A few weeks ago, our garden did what gardens apparently love to do and gave us way too much zucchini.

So naturally, I made muffins.

I have a basic muffin recipe that I’ve used for years. It’s my starting point for pretty much everything from blueberry to chocolate chip. I keep the base mostly the same, change the mix-ins, and add different flavors depending on what I’m making.

Zucchini needed a little more thought.

Unlike throwing a couple cups of chocolate chips into muffin batter, zucchini brings quite a bit of its own moisture with it. So I cut back the milk, added some spices, and hoped my trusty muffin recipe wouldn’t let me down.

It didn’t.

I made a batch of jumbo zucchini muffins and took some over to our neighbors, Norbert and his wife.

Apparently, they were a hit.

A few weeks later, Norbert asked if I’d share the recipe with him. Of course I told him I’d get it to him.

And then I proceeded to…not get it to him.

In my defense, it had only been a few days.

Apparently that was a few days too many.

My dad came home and informed me that Norbert had asked him where his recipe was.

Well, Norbert.

Here it is.

It only took me a few days and an entire blog post to finally get it to you.

Zucchini Muffins

Soft, buttery zucchini muffins with warm spices and a crunchy sugar top. They’re lightly spiced, plenty moist, and a very good reason to let your garden produce entirely too much zucchini.

Yield: About 12 standard sized muffins
Oven: 350°F
Bake Time: About 18-22 minutes

Ingredients

For the Muffins

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
• ⅓ cup whole milk
• 1 cup grated (or shredded) zucchini
• Turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw), for topping

Prepare the Zucchini

Grate the zucchini using the large holes of a box grater.

Measure out 1 cup of zucchini.

And if you have a little bit left over?

Throw it in.

I’m not putting three tablespoons of zucchini back in the refrigerator, or letting it waste away in the trashcan.

Make the Muffin Batter

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease your muffin pan or line it with paper liners.

In a large bowl, cream the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk. Mix only until everything is almost combined.

Fold in the grated zucchini just until evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Let the batter rest for about 10-15 minutes before scooping.

Bake the Muffins

Divide the batter between your prepared muffin cups, filling them about ¾ full.

Sprinkle the tops generously with turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw) before baking. It’ll give you that slightly crisp sugary top without needing a streusel or glaze.

For standard sized muffins, bake for approximately 18-22 minutes.

The muffins are done when the tops spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Let them cool in the pan for several minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Mise Notes

A little extra zucchini is fine. I aim for about a cup, but I’m also not saving one sad little handful of shredded zucchini for another day. Toss it in.

Don’t overmix. Once you start adding the flour, mix only as much as you need to. overmixing can give you tougher muffins instead of soft, tender ones.

Give the batter a rest. letting it sit for 10-15 minutes before baking gives the flour time to hydrate and helps give the muffins a niceer texture.

Don’t skip the sugar on top. A generous sprinkle of Sugar in the Raw before baking gives the muffins a little crunch on top and is honestly one of my favorite parts.

Want to add something? Chopped pecans, walnuts, or chocolate chips would all work well here. or keep them simple and let the zucchini and warm spices do their thing.

And apparently, if you tell your neighbor you’ll give him a recipe, you should probably do it sooner rather than later.

Message received, Norbert.

–Mise