Zucchini Muffin Recipe (dairy free)

‘Tis the season for get togethers — work parties, Sunday school parties, family reunions,Thanksgiving dinners, Christmas parties, Christmas dinners. . . The list goes on and on. One of the things many of these occasions have in common is everyone is expected to bring a dish. Potlucks abound and what do you bring? 

I don’t know about you, but with the exception of the Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations that are actually held at my home, most of my events are pretty far away geographically — anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours of driving. That adds an extra dynamic of difficulty because if you are bringing a hot dish, you either have to keep it hot en route or heat it when you get there, which isn’t always an option. So what do you do?

We had one of those events this weekend. I initially considered getting there super early and hoping there was room to reheat in the oven, but then I went through my trusty recipe box and found an old favorite that doesn’t need reheating, travels well, tastes delicious and has veggies in it — zucchini bread muffins. Here is my recipe in case you ever find yourself in need of it:

Zucchini Bread Muffins

Ingredients: 

• 3 zucchini, shredded
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cups olive oil
• 2 tsp vanilla 
• 1.5 cup sugar
• 2.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• Paper baking cups 

Directions:

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350. 
2. Put paper baking cups in muffin tins or grease with butter. 
3. Whisk eggs in large bowl. 
4. Add oil, vanilla and sugar and whisk again. 
5. Add zucchini and stir. 
6. In medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and baking soda. 
7. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until just blended. 
8. Spoon into muffin tins. 
9. Cook muffins 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 
10. Enjoy and repeat. 

The original recipe came from Emeril Legasse, but as is typical for me, I changed it to better suit me. I use more zucchini, and don’t use the nutmeg, lemon zest or walnuts. This recipe usually makes 18 muffins plus a small loaf (as in 3″ x 2″ x 2″ pan) or 21 muffins. Bonus, if it does not get consumed at the event, this dish is awesome as breakfast or a snack or a tea party the next couple of days (can you tell I mom girls?). . .