Lemon Zucchini Muffins

I have just recently started following Two Peas and Their Pod.  A great site with reliable, delicious recipes.  This is one of them.

I just love the addition of lemon.  I think it gives the muffins a vibrant taste.

Instead of the bread shape, I made these into muffins and added chopped walnuts (my husband’s favorite).  Make sure you get LARGE lemons.  All that zest is just lovely.  And instead of olive oil, I used canola vegetable oil.  I did not use the glaze on the muffins but it sounds wonderful, enhancing that delicious lemony flavor 🙂

And this right now is my favorite  Grater.  It makes beautifully grated zucchini. I love it for Parmesan cheese, too.   It is super sharp and the grated food is light and fluffy, it’s just amazing.  Sometimes the right tool makes baking/cooking joyful:  this one does it for me 🙂

Lemon Zucchini Bread from Two Peas and Their Pod

3 cups flour (make sure to fluff up your flour with a large metal spatula or spoon before measuring to insure that your measuring is accurate)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup chopped walnut

2 cups sugar

zest of 2 LARGE lemons

3 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon)

1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups finely grated zucchini (from 3 small)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Canola oil spray 1, 12 cup muffin pan and 4 cups on another 12 cup muffin pan.  You will have sprayed 16 muffins cups.

In a very large bowl add the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.  Whisk together.  Add the chopped walnuts, stirring to disperse evenly.

In a medium bowl add the sugar and then add the lemon zest.  Stirring with a rubber spatula and then finally rubbing the sugar together with the zest with your fingers until combined and fragrant (what a delightful smell!).

In another large bowl, place the eggs, oil, lemon juice and vanilla.  Add the sugar/zest mixture and stir together with a whisk until combined.   Add this mixture to the flour/nut mixture and stir together until almost combined.  Then add the zucchini and stir until just combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the 16 muffin cups.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the center, when tested with a toothpick, comes out clean.  Let cool completely in the pan and then remove onto a cooling rack.

grating the zucchini with my awesome grater:

zesting the lemon:

adding zest to sugar:

chopped walnuts:

adding walnuts to flour mixture;

eggs, vegetable oil, lemon juice and vanilla:

stir the sugar mixture into the egg mixture (almost looks like lemon curd, mmmm):

mix the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients:

add the zucchini:

divide among muffin cups:

out of the oven:

delicious: flakes of zucchini and small chunks of walnut with a lemony zing!