It’s that time of year again when you get that glut of zucchini from the CSA. And they’re not small zucchini but big monstrosities. So what to do but bake with some of it?

I’d pinned this recipe from Cooking Light for Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread a while ago so decided to give it a try … with some tweaks.

You see, while I love quick breads, I find the portioning of them difficult when trying to count Weight Watcher points. So based upon suggestions in some of the reviews, I decided to make muffins again. Then, to give them a little more zing, I added more cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne (I may actually increase the cayenne a bit on the next batch) as well as some instant espresso powder to emphasize the chocolate. Lastly, I used mini chocolate chips instead of regular ones to spread the chocolatey goodness throughout.  It makes 16 muffins, using a large scoop (from Papered Chef). They came in at 4 Weight Watcher PPV each.

Mexican Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

I also did some as Muffin tops with 1 1/2 scoops – 6ppv

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup natural applesauce
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 heaping teaspoon (measuring teaspoon) ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon instant espresso
  • pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups finely shredded zucchini
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place first three ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed (4 on my KitchenAide) speed until well blended. Stir in applesauce.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next six ingredients (through salt), stir well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, stirring until moist. Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Spoon batter into lined muffin cups or unlined coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes (mine were done at 20) or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack, and remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.