Chocolate Chip Courgette Muffins

So she awoke in a sugary daze January 1st, left to wonder if December ever really happened at all...

The month of December seems to be a black hole for all good and healthy intentions. A place where one too many mince pies are consumed and where morning workouts are this mythological idea - especially those early morning ones. Where opening one door of an advent calendar accidentally turned into opening them all, and one Christmas film on a lazy afternoon suddenly turned into 5. Where you’re left learning, the hard way, you’ll always love wine more than it loves you.

But it did happen. Decembers officially over, and with the New Year in full swing, it’s time to kick off that sugary daze.

These muffins are the perfect healthy snack to help hit the reset button and start nourishing our bodies again. A deliciously sweet treat to satisfy anyones post-Christmas sweet tooth, but entirely free from refined sugars, oils and gluten. So that extra roast potato you probably shouldn’t have eaten? Forget about it. Start the year fresh with these Courgette Chocolate Chip Muffins.

This recipe is adapted from the OhSheGlows Cookbook, and this is her method. I have used buckwheat flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour in order to make these gluten free. 

Ingredients

Makes 12 muffins

1 tablespoon ground flaxseed

1 1/4 cups non-dairy milk 

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

2 cups buckwheat flour

1/2 cup unrefined cane sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate (preferably over 85%)

1 1/4 cups lightly packed grated courgette

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Lightly grease a muffin tin (I know this is an oil free recipe, but I like to grease with coconut oil).
2. In a small bowl, stir together the ground flaxseed and 3 tablespoons water. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the milk and vinegar. Set aside. It will curdle a bit, but that’s the point - we’re making vegan buttermilk.
4. In a large bowl, combine the buckwheat flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. To the bowl with the milk and vinegar mixture, stir in the flaxseed mixture, the maple syrup, and the vanilla. Pour the milk mixture over the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in the chopped dark chocolate and courgette, being careful not to over-mix.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each well three-quarters full. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the muffins slowly spring back when touched. A toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin should come out clean. Cool the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes.
7. Run a knife around the edges of the muffins to release them from the pan and transfer them to a rack to cool completely. 

K