Cardamom Zucchini Muffins

When I was little, our backyard was one giant hill that sloped down away from the house and was covered with yellow with cheery dandelions in the spring and perfect for sledding the few times that we got snow in the winter.  My mother kept a garden at the far right corner of the backyard, at the spot where the hill began to level out a bit.  She always grew tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers, along with a smattering of other vegetables.  The zucchinis always seemed to be prolific, and we spent our summers eating them in every way possible.

At some point, we would head off for vacation, and one of the neighbors would kindly tend the garden in our absence.  We were on one of those vacations when a zucchini went off the grid. 

It started off innocently enough; the zucchini in question managed to escape the eyes of the attentive neighbor for the majority of our trip.  We've all been there, right?  You peep through the leaves and see nothing, but 24 hours later a giant zucchini is sitting there taunting you because your refrigerator is already overflowing with green torpedoes.

 

This particular zucchini patiently sat there, biding its time, quietly growing larger and larger.  When our neighbor parted the leaves and finally discovered it, our vacation was almost over, so she left it as a surprise for us.

Upon our return, the zucchini had reached an epic proportion.  It probably weighed more than ten pounds and was larger than a two-liter bottle.  And what is a family to do with a blue ribbon zucchini of that magnitude?  Our normal preparation methods were no match for it.  Instead, we did what any other normal family with an overabundance of zucchini did in the early 90's:  we doorbell ditched it.  We dressed it up in some old baby clothes, wrapped it in a blanket, put it in a basket, wrote an accompanying note, and waited for the sun to go down.

 

Once it was sufficiently dark, we drove to a friend's house, put the basket on the porch, rang the bell, and ran off to hide in the bushes and watch the action.  Ahh, the excitement of zucchini offloading!  The few seconds between ditching and the reward of the door opening were fraught with anticipation.  Our friends were home and were quite surprised by their newest family member.  They got their revenge when they sent us back the seeds the next year.

So, perhaps now that we are in the peak of summer, you find yourself in a similar situation where only a new recipe can save you from abandoning zucchini on the doorsteps of your friends.  What I like about this recipe is that you can use a larger zucchini - one of those ones that escape your notice at first and end up having larger seeds.  All you need to do is just scrape the seeds out, and you'll be set.  And since you'll be combining a vegetable and whole wheat flour, you can give yourself a little pat on the back for making something closer to the wholesome end of the baking spectrum. 

Notes:
If you're not into mini muffins, you can make these as regular sized muffins or even as a loaf; you'll just have to increase the baking time.  If you don't want to use muffin liners, make sure you really are attentive and very generous when greasing and flouring the pans.  I like my muffins to have a nice rounded top, so I overfill them a bit.  To ensure that the tops don't stick to the pan, I grease and flour the top of the pan as well.  If your zucchini has large seeds (this happens when you have a large zucchini, but shouldn't be an issue if you're using smaller ones), scoop them out and throw them away.  I measured the pound of zucchini after I had removed the seeds and cut it into pieces.  If you don't have white whole wheat flour, you can use regular whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour instead.  I used Fage 0% Greek yogurt, but you could use whole milk Greek-style yogurt or whole milk regular yogurt as well.  If you don't have a food processor, you can grate the zucchini with a box grater and then toss it with the sugar.  The sugar helps to pull the moisture out of the zucchini so your muffins aren't soggy.  These freeze well. 

Adapted from The New Best Recipe: All-New Edition

Ingredients:
1 pound zucchini, cut into chunks (seeds removed prior to weighing if seeds are large)
¾ cups granulated sugar, divided use
1½ cups white whole wheat flour
½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼-½ teaspoon ground cardamom, to taste
¼ cup plain Greek-style yogurt
2 eggs, beaten lightly
juice of 1 lemon (~1 tablespoon)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
sanding sugar (optional)

Yields 30-34 mini muffins

Process, Drain:
Place the cut zucchini into the bowl of a food processor.  Measure out the granulated sugar and place it in a separate large bowl.  Remove two tablespoons of the sugar, and add it to the food processor with the zucchini.  Set the remaining sugar aside for later.  Process the zucchini and 2 tablespoons of sugar by pulsing it multiple times until the zucchini is finely shredded (but not puréed!).  Transfer the zucchini to a fine mesh strainer, place the strainer over a medium-sized bowl, and allow the zucchini to drain for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Prepare the other ingredients while the zucchini drains. 

Mix, Scoop, Bake:
Place your oven racks at the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and preheat to 350°F.  Generously butter and flour about 34 mini muffin tin wells and the pan tops, and set aside.  If you're using muffin cups, there is no need to grease and flour the pan; just place a muffin cup in each well.  In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining sugar (¾ cup minus 2 tablespoons), flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cardamom, and set aside.  In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, lemon juice, melted (and slightly cooled) butter, and vanilla until the mixture is fairly homogenous.  Once the zucchini has rested for 30 minutes, squeeze it with a paper towel or clean dishtowel to remove any remaining excess moisture.  Discard the liquid that drained out.  Stir the zucchini into the wet ingredients.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir just until mixed.  Use a cookie scoop or two teaspoons to transfer the batter into the prepared muffin tins.  (Alternatively, you can also use a Ziplock bag with the corner cut off for tidy distribution of the batter.  A cookie scoop though, is by far the easiest method.)  Sprinkle each top with some sanding or decorating sugar.  Bake at 350°F for 10-15 minutes until the tops are a light golden brown color and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow the muffins to rest for 1-2 minutes in the pan and then run a thin knife around the edges to gently dislodge them from the pan.  Eat while warm or allow to cool on a wire rack.  Store cooled leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container for a day or two, or pop them in the freezer for future snacking.

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