Alright, so today I’m gonna spill the beans on my latest kitchen adventure: vegan gluten-free zucchini muffins. Let me tell you, it was a journey!
It all started last weekend. I had, like, a mountain of zucchini staring me down from the fridge. You know how it is, you plant one zucchini plant and suddenly you’re drowning in green squash. I was scrolling through Pinterest, trying to find something, anything, other than zucchini bread to make. That’s when I stumbled upon a recipe for vegan gluten-free zucchini muffins. Sounded healthy-ish and I was game to try.
First things first, gathering the troops. I raided my pantry and realized I was out of almond flour. Cue mini panic attack. Ended up subbing it with a mix of oat flour and a bit of tapioca starch I had lying around. Improvise, adapt, overcome, right?
The original recipe called for flax eggs, which I actually remembered to make ahead of time. Mixed the flaxseed meal with water and let it sit for a bit until it got all gloopy. Looked kinda gross, but hey, it works.
Next up, grating the zucchini. This is where things got a little messy. I always underestimate how much water zucchini holds. I squeezed out as much as I could with a tea towel, but honestly, I probably could have done a better job. Keep that in mind; Squeeze that zucchini dry!
Then came the mixing. I threw all the dry ingredients into one bowl, the wet into another, and then combined them. The batter looked…interesting. A little on the thin side, probably because of the zucchini water. I debated adding more flour, but I decided to stick to the recipe (mostly). I did add a dash of cinnamon because, why not?
I preheated my oven and lined my muffin tin with those paper liners. Poured the batter in, filled them about ¾ full. I sprinkled some pumpkin seeds on top for a little extra crunch and popped them in the oven.
Now, the baking time. The recipe said 20-25 minutes. I checked them at 20, and they were still pretty soft. I ended up baking them for closer to 30 minutes, until a toothpick came out clean.
And the grand finale? They actually turned out pretty good! Not gonna lie, they were a little denser than I was expecting, probably because of the oat flour. But they were moist, slightly sweet, and had a nice hint of cinnamon. The pumpkin seeds added a nice textural contrast. I’d totally make them again, maybe with a little tweak to the flour ratio. I’m thinking next time I’ll try a bit of brown rice flour.
Here are a few takeaways from my little baking experiment:
- Don’t underestimate the water content of zucchini. Squeeze it out really well!
- Oat flour works in a pinch, but it can make things a bit dense.
- Cinnamon makes everything better.
Overall, it was a fun and successful baking adventure. Next time, I’ll be sure to invite you all to share!
