Thursday Treats: Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins {Flour + Inspired}

Remember the post of the best banana bread recipe of all time? And, I seriously mean "all time" :D The secret, in my opinion, is the use of very, very, very ripe bananas as well as the mixing technique. Anyway, my friend had given me a zucchini, and the only way I'll eat that veggie is in [sweet] bread form, so I decided to substitute zucchini for bananas in my favourite banana bread recipe.

Can anyone say superb? These were just as delicious and moist. Another keeper.

Flour's Famous Banana Zucchini Bread

Flour

Joanne & Elsa

1&1/2 c unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. kosher salt {I just used regular table salt}

1 c. plus 2 TBS sugar

1/2 c canola oil

1 large zucchini, finely grated [to peel or not to peel--that's up to you] and dried--you want very little liquid, if at all.

2 TBS creme fraiche or sour cream {I haven't made creme fraiche yet, so I just used sour cream}

1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs

3/4 walnut halves, toasted and chopped {I left these out and added chocolate chips}

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9x5in loaf pan. Or line standard muffin tins.

2. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

3. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment {or a handheld mixer}, beat together the sugar and eggs on medium speed for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. {If you are using a handheld mixer, this same step will take about 8 minutes}

4. On low speed, slowly drizzle in the oil. Don't pour the oil in all at once. Add it slowly so it has time to incorporate in the the eggs and doesn't deflate the air you have just beaten into the batter. Adding it should take about 1 minute. Add the zucchini, creme fraiche, and vanilla and continue to mix on low speed just until combined.

5. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture and nuts{chocolate chips :D} just until thoroughly combined. No flour streaks should be visible and the nuts should be evenly distributed. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.

6. Bake for 1 to 1&1/4 hours, or until golden brown on top and the center springs back when you press it. The muffins take 20-30 minutes depending on how much you fill the cups & the temperament of your oven :D If your finger sinks when you poke the bread, it needs to bake a little longer. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes, and then pop it out of the pan to finish cooling.

7.The banana bread can be stored tightly wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days. Or, it can be well wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 2 weeks; thaw overnight at room temperature for serving.

Enjoy!

Flour's Famous Banana Bread

I thought I had found a really good banana bread/muffin recipe...until I found Flour's Famous Banana Bread.....NOW my search is complete!

This recipe was created by Joanne Chang when her Mom would buy a lot of bananas and try getting the kids to eat them--it was a protection thing :) Good thing for us they had a lot of banana's in their household!

This is THE best recipe I've tried for banana bread, and I've tried quite a few. It is light, has beautiful crumb, and out of this world flavour {I let my banana's get black, black...D asked if I was trying to make vanilla beans ;)}. I made them Sunday morning, and they were gone the next day.

They are that good.

I'm not a fan of nuts in most of my baking, so I omitted them from this recipe. But, you feel free to do what you want :)

Flour's Famous Banana Bread

{Makes one 9-inch loaf}

1&1/2 c unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. kosher salt {I just used regular table salt}

1 c. plus 2 TBS sugar

1/2 c canola oil
2 eggs

3&1/2 very ripe, medium bananas, peeled and mashed {1&1/3 c mashed}

2 TBS creme fraiche or sour cream {I haven't made creme fraiche yet, so I just used sour cream}

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 walnut halves, toasted and chopped {I left these out and added chocolate chips to have the batch}

>>Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9x5in loaf pan.

>>In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

>>Using a stand mixer fitted witht he whip attachment {or a handheld mixer}, beat together the sugar and eggs on medium speed for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. {If you are using a handheld mixer, this same step will take about 8 minutes}

>>On low speed, slowly drizzle in the oil. Don't pour the oil in all at once. Add it slowly so it has time to incorporate in the the eggs and doesn't deflate the air you have just beaten into the batter. Adding it should take about 1 minute. Add the bananas, creme fraiche, and vanilla and continue to mix on low speed just until combined.

>>Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture and nuts{chocolate chips :D} just until thoroughly combined. No flour streaks should be visible and the nuts should be evenly distributed. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.

>>Bake for 1 to 1&1/4 hours, or until golden brown on top and the center springs back when you press it. If your finger sinks when you poke the bread, it needs to bake a little longer. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes, and then pop it out of the pan to finish cooling.

>>The banana bread can be stored tightly wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days. Or, it can be well wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 2 weeks; thaw overnight at room temperature for serving.

So, so, so very yummy!

This recipe comes from the book: flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe.....love this book! I highly recommend it for the gorgeous pictures, Joanne's essential baking tips, and mouth-watering collection of almost 150 recipes from Flour.

I can't wait to try the rest of her recipes! So many delectable choices :)