Zucchini Bread and Muffins

Last Saturday I woke up with a big desire to bake zucchini bread (I have no clue why), so that is exactly what I did. I realize that zucchini bread is not really a healthy food so I decided to be creative and make some alterations to an existing recipe. I substitute most of the oil for applesauce and replaced some of the sugar with Splenda. It was surprisingly good. I need to figure out how to calculate the nutritional information of baked goods though so that I can show you the difference. The recipe was for two loaves of bread. I ended up making one loaf of bread and 12 muffins. I only have one loaf pan. I think I baked the bread a bit too long, so we preferred the muffins. They were super moist, slightly sweet, and just plain good. I may have to make another batch and freeze it for quick breakfasts this fall.

Megan's Modified Zucchini Muffins (or Bread)

Ingredients

3 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup applesauce*

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup Splenda

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 cups grated, peeled zucchini

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Beat all ingredients until blended.

For muffins- Line baking pan with paper baking cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

For bread- Pour into 2 greased and floured bread pans. Bake 45 minutes to one hour at 350 degrees.

Sprinkle top with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Can ad nuts, raisins, and etc. up to 3/4 cup.

*I used sweetened applesauce, if you use unsweetened you may want to add up to 1/4 cup of sugar or Splenda.

Source: Adapted from the Bethel United Methodist Cookbook, courtesy Nancy Johnson.