The title says it all. I've been looking for more fall flavors to experiment with and salted caramel piqued my interest. And I wouldn't be me if I didn't try to find a way to make this dessert a little healthier, thus zucchini entered the mix. Zucchini is great for your follicular phase, and these muffins are gluten, dairy, and refined sugar free, so this dessert is supportive of your hormones all the way through!
Ingredients:
Makes 12 muffins
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1 1/4 c gluten free oats or oat flour
- 1/3 c cacao powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 1/3 + 1/4 c maple syrup
- 1 ripe banana
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 egg
- 1/2 c milk (I used almond)
- juice of 1/4 lemon
- chocolate chips (I used dark & refined sugar free-- measure with your heart 💛)
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp butter (I used dairy free)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp coconut cream (no liquid)
- flaky salt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Measure out your milk, add the juice of the lemon and let sit.
- Wash, then shred your zucchini.
- Take a towel or a few paper towels and squeeze all the liquid out of the shredded zucchini.
- Transfer to a bowl, then add the milk, 2 tbsp of melted coconut oil, egg, and 1/3 c maple syrup, and banana.
- Mash the banana in the bowl and mix all the ingredients until well combined.
- Make your oat flour by adding oats to a blender and pulsing until powderized.
- Add oat flour to a large bowl and combine with cacao powder, a pinch of salt, and baking soda.
- Add the zucchini mixture to oat flour and gently mix until just combined.
- Add your chocolate chips and gently fold in. I used about 1/2 c.
- Transfer to a greased muffin pan and bake for 5 minutes at 425, then lower heat to 350 and bake for another 12-15 minutes.
- In the meantime, make your caramel by combining butter, 1/4 c maple syrup, coconut sugar, coconut cream, and a tiny pinch of salt in a pot over medium heat.
- Bring to a gentle boil, then lower to medium low heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.
- Then, turn the heat down to low and stir continuously for 3 minutes, then remove from the heat and transfer to a jar to cool.
- After the muffins and caramel has cooled for at least 15 minutes, drizzle the caramel on top of the muffins and add flaky salt on top.