Zucchini Muffins

I have loved zucchini bread for as long as I can remember. After I graduated from college, I took it upon myself to make a loaf one sunny Saturday afternoon. I was a bit of a novice baker back in those days and when the recipe I happened to be following called for cloves, I went ahead and added them in. Complete cloves. Not ground. Needless to say, only one of my girlfriends was brave enough to eat some of the bread, simply picking all of the whole cloves out of her piece. I have since tried many zucchini recipes, always searching for either the best overall or the best healthwise. My 2 year old son also happens to love zucchini bread and throughly gobbled up this most recent recipe. Although this recipe is super tasty, it definitely does not pass the "healthy" test. Next time I might try some healthier substitutions, but for now, this recipe is delicious as is. I made them into muffins instead of loaves of bread since I had to take some to an event last week.

Mom's Zucchini Bread

allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups all-purpose flour (I used 2 c. white flour, 1 c. whole wheat)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional - I went without)

DIRECTIONS:
Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans or muffin pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

This is my first Tuesday's with Dorie assignment and I was excited to make this recipe! Seeing as I love chocolate, cheesecake and espresso, I figured this would be a no brainer. I even managed to make these before my son's nap time, conveniently scheduling them around his favorite tv show, Yo Gabba Gabba. The recipe was easy to follow and they appear to have turned out correctly (at least they taste that way). I also decided that while I love brownies and I love cheesecake, I am not sure I am crazy about them together. Don't get me wrong, these are very tasty, they just wouldn't be my first dessert choice; however, someone who enjoys brownies, cheesecake and espresso would be pretty thrilled with this recipe.