Gluten-Free Dark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Apparently, I just had to go back to the place where I hurt my ankle to heal my ankle. Ah, the magical effect of the Eastern Sierra’s. The eastern Sierras feel even more magical on a snowy fall day as the morning light is shining upon the amber aspen trees. Especially when I’m not limping for the first time in forty-five days.

The eastern Sierras is my wanderlust zen wilderness area of choice in California. All I need to relax and unwind is some snowshoes, my adventure pup and maybe climb up a ten thousand-foot snowy mountain over yonder. Because that sounds relaxing, right?

After two separate ass-kicking thousand-foot elevation hikes, I may be more than ready to destroy some healthy zucchini muffins. I mean I had all these baby zucchini I had picked from our garden, I had to do something with them, right? And dark chocolate is good for you, right? Oh, the problems of late fall in a mountain resort town. Too many zucchinis; I guess I have to make some gluten-free zucchini pizzas which is really just an excuse to put a ton of cheese on a grilled veggie and shove it at my face. Like a bear getting ready to hibernate for the snowy winter ahead, sometimes you just have to finally turn that oven again once it’s the second week in September. I know I have!

The key to baking the most delicious dark chocolate muffins is using high-quality dark chocolate. I usually only fill the muffin tins halfway with this muffin mix also because although they have no gluten in them these muffins will rise as you bake them. It’s magic! Or it’s baking soda?

Gluten-Free Dark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

2 cups grated zucchini

3 eggs

1 cup white organic sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup almond flour

1 cup coconut flour

1 and 3/4’s cup good quality dark chocolate baking chips

1/2 cup salted Kerrygold butter plus 4 tablespoons

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Grate the zucchini. In a saucepan melt the butter, adding the chocolate chips and turn the heat off and stir until the chocolate chips are melted. Stir in the sugars and the vanilla with the pot off the heat. Mix in the zucchini. Let this chocolatey goodness cool for ten minutes. Mix in the eggs, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Mix in the two flours last. Pour this mixture into buttered baking tins. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake for 25 minutes.