cast iron to toast nuts and seeds, so there is no need to wash it). Of course, you could under toast the nuts and leave them in the pan, and reuse the zucchini bowl for the wet mixture and you are down to 3 bowls and a strainer (which only needs rinsing) for washing. Zucchini is fine for sweet quick bread, even cheesecake, but also good in savory versions. I am more concerned about the 1 tsp of Baking Powder; I use 2 and 1 of Baking Soda for 12 muffins.
Pretty fussy for a muffin! Five bowls, a strainer and muffin tin to wash. I'm inclined to think savory like others have mentioned.
Did not like these as written at all. Flavor was weird with the ginger. Texture was gummy even after 5 extra minutes. Used yougurt and squeezed zucchini as recommended, did not help. Perhaps using whole wheat flour would help and less sugar, make savory. Perhaps add salt to dry ingredients not sure. Not a good recipe.
what do these taste like? is it similar to zucchini bread? i want to make them, but i don't want to end up throwing them out because i don't like it!
I'd like to make this savory, also, and add some rosemary, green onions, and Monterey Jack cheese with jalapenos. Seems like it would great with the zucchini! Moist. A change from corn muffins with the same. I also grow Summer Savory and think that would be a good addition.
What would have to be changed in this recipe to make savoury, sugar-free muffins or loaf? I like the other ingredients, but would rather avoid sugar, and eat this as a savoury dish (in such a case, I would eschew the vanilla and perhaps add some fresh herbs). Pine nuts - yum.
try adding a tablespoonful of cocoa
My husband makes a DEADly DElicious chocolate zucchini cake
with walnuts and chocolate chipits on top.... cocoa would a) improve the colour b) offset the sweetness and c) reduce the moistness alittle.
pickalili
I made these muffins and was a bit disappointed. The muffins are much too sweet, and the substitution of whole wheat flour for some of the white flour would probably improve both flavor and texture. At the end of 20 minutes of baking they were unappealingly pale. Five extra minutes helped only a little.
I just made these gluten-free so my dad could enjoy. To adjust the recipe, I used a garbanzo-fava flour base, increased the baking powder by a half teaspoon, and added 1 teaspoon of xantham gum. I also used Greek set yogurt instead of plain and baked the batter in 4 mini-cheesecake pans instead of muffin tins, so the outcome is more bread than cake. The verdict: great texture, but a tad sticky. I might experiment with less moisture, and also play around with the nuts. We like pine, but might get curious about pecans.