Thursday, January 17, 2013

Lemon Zucchini Muffins with Lemon Glaze

Good Day Blogstalkers and WELCOME to my newest little project!

I've always loved spending time in the kitchen.  Kneading dough soothes me, beating an egg calms me and chopping onions...well that just sucks...I find it helps to first get really angry at the onion and then kill it with a knife while crying at the awfulness of it all.  And say things like "At least his death will not be in vain, he shall make my spaghetti sauce delicious."  And then point the knife at the other onions in the kitchen and say "You're next."

Let's move on shall we?  So yeah, I love to cook.  I love to bake.  I love to write.  (I also love to dance to hip hop music, but that's neither here nor there.)  So I thought, why not start a food blog?  So I did.  And I named it CookBooksy because my second favorite thing to read, after other books, is cookbooks.

So that's my spiel.  Let's get on with the first recipe.

Lemon Zucchini Muffins with Lemon Glaze

**Adapted From A Recipe From AllRecipes.com**

I'm terrible at eating breakfast.  Many days I don't put anything at all in my mouth until two or three in the afternoon.  So in an effort to entice myself to start breaking my fast more regularly I thought I would whip up some tasty muffins.  These turned out more like cupcakes than muffins and I was like...shit.  But THEN I was like, never mind, am brilliant because now I get to eat cupcakes for breakfast.  Plus these are like healthy cupcakes because they have zucchini in them.  And that is a green vegetable.  Let's get to it!

Lemon Zucchini Muffins Cupcakes with Lemon Glaze



INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 c. All Purpose Flour                    1 c. White Sugar *divided*

1 tsp. Baking Powder                           3/4 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. Salt                                        1 Medium Zucchini *shredded*

8 oz. Lemon Greek Yogurt                    6 TBS. Butter *melted then cooled til just warm*

1 Egg *beaten*                                     1 TBS. plus 1/3 c. Lemon Juice *divided*

1 TBS. plus 2 tsp. Lemon Zest *divided*



Simple right?  Eleven ingredients. (Using the lemons for both juice and zest)  Oh wait...actually twelve ingredients.  I forgot to mention the secret ingredient, one pinch of grated Lauren.


Ouch.



DIRECTIONS

Preheat the over to 400 degrees Farenheit (200 degrees Celsius.)

In a large bowl combine the flour, 3/4 c. sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Make a well in the middle of the bowl.  In another bowl mix shredded zucchini, yogurt, butter, egg, 1 TBS. lemon juice and 1 TBS. lemon zest.  (Note: The original recipe suggests using regular yogurt but with baking I prefer greek yogurt.  For one, it is much less likely to curdle while baking.  Also, it contains less carbohydrates and sodium than regular yogurt and is much higher in protein which means it'll help keep you feeling full for longer.)

Spoon the liquid mixture into the well you've made in the flour mixture and stir slowly, incorporating the flour until only just combined and then STOP.  DO NOT OVERSTIR.  If the batter appears much thicker and lumpier than normal cupcake don't worry, this means you're doing everything right.  Good for you.




Either grease or line a muffin pan with paper cups.  Spoon the batter into the pan, filling the cups almost all the way up as this is a low-rise recipe.  (Note: Contrary to the world of fashion, in baking, low-rise does not mean an impressive muffin-top.)  

You should have enough batter to fill one normal 12-count muffin tin, maybe a little bit more.

   
Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for about 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.

While the muffins or cupcakes or whatever are baking combine 1/3 c. lemon juice, 2 tsp. lemon zest and 1/4 c. sugar in a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat stirring frequently until the glaze starts to simmer.  Then stir constantly until all of the sugar is dissolved and the mixture seems to thicken just a bit, about 7-10 minutes.  Then cover and keep warm until the muffins are out of the oven. 


Using a toothpick, poke about 8-10 holes in the top of each muffin and then spoon about a tsp. of glaze onto the top of each.  Let all of the muffins except for one cool for 5-10 minutes in the tin before removing.

Eat the other muffin. (Can you tell that my liners have Tinker Bell all over them?  I wanted to make these very special because Ryan will be taking them to work for his breakfast.  Am VERY good wife.)




The warm muffin will have a very soft almost custard-like texture.  The glaze adds a kick of lemony wonderfulness to each bite.  SO good.  The completely cooled product will, as I said, have a more cupcake-like texture.  Still SO good.


Enjoy Blogstalkers!  What do you think of the new blog?



119 comments:

  1. Love it!! Great job Lauren!

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  2. I want to go out and buy zucchini and lemons so I can make this. I'd say your new blog is off to a great start!

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    1. I highly suggest them! Maybe not as pretty as huge puffy cupcakes but so delicious.

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  3. Excellent, those look mighty tasty! As far as onions go, I discovered just last week, if you peel them under running water, no tears! No idea why, but I normally have tears running down my face & this way I didn't have a single one. Can't wait to see what else you come up with on here!

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    1. I've tried that I swear! Also chewing gum and special onion goggles and spinning in three circles before I dice. All to no avail. I'm SUPER sensitive to onions. Sometimes if an onion is too strong Ryan has to chop it for me while I go sit on the balcony and sob.

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    2. Have you tried the trick from The Help where you hold a match between your teeth while cutting an onion? I haven't, but I've been curious ever since I saw the movie.

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    3. Oh yeah I forgot about that! That is one I have not tried, but I'm not thinking it'll work...

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    4. Onion goggles. I HATE onions.
      They aren't pretty, but its the only trick I've found that works.

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    5. Try having a piece of white bread in you're mouth against the roof of your mouth while cutting.

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    6. Alanna I HAVE onion goggles. And I still sob. Maybe mine just suck? I'm going to look into some more expensive ones.

      Meghan - THAT is one that I have not heard before, totally testing it out tonight.

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    7. I know how to solve this, buy the pre-diced ones in the veggie section! :-)

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    8. Contact Lenses. Never cry unless it is a super strong onion. If I chop onions when I am wearing my glasses, I bawl like a baby.

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    9. I did use the pre-diced ones for a time but then I got so annoyed that I was paying so much more just to save a few tears haha.

      Emily - I've never owned any contact lenses, am an all-glasses-all-of-the-time kind of girl though this makes me want to change my mind.

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  4. Looks good Lauren!! Super Cute and your personality shines through!! I appreciate your cupcake for breakfast idea...it's like you are doing something you shouldn't which makes it more yummy and at the same time it's secretly healthy and good for you because of the "green" part!

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    1. So glad you like it! I love that I can simultaneously have a serving of vegetables and three cupcakes for breakfast (ok not really I had four..., but you know)

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  5. Looks delicious! I always add a little sprinkle of Chrissy zest to any good recipe...I'm what they call a kitchen "cutter."

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    1. Haha! Me too! Ryan recently bought me insanely lovely sharp knives but he was super hesitant about it. Then I told him that if I was going to cut myself regardless it might as well be a nice clean cut with a sharp knife rather than some hack job done with a dull cleaver.

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    2. Ha! It's actually better to have good knives... Apparently, normal people cut themselves less with sharp knives...I just end up cutting myself deeper. :-/

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  6. Congratulations on your cooking debut! I love it!!!!

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  7. These sound delicious! I don't think my husband will eat them because he dislikes anything good, but that just means they can be all for me!

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    1. Ryan dislikes anything that doesn't have meat in it. I had to bribe him to agree to eat these for breakfast. Also I told him that I put bacon grease in them. Hah.

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  8. Love, love, love!! I am a lemon addict, so I am very excited to try these. I used to make cupcakes and other baked goods for Brian to take to work with him. When he left the corporate world to start his own business from home, I'm not sure if his co-workers felt more of a loss for him or for my pumpkin bread. :) GREAT food blog! Congrats!

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    1. If you love like lemon then I think you'll probably love these cupcakes, especially the glaze. VERY lemony. I used to bake constantly at the first job that I had out of college then I got engaged and moved in with Ryan and he got extremely protective of all of the baked goods. He wanted them all for himself.

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    2. Making these today, very excited. Also, am glad to know that I am not the only one who uses Disney bandages.

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    3. Excited to hear how they went!

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  9. I shall go to the store now to purchase ingredients. Love the new blog!

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    1. Katrina if you make these please let me know how yours turn out!

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  10. The new blog is adorable! And these look yummy, I would never have thought to put zucchini into lemon muffins, but way to make cupcakes healthy enough for breakfast!
    And Tinkerbell cupcake papers make everything taste better!

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    1. It's funny actually I was searching for a base zucchini recipe I could use and then found this All Recipe one that added lemon. And yep, Tinkerbell sprinkles everything with fairy dust and makes it delicious.

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  11. Thanks Jenny! Hope you like the muffins! Let me know how they turn out.

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  12. Lauren, this is the cutest page ever. For reals. Love the Belle bandage, btw.

    Will be making the muffins for my dad and nephews this weekend. Keep those recipes coming!

    LAUREN GALLAGHER, COOKING BLOGGER FTW!

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    1. Thanks! I also have Ariel, Tiana, Jasmine, Snow White and Cinderella bandages.

      Let me know how your muffins turn out?

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    2. I definitely will. They sound freaking delicious, so I anticipate they'll be a huge success.

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  13. Love it! I am so going to make these on Sunday morning! Already pinned it to my Pinterest Board.

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    1. Glad you like it! Please let me know how they turn out!

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  14. Those look DELICIOUS! And healthy, because yogurt. I once rationalized that it was okay to eat a mint chip cookie for breakfast because it matched the flavor of toothpaste... So your cupcakes for breakfast? A win in my book!

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    1. Yogurt AND zucchini. (Just ignore the butter and sugar ok?)

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  15. Those look so good. I wish I wasn't too lazy to cook.

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    1. Haha! I always surprise myself with how, seeing as I am quite lazy at other things, I manage to bake as much as I do.

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  16. Yummy! those look great! And I love the idea of using the Greek yogurt substitution!

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    1. Thanks! I'm a huge fan of greek yogurt in baking recipes. It's actually strained one more time during production than regular yogurt which makes it insanely creamy and like I said, it has like DOUBLE the amount of protein as normal yogurt which is a total win in my book. The only downside is that it is lower in calcium, but I'm pretty sure I get enough calcium in my diet so I'm not too worried about that.

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  17. OMG I HAVE THAT MEASURING CUP TOO!!! *feels super special to have the same measuring cup as the one she stalks*

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    1. Haha Yay! Measuring cup twins!

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    2. Triplets, I also have that cup.

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    3. Quadruplets -my husband bought home a set a couple weeks ago, and I had same thought as Amy, but my comment was already too long to mention that too :)

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  18. I *always* zest my finger! I consider it the secret ingredient. BTW I'm super excited you now have a food blog! I love food blogs :)

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  19. The web site looks great, the recipe looks delicious and I LOVE that you put them in Tinkerbell cupcake papers just for RYAN. :) Well done!

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    1. Thanks Mary! And when he was leaving this morning I was like "Don't forget your fairy cakes!" And then he mumbled something impolite. But he took them with him so...I think I win.

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  20. They look delicious! I rarely bake, but I might have to try these. I love your other blog and I love food, so I've already added this one to my favorites!

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    1. So glad you like it Crystal! I totally recommend these muffins/cupcakes.

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  21. I put my onion in the freezer for 10 to 30 minutes before chopping. My lower fumes. Having a lighted candle nearby helps. As does a really sharp knife, it doesn't crush it as much, releasing fewer fumes.

    Great first post.

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    1. I do the same freezer trick with my onions, it's the only thing that I've noticed works just a little bit. I haven't tried the candle thing, but I'll for sure do it the next time I need onions...probably tonight. I'm crazy anal about keeping my knives sharp so they're doing their job with onion cutting!

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  22. Don't forget all the healthy goodness of the lemon too! Veggie and yogurt health muffins with extra vitamin C glaze on top. SO goid for you. This blog is not only cute and useful, it's helpin' folks live longer. Awesome.

    Thanks for feeding my other (non-cheese) weakness - anything lemon. It's perfect, my Mom recently sent me a bunch of lemons from her tree - can't wait to try them!

    P.S. Sadly, I am not that hreat at baking yet - do you know if this would this work using whole-wheat flour instead of white?

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    1. Oh yeah totally. HEALTH muffins for sure. With only just a TEENSY BIT (and then a lot more) butter and sugar.

      As far as whole-wheat flour goes, my usual strategy is to use about 7/8 of a cup of whole wheat flour for every one cup of AP flour. So in this case just use like 1 1/2 c. plus 2 TBS. whole wheat flour.

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  23. I will be attempting and will also unintentionally include all 12 ingredients. Because really, I've yet to bake anything without acquiring some sort of injury. Just wait until your pregnant and you constantly burn your belly on cookie sheets!

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    1. Definitely let me know how they are! I can't WAIT until I'm at the belly burning stage.

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  24. Ooh! Such a great start. These look delicious.

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  25. Look/sound delicious. I must try this. And I didn't know those details about using Greek yogurt versus regular.

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    1. If you do try it let me know how you like it? And yep, I'm sort of a Greek Yogurt fanatic with my baking and I'm a boring person who really enjoys reading articles written about the health benefits of food. Yuck.

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  26. Congrats on the new blog! These look delicious. I may have to try them this weekend. Is grated Lauren something I can find in the spice aisle at the store or is it in the freezer section?

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    1. Thanks! And hmmm...maybe try the Specialty Foods aisle? Probably right next to where the Sriracha is stocked.

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  27. Yay! Now I can stalk you on two blogs. I love it and these look awesome!

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  28. Looks yummy! I love lemon!! I will be making these very soon!!

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  29. These look really good! I'm normally not a fan of lemon zest, but I think I will try these anyway. :)

    Thanks!
    Brittny

    bsnovelwritingblog.blogspot.com

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    1. Here is my suggestion to you - non lemon zest lover - try a muffin without the glaze first if you do make them. The glaze is what REALLY imparts the lemony flavor so you might hate it but actually like the muffins without the glaze.

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    2. Thanks for the suggestion! I normally like lemon flavor, but my grandmother was an enthusiastic zester when I was a kid and I think she used to zest too far into the rind, so everything had a bitter/gross taste. I was thinking I would try just leaving the zest out of the glaze. :)

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  30. Muffins look delicious! Also, glad I am not the only one that has "low-rise/muffin-top" correlation in the fashion department ;)

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    1. Haha right?! I was making these thinking, this is so backwards, low-rise jeans mean MORE muffin-top not less!

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  31. "(Note: Contrary to the world of fashion, in baking, low-rise does not mean an impressive muffin-top.)" should be on some sort of schwag. Seriously -- one of the best lines I've ever read. Maybe the title of your first cookbook? (I accept paypal and cash for my consulting services. :))

    Muffins sound yummy. May have to give them a try - we have to substitute the egg with applesauce or flaxseed, but I bet they would still be delish.

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    1. Haha so glad you liked my reflections on muffin-tops!

      And yeah I'd bet substituting for the egg in this case would be easy as heck. It's not like there's six eggs in the recipe. Applesauce sounds awesome.

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  32. I am immune to crying....I could dice onions with my eyelashes and I still wouldn't cry. Of course, this may be simply due to the fact that I am dead inside. So no good advice for you there since they don't make me cry, although my fingers smell like onions for a week after I cut them so perhaps that is my tradeoff. No tears, stinky fingers. Love the new blog. I also find refuge in the kitchen. I love to bake and cook. My mother, in what I think was supposed to be a compliment, said to me the other day "Laurie, you have become a reliable and sturdy cook." I turned to my husband and said "Ha ha I am like the Clydesdale of the kitchen!"

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    1. If you could dice onions with your eyelashes I would be like...very impressed. And also a bit scared of you and your sharp eyelashes.

      And Clydesdale of the kitchen is awesome.

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  33. Can't wait to try these and make my boyfriend secretly eat vegetables. Love the new blog!

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    1. Amy here is tip if you're sneaking veggies into these - using the zucchini means the end product contains some green if you really want to trick your boyfriend then use yellow squash, it has the same water content and a similar taste plus it will blend in quite nicely.

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    2. Ah good idea. I was just going to say it was green food coloring hahaha!

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    3. Haha I'm totally going to do that with Ryan's brother. He'll be like Lauren you know I hate broccoli why did you put a pile of it on my plate? And I will be all that is not broccoli that is cauliflower and green food coloring.

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  34. I love your cooking blog! It seems we share in the philosophy that the cook should not have to wait for anything to cool before tasting!

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    1. Totally. Waiting for something to cool is lame. And so yeah, sometimes I burn my tongue. I figure it comes with the territory.

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  35. I can't help but wonder approximately how many of your Cookbooksy posts will end up being tagged "Kitchen Injury." At the end of the year you could do a pie graph.

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    1. Haha yeah I thought about that myself today when I was tagging this post. I was like "that is almost surely not the last time that tag will be used."

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  36. oooooh! and damnit! I had already gone grocery shopping BEFORE I read your blog (going overbudget for the biggest cart-full I have ever compiled and then having to leave it at the service desk and scurry home to retrieve my wallet) -- and Whole Foods had a sale on a bag of organic lemons, too, but I thought "what would I use so many for?" and didn't get them. Yet. I haven't gotten them YET, because now I know what to do with them! mmmmm!

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    1. Haha Whole Foods is a dangerous food heaven for me. I ALWAYS spend more than I intend to.

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  37. Contrary to the world of fashion, in baking, low rise does not mean an impressive muffin top."
    Hah, with that line, I'm sold :) congratulations on your cooking blog debut! I follow you on pinterest and I have to say, your menu looks delicious, I'm excited!

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  38. will be trying this out on sunday!

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  39. Nice Job! I'll follow you on this. Mary in NY

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  40. Love the recipe and love your humor and writing style and including great pictures and tips. I look forward to many more delicious recipes! Great job!

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  41. I can not wait to make these! However I'm going away this weekend so they have to wait. It is making me almost not want to go away. Also, I will be trying to make a GF version. I'm not sure how this will end. It may not be pretty. I will try to remember to let you know how they turn out.

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    1. Yes please let me know how they turn out GF. I've never made them like that before!

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  42. PS- I tried to comment yesterday from my phone but it WOULD NOT LET ME. Arg!

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  43. I'm posting this on my boyfriend's Facebook wall so he can learn to cook something other than pasta.

    Love this! :]

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    1. Ha! Although I do love a good pasta. I wish Ryan would make me pasta from time to time. Ryan burns scrambled eggs though.

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  44. Lovin it so far. Here's a tip that I'm sure Ryan will appreciate - I always use the flat sided liners so that you can slip a fresh one over the 'cooked in' one once it's cooled. This allows you to properly appreciate the design. Not sure if you can get Tinkerbell but I'm pretty sure Barbie is still available.

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    1. Yep! I've actually done that quite a bit in the past but I'm completely out of the inner liners. I really should order more.

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  45. Deliciously hilarious! I'm just glad we get even more Lauren with this new blog! I'm a cookbook reader from way back. When I go to my mom's house we sit for hours reading cookbooks. I read the dictionary, too. I'm weird like that.

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  46. I just made these tonight and they got rave reviews and a demand for the recipe already!

    I really need to figure out a way to avoid spilling all over my laptop...

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    1. Elisha I'm so glad they turned out well! This is wonderful to hear.

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  47. Double the Lauren???? Perfect! Love the recipe & must say at 1st I was a tad overwhelmed by it....then...I saw then entire process & am making them this afternoon (have to wait for hubby to bring zucchini & lemon home....greek yogurt too (Yuck!) ) Thanks for always entertaing me!

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    1. So glad you're trying them out, please let me know how it goes!

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  48. My phone ate my comment, I think, so here it is again.

    A. I don't cook. I have literally set things on fire in the kitchen on several occasions when I've tried.

    B. I'm not a big fan of zucchini.

    C. Despite those things, this looks like something I might actually try. Also, I have lemon Greek yogurt in my fridge already, so that's probably a sign of some sort!

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    1. A. Ryan is not great in the kitchen either. Never ever request that he make you scrambled eggs.

      B. The zucchini flavor in these is actually quite mild.

      C. Do it! Try them!

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  49. Making them right now!!! Glaze waiting, muffins cooking ... both look AMAZING! Thank you so much for doing this, there is a Canadian Cookbook called "Looneyspoons" - the latest is the Looneyspoon collection - seems like a very similar format to yours in that awesome recipes are combined with humour and a fun read!

    I haven't had time to read through the comments (am making them and typing this while simultaneously amusing a 3 year old) - but my one suggestion is that it is great to list the full ingredients at the start (for purchasing purposes). But then when we are on the part of making the food, could you list the amounts all again (ie. rather than "flour, baking powder ..." etc. list the amount again. Because I had to scroll up and down (as had to make sure I was doing the changed ingredients i.e. sugar right amount). Which would be easier on the ipad but I was using my computer.

    Otherwise - love it! Especially the "use one medium zucchini" part. Which is SO much better than the "use 3/4 cup of zuccini" because then I am left wondering wtf is 3/4 cup of zucchini? And panic I won't have enough, so way overbuy, and then am stuck with rotting zucchini in my fridge and my husband asking me "Why do you buy zucchini if you aren't going to use it?" and I'm like "I did use it, in the muffins you wanted me to make RYAN" and then it's really weird because my husband's name isn't Ryan.

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    1. Oooooh please let me know how they turn out!

      And thanks for the suggestion, that makes a lot of sense so I'll definitely try to remember to do that in the future!

      Hope your cupcakes/muffins are delicious. We are still eating ours.

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    2. They were seriously the best muffins I have ever made and probably also best I ever consumed, but I have eaten a lot of muffins in my day so that is harder to verify. I do classify them as muffins btw - for the very obvious reason that I am on a diet and everyone knows muffins are more ok whereas cupcakes are less ok. Especially if you eat three in a row.

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  50. Lauren - Congratulations on your new blog adventure. I'm totally convinced that you're made of rainbows, glitter, tentacles and pure awesomeness! Am in love with the muffins disguised as cupcakes... very sneaky. Not to be a party pooper but might you include calories per serving in your recipes? I do appreciate the easy but fancy cooking like this one. You're so cool.

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  51. Ok, reporting back. Apparently I shredded the zucchini too large. Also, I made it GF. So... results? They taste delicious! They are not as pretty as yours though. Oh, and I added ground flax seed. so... not as pretty. But oh so good. Thank you!

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