Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Tips for Baking the Best Muffins

• Let the muffin batter rest 15-20 minutes before baking. This helps the dry ingredients absorb the wet ingredients and the batter will create air bubbles, aiding in the rise of the muffins.
• Use room temperature ingredients. This is especially true for cold ingredients often used for muffins such as milk, eggs, and/or butter.
• Measure the flour properly. Flour is the most commonly incorrectly measured ingredient in baking and using too much or too little can greatly alter the outcome of any recipe. The MOST accurate way to measure flour is to weigh it with a food scale. Most recipes will account for around 120-130 grams per 1 cup of flour. If you do not have a scale or the recipe does not specify metric measurements, use the spoon and level method! At the very least, you should ALWAYS fluff up the flour before measuring it into the measuring cups. Fluff the flour up with a utensil in the container and/or bag, then use a spoon to spoon the flour into the measuring cup until full, then take the straight edge/handle of the spoon or butter knife to level off the flour from the top of the measuring cup.
• Avoid overmixing! Always whisk the dry ingredients in a separate bowl first and then fold the dry ingredients in gently. Some small lumps are okay! Overmixing can create a tough and/or gummy muffin by developing the gluten too much. It's important to avoid this in order to achieve that traditional moist muffin texture. . If you are using a gluten free flour 1:1 blend, then you do not need to worry about this as much.
• Use muffin/cupcake liners!I love to use parchment paper squares as liners to make for an easy impressive way to elevate the muffins. I especially like to use these liners when adding a crumb topping like in my pumpkin banana muffins recipe because it helps contain the topping!
• Fill the muffin liners all the way full, up to the top of the muffin pan. Muffin batter tends to be thicker and bake as a quick bread. Muffins can be filled higher than cupcakes because they are formulated differently to accommodate a higher rise for that traditional domed muffin top.
• Preheat the oven and bake at a high temperature. Muffins need to be baked at high heat, around 400-425 degrees Fahrenheit for at least the first 5-7 minutes of baking and then reduced down to 350-375 degrees Fahrenheit to finish baking the rest of the way. Some muffins I steadily bake at 400 the entire time, while other muffins respond better to the initial rapid heat rise.
• Use a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop to scoop the muffin batter evenly in the muffin pan. This is an easy tip to distribute the batter evenly (you could also use a scale) and helps avoid making a mess with the batter.
• Space out the muffins in the pan for more rise. This is basically a magic trick, but I'm telling you it really helps create those big tall muffin tops! While it is not necessary at all; if you desire domed muffin tops or struggle to get your muffins to rise properly, try this tip! Filling every other muffin well and leaving the spaces inbetween empty allows for more air and heat circulation around the muffins. This allows the muffins to rise with much higher perfectly domed tops.
• Use both baking soda and baking powder. All of my muffin recipes call for both of these ingredients. They both assist with rise, but also play a role in the texture and final outcome of the muffin.
• When making mini muffins, use mini add ins! For example, instead of regularly sized chocolate chips, use mini chocolate chips. For any fruits or nuts, chop them first before folding into the muffin batter. Remember mini muffins also require much less time to bake!