We also had a whole bunch of good zucchini that I wanted to put in muffins, but my kids aren't crazy about the texture of traditional grated zucchini in muffins. So I wondered if it would work to puree the zucchini, and use it that way. Turns out it works great. Just put the raw zucchini in a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth. No need to cook it or strain it or drain it.
And finally, why use poppyseeds when you could use chia seeds? Chia seeds are a great source of protein, and I only had one tablespoon of poppyseeds on hand, so I was happy to do half poppyseeds and half chia seeds in this recipe. I think next time I'm just going to skip the poppyseeds and do all chia seeds.
Recipe:
1 pound pureed zucchini (about two small)
1 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs (or 4 medium eggs)
4 Tablespoons Almond Extract
2 Tablespoon Poppyseeds (or Chia seeds)
3 cups flour (may substitute up to 1/2 c protein powder)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Mix together wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients, combine until just mixed. (Did you know over-mixing muffin batter can give the muffins a dry texture? I just learned this.) Pour into muffin tins, bake at 375 for 12-18 minutes.
P.S. The small 4 oz bottles of Almond Extract at the grocery store has enough extract for two batches of muffins. I searched high and low for a bigger bottle, and have been really happy with this Almond Extract from Amazon. It ends up being half the price per ounce!