zucchini cheddar cheese muffins


I’m not done with summer squash yet.

I don’t care what the calendar says.

I will not let this season come to a halt. I have a secret to keep it going all year-long, and it’s sitting in my freezer. Tucked away in a zip-top bag are tiny strands of shredded zucchini. I wish I could take credit for this idea, but it goes to Margaret at A Way to Garden.

When Summer Fest 2010 started, the first theme was cukes n’ zukes. In her post she mentioned you could preserve squash by simply grating and storing it in the freezer. I felt an excited tickled in my tummy as I read those words. See, I normally look longingly at zucchini in the supermarket come January. I know it’s not worth buying, but the memories of biting into a first of the season squash come flooding back. Such emotions do not help counter the cold, grey skies of winter.

This year, I’ve captured a bit of summer in a bag. And I cannot wait to make these delicate, cheddar cheese and zucchini flecked muffins for a mid-winter pick me up. I imagine it will be like summer’s warm sun shining down on my tastebuds.

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zucchini cheddar cheese muffins

makes one dozen

2 cups/8.5 ounces/240 grams all-purpose
white flour

1 tablespoon/17 grams sugar

1 tablespoon/13 grams baking powder

1/2 teaspoon/2 grams kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon/1 gram baking soda

6 tablespoons/3 ounces very cold butter, cut into 12 pieces

1 cup/2 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup/225 ml buttermilk

4.75 ounces shredded zucchini

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners or coat with non-stick spray.

Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda to a deep bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the butter pieces and rub together with your fingers until it forms a sandy-looking mixture, with some larger pea-sized pieces. Stir in 2/3 of the cheddar cheese.

Pour in the buttermilk and stir with a wooden spoon. It will be very stiff—don’t worry. Add the zucchini and stir until incorporated. The squash will release liquid and the finished batter will loosen up a bit.

Evenly divide batter among prepared the muffin tin cups. Evenly sprinkle tops with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, until tops are golden and spring back when touched.


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