Zucchini season is upon us and although my two plants aren’t producing like crazy (one plant has only male flowers), my parents’ are and I also had a ton on hand from the farmers market on Saturday. I had been craving zucchini bread since my mom made a batch and posted the photos on Facebook. I hadn’t had it in over 6 years and I had never made it myself, especially not gluten-free. So, I decided to try substituting the blueberries in the blueberry muffin recipe that I used recently, with shredded zucchini and adding in the appropriate spices. It was an experiment that I am happy to say worked wonderfully. These muffins are so moist and fluffy, they work equally as well for breakfast as they do for a light dessert. Karina’s gluten-free muffin recipe is so versatile, I can’t wait to keep experimenting with it. As with the blueberry muffin recipe that I posted, you can easily make these muffins vegan by using Ener-G Egg Replacer instead of eggs, 1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer whisked with 1/4 cup warm water till frothy.

Gluten-Free Zucchini Muffins with Almond Flour
makes a baker’s dozen
adapted from Gluten Free Goddess

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.

Whisk together:

1 1/3 cups almond meal (I used Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour)
1 cup sorghum (or brown rice flour, if desired)
1/2 cup tapioca starch or potato starch (not potato flour!)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

Beat in:

1 1/3 cups organic light brown sugar
2 tablespoons light olive oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 organic free-range egg whites (depending on the size, you are looking to get 1/4 cup of liquid), beaten until frothy
1/2 cup warm water, more as needed, up to 3/4 cup
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon dried ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Beat the batter until it is smooth, like a slightly thickened cake batter.

Add in:

2 cups grated fresh zucchini

Stir gently and briefly.

Plop the muffin batter into the twelve lined cups. You’ll probably have some xtra- for a baker’s dozen.

Bake in the center of a preheated oven for 23 to 25 minutes, until golden and firm to the touch. A wooden pick inserted into the center should emerge clean.

Cool the muffin pan on a wire rack for five minutes. Gently pop the muffins out to continue cooling on the rack (don’t cool them in the hot pan- they’ll get soggy). Sprinkle each muffin with a bit of organic raw sugar.

If your muffins are soggy or slightly underdone– due to unforeseen oven temperature variations– place them back into the warm oven directly on the center rack for five minutes or so.

Wrap and freeze cooled muffins for future breakfast treats.