Apple Zucchini Muffins

I am a true muffin addict!  I crave these little guys.  I love all kinds...blueberry, chocolate chip, bran, morning glory, pumpkin...you name it!  I have so many muffin recipes that I am eager to try that I rarely make the same recipe twice, but I like these so much that they've become a favorite (and repeated!) recipe.  I think that this is the perfect muffin for August...a great way to use all that zucchini, and start eating some apples!  These are made with no butter or oil, but the zucchini and buttermilk keep them nice and moist.  I make mine in my mini-muffin pan, and they make great little snacks to pack and a delicious breakfast.  The original recipe calls for just white flour, but I mixed it half and half with some whole wheat flour, which works well with all the zucchini and apple.  But feel free to just use white.  Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Apple Zucchini Muffins

yields 12 regular sized muffins, and 24 mini-muffins

adapted from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics

Ingredients:

3/4 cup white flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oat bran

1  1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup buttermilk OR 3/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup grated zucchini (if your zucchini is quite watery, add in a couple Tbsp flour)

1 cup peeled, cored, and chopped apple (chop finely for mini-muffins)

cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray the muffin pan with cooking spray, and use paper liners if desired.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt.

3. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until they are pale yellow.  Add the brown sugar, buttermilk (or yogurt), and vanilla.  Mix thoroughly.  Fold in the zucchini and apples.

4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just blended.

5. Fill each muffin cup so that it is about 2/3 full.  (A cookie scoop or ice cream scoop is excellent for this task.)  For regular sized muffins, bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center of a muffin comes out dry.  For mini-muffins, bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan, and bake for another 5-10 minutes.