I had a couple of pumpkin ideas in mind for this week. But I also had a couple of wrinkly near-rotten zucchini in my fridge. So zucchini won due to time sensitivity, but it’s all still squash anyways right?
That’s not really true. Squashes are a diverse bunch with all their shapes and shades and edible ambitions. You wouldn’t make a zucchini pie for Thanksgiving. You wouldn’t spiralize raw pumpkin into pumpkin zoodles (poodles?). Or would you?
Well I am pretty certain that you wouldn’t carve a face on a zucchini. Or would you?
Well you definitely wouldn’t put a candle inside a zucchini. You wouldn’t, there’s no room.
Tangential squash musings, sorry. Back to muffins…
Oaty. Oat flour is kinda my jam if you haven’t noticed by now. But this recipe has another oat ingredient: oat bran. Oat bran has about twice as much fiber per cup as rolled oats. And even if you’re a bran muffin hater, oat bran really doesn’t taste bran-y like wheat bran does. But it does add texture. And it definitely adds wholesomeness.
Zucchini squeezing. Zucchini has a surprising amount of liquid in it. So to avoid mushy muffins, we must…
Grate them.
Wrap them up.
Give them a towel hug.
Be amazed by how much zuc juice comes out (check it out in the video!)
The glaze. Sweet and tangy or just sweet, it’s up to you. There are 2 ways to make the glaze: with non-dairy milk or with non-dairy yogurt. Personally I prefer the sweet and tangy version with the yogurt, but in case you don’t have non-dairy yogurt around, or don’t want to use it, non-dairy milk works too. Both make for a superb sweet molasses-spiked sauce.
Zucchini Spice Muffins with Molasses Glaze
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 muffins 1x
Ingredients
- MUFFINS
- 2 medium zucchini
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1/2 cup oat bran (or more oat flour)
- 8–10 pitted medjool dates
- 2 tbsps molasses
- 2/3 cup non-dairy milk
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- GLAZE
- 2 tbsps non-dairy milk OR 3 tbsps non-dairy yogurt
- 1 tsp molasses
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar (blender-blitzed or store-bought)
Instructions
- FOR THE MUFFINS: Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Grate the zucchini by hand or use a food processor. With a towel or nut milk bag, squeeze out the excess liquid. Set aside.
- Blend the non-dairy milk, molasses, and dates on high until smooth.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, oat bran, baking powder, and spices.
- Add the zucchini and wet ingredients to the mixing bowl. Stir together until combined.
- Divide the batter between 6 muffin tins, filling each 2/3 of the way. Use muffin liners or lightly grease with coconut oil.
- Bake for 20-22 mins at 350F until the center bounces back when lightly pressed.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool.
- FOR THE GLAZE: Whisk together all the ingredients. If it is too thin, add more sugar. If it is too thick, add a tiny bit more yogurt/milk. Refrigerate for an even thicker consistency.
- Once the muffins are completely cool, top them with glaze. Serve immediately.
I noticed your zucchini was kinda dieing…but you saved it!!!
And I’d totally drink that zucchini juice 😉 Add some chia to it and it’s like homemade Momma Chia drink!
Anyway….zucchini muffins are my kinda muffins obviously…..if only we had zucchini FLOUR….that would be bomb…..
I wish I could feast on these fruity freastable muffins with you over some coffee (or tea) <3
Zucchini is a fruit by the way 😉 Isn't that awesome!!
Even though deep in my mind I know zucchini is a fruit, it still kinda messes with my mind whenever I think about it! But I”m gonna still count it as a serving of veggies, okay? Good! I love zucchini, even if I neglect it and leave it in my fridge for 2 weeks, and then it looks all raisin-y in its on-screen appearance 🙂
Zucchini chia juice sounds very disturbing to me, I”ll let you try that one first lol!
ZUCCHINI FLOUR!!! You need to make that! Drop out of school, open a production facility, get on it! Or just persuasively encourage Anti Grain to do it. Since you are good with the requests (demands) 😉
I vote muffins + coffee…tea is not my thing :p Except matcha, that’s yummy <3
I thought you didn’t like coffee!?
I like coffee, i just don’t drink it regularly. And I don’t like it black…I need a little bit of sweetener and milk 🙂
I love zucchini muffins, but that glaze!!!! Love the idea of molasses in it. Yum!
Thanks Jenn! I’m trying to up my molasses usage 🙂
That glaze!!! I love it! Molasses + baked goods is my jam! Zucchini is a super squash in my books. You can just do so much with it! Going on my must try list for sure!!
Supersquash, I love that!!! It totally is though, zucchini can do so many things! Molasses is the best, I know it doesn’t have to just be for the fall/winter, but it feels seasonal to me right now. I think that’s just because it makes me think of gingerbread 😀 haha Which I LOVE! Thanks Melissa!
I only just realised you’re on YouTube! Loving your videos 😀 I just subscribed and left you a comment 🙂
Aww thanks Nadia, yes I was so happy to see your comment over there! I so, so appreciate your support! I haven’t been super consistent with the videos, but I’m trying to make them more often. I love your videos, I think I found you on YT first actually before I found you blog. Your videos are so well done, and I love your narration voice, it’s perfect 🙂
One year for Halloween the grocery store had run out of pumpkins so instead my mum bought orange bell peppers for us to carve and put a candle in.
Thee look so good! And that glaze. hubba hubba!
(I also noticed that the URL for these says donuts, a little change in plans?? heheh)
Ahh the URL gave me away! Yeah they were donuts at first, then the donuts got stuck in the pan, and I got annoyed, so I trashed them and replaced them with muffins. Haha Much more reliable 🙂 OMG your bell peppers sound awesome, I wish I could see them! That’s actually a really great idea, they look similar and still festive, yet SO much easier to carve!!! I kinda want to try that now…and then the next day you could chop them up and make fajitas!
Love the idea of giving the zucchini a towel hug…..made me smile. Poor zucchini’s, they seem to get neglected from time to time, so I bet it loved the hug! 🙂
With all the extra zucchini this year I pickled them, kind of a sweet pickle, with cloves & cinnamon. Sounded a bit odd the first time I read about it, but now I can jars of them for the winter.
Have a great weekend!
Zucchini pickles!?! That is brilliant! I love pickles, but I’ve never made them myself. Zucchini is so neutral in flavor though, I could totally see where zucchini pickles would work! And heck they already have the right shape and color 🙂 New creative uses like that are another form of zucchini love <3
Those are gorgeous! I love the little bits of zucchini peeking through! Oh and the molasses glaze looks so good too! <3 Yumm!
Thanks Bianca! I know I didn’t want to process the zucchini too much because I love those little green flecks 🙂
Oh I’m pretty sure I could carve a face in our zucchini 😀 We forgot to harvest one and it got so big I might even fit a candle inside 🙂 Anyway, I love those muffins! I tend to stuff oat bran into anything because of how healthy and surprisingly tasty it is! Plus the glaze of yours? Totally amazing <3
★★★★★
Homegrown zucchini can get massive 😮 My aunt gave us some this year and they were the size of a small baby! I can only imagine how humongous your zucchini monster is…maybe you should carve it them 😀 haha I’m with ya on the oat bran stuffing, a new find for me but I’m loving it! And yes the glaze…it’s heavenly <3 Thanks Lucie!
These sound and look so good Natalie! I LOVE zucchini in desserts and well, that molasses glaze I think I could just eat it with a spoon! Seriously! I love molasses! The whole recipe looks so delicious and satisfying. Awesome recipe!
Thanks Brandi, and me too! When I see zucchini my mind immediately goes to baking! And the leftover glaze is definitely a by the spoonful situation 😉
These look so delicious and moist, Natalie! 🙂 I love baking with zucchini! And that molasses glaze looks amazing!
Thanks Sina! Zucchini is awesome in baking, it adds so much moisture and those pretty green flecks 🙂
Wow Natalie! This looks delicious! And that molasses glaze…yum!
Thanks Anjali! I know, the glaze is so yummy, I think I’m going to put it on everything this fall/winter 🙂
YUUUUMMMMMMMM!!!!!! These are so stunning Natalie. They look delicious! I can’t get over the molasses glaze, it sounds amazing – I can see myself eating spoonfuls and spoonfuls of it. Such beautiful little treats <3
★★★★★
Thanks Harriet! Yeah me too, but then again I can eat just straight molasses by the spoonful so maybe I just have a problem 😀 haha
I laughed at your intro paragraph. That’s the story of my life. I have so many plans for things I’d like to make, but instead I’m always rushing to save all the stuff that will go bad if unused…
Well, this was a very nice zucchini save 🙂 The muffins look delicious and that glaze sounds amazing — love molasses!
Produce saving is a full time job! I already have some nearly dead zucchini in the fridge again! Muffins, smoothies, or the freezer, those are my go-to rescue methods 🙂 Thanks Audrey, and the glaze is amazing. Although I’d be just as happy with just a drizzle of straight up molasses like your pumpkin porridge was sporting 🙂
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How would you recommend baking this in a loaf pan to make zucchini bread?
I wouldn’t recommend this recipe in a loaf pan, the center will not cook through properly. You could bake it in a cake pan though since that will make it thinner and cook through better. I would recommend a lower temp (300 or 325F) and I would estimate about 30-35 mins.
Who knew a muffin without eggs, dairy, or wheat flour could be so delicious! Thanks for the recipe, Natalie!
Absolutely!! I’m so happy you like them Erin 🙂