Double Chocolate Coconut oil Zucchini Muffins with Caramelized Buckwheat.
I made us something healthy…and on a Friday too!
Wait, what?!?
I did, I know these look like chocolate heaven (cause they are!), but they are actually full of all healthy ingredients. Double fist pump, please.
Healthy things like zucchini (a whole cup full, that no one but you really needs to know about), buckwheat, coconut oil, cacao powder and ok a lot of dark chocolate. Clearly, I am a firm believer that good dark chocolate is also very good for your health…and don’t try to tell me otherwise…I most likely will not listen.
Bratty much? Yes, but it is sort of the truth. I just tell it like it is.
SO. I am having a huge moment with zucchini. Well actually, all the summer veggies, but I am pretty positive I said this all yesterday. I guess I am just trying to give you guys fair warning that I have a heck of a lot of zucchini, corn and tomatoes recipe forming in my little head and, well, I have every intention of executing each and every once of them. Basically, I think I can go strong through mid September at which time I might start swapping in things like apples, squash and pumpkins. I will try my best to wait until October, but I can never say never.
Oh but umm, I am kind of exited for apple and pumpkin season. Don’t hate me for saying that, but I am not getting a whole lot of summer here where I am (although today is sunny and warmish and the next couple days are supposed to be more of the same – yeah!), so fall has been slightly on my brain. But only just a little, I swear I am still all about SUMMER!
Ok and speaking of summer, we have had quite a bit of mountain thunderstorms rolling through, but yesterday the sun popped out just in time for a little five o’clock photo session with the chickens (who we now just call the girls). I called up dad, told him his modeling abilities were needed and to come over ASAP for some photos. I then proceeded to boss him around, get him in just the right spot, with just the right light and then make him stand still for a good twenty minutes while holding a chicken (photos coming later)…
And you know, most anyone I know would complain about this, but not my dad. He was kind of in his element. Plus, I think he really loves me a whole lot. As he says, “anything for the shot, Tieg”. I mean come on… I know, I got it real good!
Also, thinking about adding some roosters to the chicken coop…it’s cool though cause I really could use a new alarm clock.
Sidetrack talking over… back to these double chocolate coconut oil zucchini muffins!
Here’s the deal, they are really pretty simple. The recipe is completely gluten-free as written. I used a combo of buckwheat and coconut flour, but if you don’t have a gluten intolerance, you can simply use equal amounts of white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour for the buckwheat and all-purpose flour in place of the coconut flour. Whatever works best for you will be great. I personally love the heartiness the buckwheat gives these muffins and I of course love the coconut flavor too, but you get that flavor from the coconut oil as well.
The zucchini however is a must. Not only does it add great nutritional value, it also keeps these muffins extra moist. AND if you happen to have a boatload of zucchini, I could not think of a better way of using it.
See, this is one chocolate muffin you do not have to feel guilty about.
Count me in…times like five.
I also added a crunchy topping too. I just felt like a little added texture was needed and I LOVE caramelizing things, so I went with it. If you do not regularly buy buckwheat groats you can just use your favorite nut. I think pecans or pistachios would be awesome!!
OH, and one of the most important things I do with this recipe is to add a little (or a lot…hey, it is Friday) chopped chocolate to the top of the muffins right as they come out of the oven. Then the chocolate melts and creates, well, basically magic. I will not lie, trying not to eat these straight out of the pan is pretty much impossible.
Just add cold milk and you are good to go.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Double Chocolate Coconut oil Zucchini Muffins with Caramelized Buckwheat.
By halfbakedharvest
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate, coconut, muffins, zucchini
I know these look like chocolate heaven (cause they are!), but they are actually full of all healthy ingredients. Double fist pump, please.
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded zucchini about 1 large or 2 small zucchini
- 3/4 cup buckwheat flour or white whole flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour or all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup coconut oil melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 4 ounces dark chocolate chopped + more for topping if desired
Caramelized Buckwheat
- 1/2 cup raw buckwheat groats*
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners or grease with cooking spray.
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Lay a clean kitchen towel on the counter and spread the zucchini out on the towel, cover with another clean towel and let sit 10 minutes.
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Meanwhile, combine the buckwheat flour, coconut flour, cacao or cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl wisk together the honey, coconut oil, vanilla, eggs and buttermilk. Stir in the shredded zucchini. Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined. It is ok if there are still some clumps. Stir in the the chopped chocolate.
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Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. In the same small bowl, stir together the buckwheat groats, maple syrup, coconut oil and a small pinch of salt. Sprinkle the mix overtop of the muffins.
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Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. When the muffins come out of the oven, I like to sprinkle them with a little chopped chocolate and serve them warm.
Recipe Notes
*if you prefer, you can soak your buckwheat groats overnight to get more nutrients out of them and make digesting the buckwheat easier, but I honestly never do this because I just forget.
Seriously? That chocolate situation. The best.
Oh my giddy goodness these look like the best muffins I’ve ever seen. I’m actually salivating here…. embarrasing much haha!
Totally Agree! I’ve had zucchini muffins before but these look unbelievable. I have zucchini right now from the garden and I know what I’m going to do with them. Happy Friday!
Tieghan, you’re killing me here!! These look really good. I recently tried the beetroot chocolate combo, and was surprised by it, guess I’ll have to try the zuchinni one as well!!
http://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt/
This is what I need right now. Yum. Delicious.
recently tried adding uncooked quinoa to my granola and it added a nice pop. the caramelized buckwheat sounds like it also contribute good texture!
Zucchini, chocolate and coconut oil! These are few of my favorite things. These look delightful! I’m pretty sure your photography could conconvince me to eat anything!
You do wonders with vegetables the past couple of days show that–one incredible recipe after the other.
It’s my husbands birthday today and I want to make dessert…but I just had a baby and thr thought of having a whole cake in the house for just the 2 of us isn’t good! I might make these!!
Wowza, how pretty and delectable looking! I LOVE chocolate, zucchini, buckwheat and coconut oil! These are just perfect!
I think I’ve found the meaning of life in this post. This is heaven itself! I can. not. wait. to try these gorgeous chocolate muffins!
Happy Friday!
xx Sydney
Wow! I’ve made double chocolate zucchini muffins before and they were delicious, but these ones here look crazy delicious and healthy nonetheless!
As always your pictures are amazing! These look so delish and we can definitely get behind the fact that they’re healthy!
♥Heather and Melissa
I am so into buckwheat right now so it seems the stars have aligned to have me make these this weekend. Your photos are so great! And your dad is more patient than mine!
Oh my you are killing me with all those flavors.. and caramelized buckwheat?! YES. Pinned!
I am fully into a zucchini obsession these days. These I will be doing for sure. They look totally awesome, and I know they will taste, beyond amazing. Have a great weekend 🙂
This is just crazy and I have to get in on it! I just need some buttermilk and I’m all set!
Made it. Loved it. Made other people love me 🙂 Thank you!
Chocolate zucchini muffins are the best, these look fab!
Thank you so much, Laura!! 🙂
Oh my gosh, these look amazing! When I first saw the photo, I thought “I wonder if I can make these gluten free” but you’ve already done that – AMAZING. Can’t wait to pull these out of the oven!
they all look delicous, chocoate is friend of cake
Made these. Tasted great! My 3 year old loved them too even though they had “worms” in them, hah! My only down fall was they were super stuck to the liners. Didn’t cook long enough? Used too much zucchini? I technically grated the zucchini in a food processor not sure how to do it quickly any other way. Any tips?
Hi Nicole, SO happy you loved these!! When I baked mine in liners, they stuck a little too, but not too bad. Next time I would try spraying the liners with cooking spray or just omitting the liners all together and and greasing your muffin pan. I think either option should work out better for you.
Hope that helps!
Tieghan!
Hi Tieghan, Just to say, I love your blog for a long time now. Your so talented! I love yout messy recipes (it is the good way you inspire me) and your photography makes me hungry all the time. Then I had diabetes abd your blog became my worst enemy 🙁 BUT thank you for now sharing some of those recipes with more nourishing flours, less carbs but nit tasteless and slighlty sweet. I can make your recipe again ! Keep sharing I love it. Carine.
Hi Carine!! Thank you so much for the beyond kind words!! So happy you can make these muffins! 🙂
Is there a GF flour that you would reccomend subbing for the wheat flour? Thx!
hi Alison!
Honestly, i really do not use a lot of gluten free flour, but I do highly recommend Bobs Red Mill gluten free flours and or their gluten free flour blend. Hope that helps a little. Thanks!
Can you sub almond milk for the buttermilk? I need to eliminate dairy ☹
Yes! That will be fine, just use equal amounts. Let me know if you have questions. Thanks so much and I hope you love this recipe!
Just made these and OH MY GOSH they are amazing. I did not expect them to taste so much like dessert – these are like the perfect moist chocolate cake!!!
We used unsweetened almond milk, and even experimented with a new stevia-sweetened dark baking chocolate I found. Decadence all around – they did *not* taste like they were full of substitutions (though I can happily serve to my gluten free, dairy free, sugar conscious family.)
Major win Tieghan. Thanks for yet another genius recipe!!!
This is AMAZING!! So happy these were perfect for you and I hope you continue to enjoy them!! Thanks so much Kelsey!
this is just crazy !!! I subscribe to multiple recipe emails. ever since I stumbled on HALFBAKEDHARVEST I am afraid I won’t live long enough to eat each and every recipe you publish !!!
I go from one of your recipes to then another and another ….. I can’t quit looking through your library !!!!
you are the only one online to publish an entire meal for your entrees so I don’t have to add what I hope will work well with flavors …… invaluable !!!
wow !!! and wow again !!!
you are fabulous !!! thank you at breakfast, lunch, appetizer, dinner, snack and then oh my gosh dessert !!!
why don’t ALL the other sites just shut down ….. YOU ARE THE ONLY SITE NEEDED !!!
I made these yesterday for the birthday celebration of one of the volunteers in our community garden and had everybody guess the ‘secret’ ingredient – everybody loved them but nobody guessed there was zucchini in them 🙂 I think I will bake them again for the gardening course I’m teaching next week (we’re still harvesting some zucchini). I have one question: the recipe says to use buckwheat groats for the topping which I thought was broken/ground buckwheat so I did use that but in the photos it looks more like you’re using whole buckwheat kernels/seeds (what are they called??)? Both probably work, just curious 🙂
So happy you enjoyed these! Yes, did use whole buckwheat. Thanks again! 🙂
I made these over the weekend, to the acclaim of my teens. One suggested that a future batch might use coffee bean bits in place of the buckwheat. Another variation might be to use cacao nibs. I made the muffins in my silicone cupcake forms – zero sticking.
So happy to hear that! Thank you so much Martha!
These honestly sound like they’ll be the best muffins ever. I’m drooling over here just thinking about it! Buuut I can’t stand making muffins…something always turns out bad for me in the muffin makin department, it never fails. So I was wondering if this recipe would be suitable to make as a whole cake? Because I can do cakes ???
Hi there! I am not sure how this would go as a cake. I would recommend baking in an 8-inch cake pan and seeing how that goes! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I took out of the freezer what I thought was shredded zucchini, turned out it was shredded brocoli… I was so intent on making that recipe that I used it anyway and the result was really nice ! It added a crunch that was appreciated and the whole batch disappeared very quickly !
Amazing!! Thank you Pauli! xTieghan
I finally got my husband to eat zucchini! 😂 we both loved these…I made a few changes because I can’t eat gluten or dairy. Used Bob’s GF AP flour instead of Regular, almond milk with 1 scant tea of cider vinegar, 2 flax eggs. They turned out great! I think next time I will use a little almond flour for half the AP because it needs a bit more structure, my buckwheat flour is super fine and can be gritty. Nice job!
Hi Meg!! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! Also big win in getting your husband to eat zucchini! YES! Thank you so much for trying this one! xTieghan