Mat's Favorite Zucchini Bread

This is my husband's favorite zucchini bread.  He always requests that I make this but it is hard to find the time to make them when I'm testing out all these different recipes.  Being the good wife that I am, I surprised him with them while he was at the gym Sunday night.  It really is the little things. 

Also, I am going to apologize in advance for the photos.  I'm an amateur photographer and I do not know how to shoot photos in dark lighting in our kitchen.  Our ceiling lights have a yellow glare to them so these photos look like they are vintage-y but I never intended them to look that way.  But it sorta looks like I did it on purpose.  Haha.  I will have to figure that one out especially since it gets dark around 4ish nowadays.  

Recipe

Makes about 22 to 24 muffins

Ingredients

2 c finely grated zucchini (about 2 to 3 medium zucchinis)

3 eggs

1 c canola oil

3 tsp vanilla

2 c all-purpose flour (you could use whole wheat pastry flour also)

1 1/2 c lightly packed brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 c chopped toasted walnuts (optional)

Roasted sesame seeds

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  

Finely grate the zucchini with a box grater.  Drain any excess liquid.  Add in eggs, canola oil, and vanilla and mix together.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and baking powder.  Gradually add the dry ingredients to the zucchini mixture in 3 parts.  Use a spatula or wooden spoon to fold the dry ingredients in.  Gently fold in walnuts.  

Place the batter into the muffin tins (I usually do 3/4 of the way up on the mufffin tin).  Sprinkle each muffin with roasted sesame seeds.  Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or 'til the edges of the muffins become lightly brown.  Use a toothpick to check to make sure the batter is completely baked.

In the past, I have tried to cheat the grating step and use a food processor to grate the zucchini.  It really does not taste the same because the zucchini is grated in larger pieces with a food processor so I went back to the original method with the box grater.

When you drain the excess liquid from the grated zucchini, give the zucchini a gentle squeeze.  There is no need to strain every little bit of liquid out but you don't want the zucchini totally sopping wet either.

I gradually added the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon.

I love the roasted sesame seeds on the muffins.  It adds texture, taste, and a little extra fiber for you.  These muffins are super moist and yummy.  When you break one of the muffins open, you can see the little green specks in them.