Zucchini chocolate chip muffins

by Vicky Here's a great kid-friendly muffin recipe that contains not only chocolate chips, but zucchini! They're great for after school snacks, or to take on playdates. I can't take credit for them though, they came from Shannon's blog 'Crafty Mom Cooks'. Check out her blog for some really great recipes the whole family will enjoy.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 egg, lightly beaten 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup milk 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup shredded zucchini 1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. I'm a big fan of Epicure, and I really love their cinnamon and real vanilla extract so those are the ones I used.

Also I used brown sugar, but you can use white if you prefer.

Combine the egg, oil, milk, lemon juice and vanilla; mix well and set aside. Stir into dry ingredients. Add the zucchini, chocolate chips and walnuts (which I skipped this time). I use the finest grater I have for the zucchini, which makes it disappear into the muffins, (not that I'm trying to deceive anyone).

Fill greased muffin tin. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden brown on the top.

I was trying out my Pampered Chef muffin stone for the first time, and muffins tend to stick until it's well seasoned, which is why I used muffin cups, but you can make these without the cups. These muffins are moist and really tasty. They don't last long in our house! I'm sure I'll be making them weekly come September once Joel starts school (eep!)

(Photo courtesy of A Crafty Mom Cooks)