Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Muffins - Allergy Friendly
If you garden or even live next door to a gardener, you know the prolific magic of zucchini. You can pick a zucchini plant clean one day, have a nice summer rain shower overnight, and literally out of nowhere you’re suddenly swimming in zucchini again. It is AMAZING because you can plant just one or two plants and have plenty to share with the whole neighborhood. If I’m honest, it also means you get pretty stinkin’ sick of eating zucchini, too.
This summer we were finally able to keep the southern scourge of squash bugs at bay and had a wonderful summer squash and zucchini harvest for a couple months. I was able to freeze some, dehydrate some, give away baskets full, all while still eating it fresh almost daily. I decided to start trying new recipes. We have a go-to zucchini bread/muffin recipe that we LOVE, and I made several batches for the freezer, but even those got a little boring. Then I tried a new combination: lemon and blueberries. Blueberry muffins are our FAVORITE. Zucchini adds the perfect moisture to ANY muffin. And lemon? Just add lemon to anything and it will probably taste better. Alas, these HAD to be good. How could they not be good? (Spoiler alert: THEY WERE AMAZING!)
I spent the rest of zucchini season perfecting my tweaks on the recipe, all while promising all across social media to share the magical combination. But summer, third trimester of pregnancy, and large family life has a way of stealing every bit of time and energy from your grasp even with the best intentions. The last post here on my blog was in June. IT’S SEPTEMBER! See what I mean?
So here we are, at long last, with my lemon blueberry zucchini muffins. Surely someone, somewhere is still inundated with zucchini, stealthily dropping it off on neighborhood porches and in food pantry baskets just to be rid of it because they’re so dang sick of eating zucchini. If that’s you, try this. I’ve included instructions for making it gluten free and dairy free, so they can be made pretty allergy safe, too.
Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients:
- 3 Large Eggs
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract OR 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- The Zest of Two Lemons
- 1 Cup of Butter or Oil
- 2 Cups Shredded Zucchini, Excess Liquid Squeezed Out
- 3 Cups All Purpose Flour OR 1-to-1 Gluten Free Flour Substitute
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
- 1/8 Cup Sugar
- Zest of 1 Lemon
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375° F
- In a large mixing bowl, add eggs, sugar, vanilla(or lemon juice), zest of two lemons, and butter. When it's thoroughly combined, add the shredded zucchini. Mix completely, then add the dry ingredients: Flour, salt, and baking soda. Carefully combine these, ensuring there are no dry pockets of flour remaining.
- Oil or line a muffin tin, and scoop batter into the prepared tin.
- Combine the 1/8 cup sugar and zest of one lemon in a small bowl, and sprinkle on top of the uncooked muffins.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until tops are golden brown and centers are just firm to touch.