Muffins

     Last week I made these chocolate chip muffins for a breakfast with a few students at school.  I packed one in Wren's lunchbox as a special treat and my mom sent me a picture of her loving it.  This inspired me to explore healthier options for muffins.  I did a little research and purchased a mini muffin tin.  Our first batch of mini muffins were zucchini and applesauce.  Wren ate two in one sitting.  They were a perfect size and she was one happy babe.

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients
3 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup chocolate chips
coarse sugar for sprinkling

Method
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
1. Toss flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl.  Set aside.
2.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar.  Then mix in the milk, oil, and vanilla.  Fold in the dry ingredients and mix using a wooden spoon.  Be careful not to overmix. 
3. Fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Pour the batter into a muffin tin lined with liners or sprayed with cooking spray.  Top with coarse sugar.
5. Bake at 425 for 5 minutes.  Without removing the pan, reduce the temperature to 375.  Baker for 25-26 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are golden.
6. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Zucchini Applesauce Mini Muffins

*I cut this recipe in half and made 24 mini muffins
Ingredients
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup applesauce-I used unsweetened
2 large eggs
1/3 cup walnut or flaxseed oil
1 1/4 tbsp vanilla

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Combine the flour, sugars, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder in a large bowl. 
2. Mix the zucchini, applesauce, eggs, oil, and vanilla in a separate bowl.  Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
3. Fill muffin tins, lined or sprayed with cooking spray, 3/4 full.  If using mini muffin tin, bake for 10 minutes.  For regular muffins, bake 17 minutes.