Confession, sometimes I have a hard time falling asleep because I have so many recipe ideas running through my head or I’m super excited to bake something the next day (pretty strange I know!). Well that was definitely the case with this recipe. I knew I had some zucchinis in the fridge that I needed to use up and I originally thought to make a zucchini walnut loaf which I was pretty excited about but then I decided to switch it up to muffins.
The next day I wanted to add a carrot cake vibe to these muffins and decided to add in shredded carrots, raisins and lots of spices! After tasting the first one I was hooked – a little butter and honey took them to the next level. These muffins are not too sweet that they could make the perfect breakfast complement to some fruit or a quick snack.
However I knew they could also be a great sweet treat or dessert with a little frosting. Going with the carrot cake inspo, I decided I’d go with a cream cheese frosting. If you would like a sweeter muffin, this cream cheese frosting perfectly complements these muffins. This frosting recipe below is just enough for 4-5 muffins, so if you would like them all frosted just double the recipe!
Recipe
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
- ½ cup shredded carrot
- 3 medium eggs (can use 2 large eggs)
- 3 tbsp applesauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil or melted coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup coconut sugar
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup gluten free flour (I like Bob’s Red Mill)
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup walnuts
- ¼ cup raisins
Maple Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¼ cup cream cheese – softened
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Walnuts for topping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F and line a muffin tin. You should have 12 standard muffins from this recipe.
- First you will want to remove excess liquid from your shredded zucchini. I like to leave the skin on the zucchini for some extra color! Once you measure out a cup of shredded zucchini you will wring it out to remove extra liquid. You can do this by using a cheesecloth or lining up a couple of paper towels and placing the zucchini in the middle of them, bundle it up and squeeze. Once you have the zucchini wrung out, place it in a large bowl with your shredded carrots.
- Add in wet ingredients to shredded carrots and zucchini: eggs, applesauce, oil, and vanilla until well combined.
- Add coconut sugar to the wet ingredient mixture and mix until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Combine until you can tell the spices are evenly mixed into the flour.
- Add in dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Do not overmix. The batter will be a bit thick.
- Fold in your walnuts and raisins.
- Use a ¼ c measuring cup to fill your muffin tin. This recipe makes 12 muffins, but you can definitely make 9-10 larger ones.
- Bake for 25 – 28 minutes, around 25 minutes, check to see if they are done with a toothpick, if it comes out clean, they are done. If there is still batter on the toothpick, leave in the oven for a few more minutes.
- Let cool for a few minutes. Store in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
Optional frosting:
First make sure your cream cheese is softened/room temperature. Using a hand blender or stand mixer, mix together all frosting ingredients until it is smooth and creamy: cream cheese, maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon. Make sure your muffins have completely cooled before frosting them. I like to top my muffins with extra muffins.
Sweet Escape Kitchen 