Got a Ton of Zucchini? Bake Up the Best Zucchini Muffins Ever! (2024)

FAQs

Why didn't my zucchini muffins rise? ›

There are a couple of reasons why your zucchini muffins may not have risen. If you used old leavening agents you may have issues with rising, so be sure to use fresh ingredients. If you didn't squeeze the zucchini to remove the excess moisture, this can also cause the muffins not to rise.

"The problem with (zucchini) when baking is its high moisture content. After shredding, be sure to squeeze the zucchini well to remove as much moisture as possible. A clean dish towel or several layers of paper towels work. If you skip this step, the batter will have too much moisture and won't cook through."

Drain the zucchini: Place the grated zucchini in a sieve or colander over a bowl to drain any excess moisture. If the grated zucchini seems to be on the dry side, sprinkle water over it as it's in the colander, then let it drain.

Chilling your muffin batter overnight in the fridge is the BEST thing you can do for amazing muffins. It makes them more moist, tender, and TALLER! It's very similar to chilling cookie dough, which if you know me you know I'm obsessed with chilling cookie dough. Think of it like marinating.

A medium zucchini will result in approximately 1 cup of shredded zucchini. If you happen to be using a larger zucchini and the seeds are large, cut the zucchini lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.

Make sure the butter is melted and slightly cooled and the eggs are at room temperature. You don't have the peel the zucchini before shredding. Also, don't squeeze out the liquid in the zucchini. If you do, you will end up with dry muffins.

Squeezing is optional.

But unless your zucchini is excessively juicy, squeezing the squash could be removing some of the moisture you really do want in the bread. It's up to you, though. Squeeze for lighter, drier bread. Leave it as is for denser, moister bread.

There's no need to peel the zucchini or remove the seeds. You also shouldn't press or squeeze any of the excess moisture out of it. You want all that to go into the bread!

The main problem that confronts the cook when preparing zucchini is its wateriness. Zucchini is 95 percent water (among vegetables, only lettuce contains more water) and will become soupy if it is just thrown into a hot pan.

Do you leave the skin on zucchini when baking? ›

Do You Need to Peel Zucchini? Our Test Kitchen has good news for you: You do not need to peel zucchini before using it in a recipe. Zucchinis have very thin, tender skin. “It cooks up well without being tough,” explains Mark Neufang in the Test Kitchen.

Using the side of the box grater with the largest holes, grate the zucchini until only the stem remains. (If you need finely shredded zucchini, use the side of the box grater with the smaller holes.) Repeat until you've used all of your zucchini.

Higher baking temperature. I never got nice tops until I raised the temp to 425-450 for the first few minutes until they set (~7-10 for jumbo cups), then turn it down to 375-350. I have always found that when mixing the batter, the mix needs to stand for at least 15-20 minutes so that it can expand.

But a common problem bakers face is flat zucchini bread. Food chemist Shirley Corriher suggests making sure the baking powder is fresh -- and using less leavening. There are few things more confounding or vexing in the kitchen than a dish gone wrong.

Muffin was underbaked and cell structure wasn't set. When the cell structure doesn't set, the air spaces created by the leavening in the recipe collapses, causing the muffin to sink. Oven temperatures vary over time. To insure the correct temperature each time you bake, always use an oven thermometer.

Zucchinis need more water during the fruiting stage, so you're on the right track unless you are quite literally watering constantly! Based on your description, I'd say the reason your plants aren't setting fruit is because they are not being pollinated.