St. Patrick's Day Zucchini Muffins

St. Patrick's Day is a pretty big deal here in Jackson. There's a big parade, featuring a phenomenon called Sweet Potato Queens, which I won't even try to explain, especially because being a newcomer I don't really understand it myself. Suffice it to say that there are a lot of big-haired, gaudily-clad women with artificially enhanced chests parading through the streets. I mean bigger hair and more gaudy and enhanced than usual! Here's a shot of a few ladies who weren't even part of the parade:



Since we were planning on being at the parade during lunchtime, I knew I needed to get a hearty breakfast into my two girls (E. plus a spare), and since one of the two isn't a vegetarian (her favorite breakfast is bacon) I figured I'd probably better stick to sweeter breakfast foods. So, to honor the day, I made muffins with a "secret St. Patrick's Day fruit." Yes, they figured out that zucchini is really a fruit, but by that time they were happily chowing down on these lemony muffins with cinnamon crumb toppings.



Zucchini Muffins with Cinnamon-Crumb Topping
(click for printer-friendly version)

There's just a little bit of margarine in the crumb topping which, divided over 12 muffins, doesn't even affect the fat count. But leave the topping off if you want--or double it, if you're feeling decadent.

Dry ingredients:
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Wet ingredients:
1 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer
2 tablespoons water
1 1/4 cup shredded zucchini, packed
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener)
1 1/4 cups fat-free soymilk or other non-dairy milk

Optional Cinnamon Crumb Topping:
1 teaspoon margarine
1/2 tablespoon demerara sugar
1/2 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
(Use a fork to combine until crumbly.)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a muffin pan with paper or silicone liners or spray well with non-stick spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk the Ener-G egg replacer powder with the water until foamy. Add the remaining wet ingredients and stir to combine.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir just until combined. Do not over-stir. Batter will be very heavy. Spoon into muffin cups, dividing batter equally among the cups. Sprinkle the center of each muffin with a little Cinnamon Crumb Topping, if desired, and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

As a special tribute to St. Patrick's Day (and to get my daughter and her friend to try the muffins) I sprinkled some of them with green sugar. It worked!



Makes 12 muffins. Each muffin without optional ingredients contains 126 Calories (kcal); trace Total Fat; (2% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 29g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 241mg Sodium; 3g Fiber.

With walnuts but without topping, each contains 142 Calories (kcal); 2g Total Fat; (11% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 30g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 241mg Sodium; 3g Fiber.

With walnuts and topping: 148 Calories (kcal); 2g Total Fat; (12% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 30g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 245mg Sodium; 3g Fiber.

Tags: vegan recipes vegetarian cooking food fat-free