Banana Pecan Zucchini Muffins

Almost a year ago, I shared this recipe for a vegan zucchini bread, all spiced up and filled with walnuts.   That recipe calls for two whole cups of shredded zucchini making it a perfect bread when you have a garden full of giant zuccs.

This banana pecan zucchini muffin recipe is much simpler, calling for only one zucchini and adds a banana for extra flavor and moisture. The original recipe came from a farmer friend in Vermont, who made her own adaptation of the version posted on Taste of Home. On Caitlin's recommendation, I swapped out vegetable oil for coconut oil and halved the sugar. I also split the entire recipe in half (the original makes two loaves or 24 muffins).

The moisture in these muffins is perfect. They are just a bit spicy with the cinnamon and you could easily add nutmeg and/or cloves if you want to really spice things up. I dig the pecans as well, and as always you can opt to leave them out or swap them for walnuts. 

Marionberry Crumb Muffins

Spending my summer in Oregon means heaping amounts of berries around the clock. It also means the curious marionberry, Oregon's famed berry. The marionberry is the 'Marion' cultivar of blackberry, developed by the USDA and Oregon State University and tested in Marion County, OR. One can find marionberry pie, muffins, scones, jams, etc. in every market and bakery around. It was my duty to get these berries into at least one of my treats this summer.

I adapted my recipe for orange blueberry poppy seed muffins that I posted last December. I realize that most of you reading do not have access to marionberries, so swap them for blackberries! Or at the very least, make the original blueberry muffins. The crumb topping is too delicious to pass up!

December Baking

December is a busy month in the kitchen. Between Christmas cookies and homemade gifts, my sink is always full of measuring cups, spatulas, and cookie sheets. Short, dark, cold days left me yearning for the tastes of summer at the beginning of the month. I broke into my frozen blueberry stash from July to make a batch of orange blueberry poppy seed muffins on December 8th. 

These muffins are a twist on Joy the Baker's lemon blueberry poppy seed muffins. I swapped the whole milk in Joy's recipe for soy and the lemon zest for orange. These muffins are moist and full of blueberries. If your blueberries are frozen to start, toss them with 1-2 tablespoons of flour in a bowl. This will help prevent your batter from turning blue.

When you begin to sprinkle the crumb topping over your muffin cups, you will be hesitant to use all the topping. Don't stop sprinkling! I was hesitant too, but I was so very happy I used it all.