For some reason I decided to buy three giant zucchini from the farmers’ market on Saturday. I thought I needed more than I did.

I bought one to make peach pita pizzas but that one was so big that I only ended up using half of it. Then I had another two giant zucchinis hanging out in the fridge. I thought about what to make with them and the idea for these zucchini chocolate chip muffins was born.

Zucchini and chocolate? you might say disparagingly. Never fear: Zucchini and chocolate is a delicious combination. If you think about it, zucchini is blank canvas that calls for a little spicing up. It doesn’t have a strong flavor of its own so it pairs well with other flavors, including chocolate. It’s fine hanging out in the background while chocolate gets most of the attention.

These muffins are the perfect balance of healthy and indulgent. They’re slightly sweet, savory with the zucchini, and filled with morsels of semi-sweet chocolate. Just writing about them makes me want another one.

Unfortunately I don’t think that will happen this morning because I already gave most of them away to coworkers. A couple people stopped by my office to tell me how good they are, so at least there’s that.

If you have an abundance of zucchini or you just feel like making the most of summer produce, I’d highly recommend these muffins. Maybe you’ll run out of muffin liners and have to use Thanksgiving ones with turkeys on them because it’s all you have in the pantry. That’s okay. Let it happen.

Here’s a song to get you started on your zucchini muffin journey. I’ve been listening to Kacey Musgraves a lot this week to soothe myself, and also because I like her new album a lot. This is one of my favorite songs.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 medium banana)
1/4 cup melted and cooled coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup white flour
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Mash the banana. Melt the coconut oil and let it cool. Line a muffin tin with liners and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the banana, coconut oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until well combined. Then add the two eggs and mix to incorporate. Add the ground cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and mix to combine.

Add the two cups of flour at a low speed and mix until the flour disappears. Do not overmix. Add the zucchini and chocolate chips and use a spatula to mix them into the batter.

Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for a few minutes on a wire rack, and then remove the muffins from the tin and allow them to cool the rest of the way on the rack.

The muffins will keep for a few days in a airtight container, or you could freeze them. Enjoy!