Food Friday: Banana Zucchini Muffins

Yesterday I saw some muffins that Sherry M made and for which she posted a picture on Facebook.  They looked excellent.  I asked if it was a secret recipe and she immediately posted it.  I wanted to make those muffins right away.

Today I went to the Food Lion on my way home and picked up several beautiful zucchinis that were in the front of the store, right behind the hot table that sits there tempting me with Southern Fried Chicken and other delicious-looking fried foods that I almost always manage to avoid...but it is a sore temptation.  Food Lion is cruel to place that hot table at the very front of the store.  In my opinion...

The zucchinis were nice and fresh so I got enough to make the muffins plus some zoodles which we will have tomorrow for supper.

Here is Sherry's recipe:

Zucchini Banana Muffins by Sherry W

½ cup butter, melted
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 medium banana, mashed
1 ½ cups grated zucchini
1 ½ cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Add sugars, egg, and vanilla to melted butter.

Stir in mashed banana and grated zucchini.

Stir in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Divide batter into muffin cups, and bake for about 20 minutes.

The only things I did differently were that I added the last of our freezer walnuts, chopped, then in the second silicon pan of muffins I added chocolate chips.  Dear One feels chocolate chips only belong in Chocolate Chip Cookies...so tomorrow when he goes out to serve with the missionary elders I will bag up those chocolate chip banana zucchini muffins for the Elders.  If there are any still there when morning comes.  

As you can see, I put them into silicon pans.  The idea I am working from recently is that the less added fat we eat, the better for our health.  There is no need to grease silicon.  The only glitch in that system is that you/I need to remember that the food needs to sit in the pan for fifteen minutes AT LEAST after removing from the oven to cool down.  If you do not wait, then only part of the baked treat will come out of the muffin cup.  This is most annoying...and not because of the pans but because I forget to let them sit.

You will notice that I cooked the muffins in the silicon pan but put the pans on a cookie sheet to slide into the oven.  ALWAYS use a pan under silicon unless you love messes to clean up when you try to put the floppy pan in the oven by itself!  That is my experience, anyway.

These muffins are quick, easy, and so moist and delicious. (And who doesn't have a banana that is too ripe to enjoy eating by itself and just is calling out to be in a recipe like this?!) I only ate one and had to remove myself from the kitchen immediately or fall prey to temptation again...

Mission: Valentine Treat Attempts

Valentine Day is a great time to make chocolate treats to share around with friends.  I have been collecting heart-shaped tins and silicon molds for years.  Since I got to Oregon I have collected more!

This morning I tried to make some chocolate wafers to share at the office.  I used the 10-heart pan with decorated bottoms which will become the tops.

This is what I did:

Turned on the oven to 350 degrees F. since this silicon pan can be used in the oven.

Placed 6 Wilton Candy Melts wafers in each well.

Place silicon mold onto a cookie sheet.

Placed in the pre-heated oven for 3 minutes.

Removed from oven.

Picked the silicon pan up by the edges and whacked it onto the counter several times.

Not all the wafers had totally melted so I put it back in the oven for 1 minute.

Removed from oven and whacked on counter top again.  They seemed perfectly melted.

Placed cookie sheet and pan in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Not long enough.

Placed cookie sheet and pan BACK in refrigerator for 20 MORE minutes.

Pushed out of the pan without breaking the pan.

Next I tried putting only 3 wafers in each heart well as the other ones seemed too thick. (You counted them, didn't you!  And found one was missing.  Yes, that was me. I should have asked Dear One to try it. Oh well. He will have a chance.)

This batch I only put in oven for 2 minutes.  They were ready to go into the refrigerator with a few whacks on the countertop.

After 10 minutes in the ready to come out of the refrigerator.

There was some breakage here so I decided to try 4 wafers on the next batch...but that will be the last batch for now.  I can't keep getting up from the computer to check.  The timer is such a help but the time goes by REALLY fast when you are trying to do other things....

For the 4-wafer attempt...I put them in the oven for 2 1/2 minutes.  They could probably have used another few seconds.  I used the end of a spoon handle to stir them around a bit.  I had started house a toothpick when I remembered the instructions : use no sharp objects with silicon pans!  I was able to stir in the last of the slightly unmelted wafers then whacked them again and put in refrigerator for 10 minutes.