Do you ever get a recipe idea in your head that you just can’t shake? That’s how I felt about these chocolate chai zucchini muffins – once I dreamed up the idea, I couldn’t stop thinking about them! Chocolate and chai are delicious together and I had a feeling that they’d make an especially delicious treat when added to zucchini muffins.
Peak zucchini season is over, but it took me a few tries to perfect this recipe. Luckily, zucchini is pretty easy to find year-round.
The first time I attempted these muffins, I used chai concentrate but, unfortunately, the flavor didn’t come through. The second time the flavor was spot-on, but the muffins were too dry. The third time, I finally nailed it. The chocolate and chai flavors are nicely balanced, and the muffins are moist and cakey. I love that they’re healthy enough for breakfast, but decadent enough for dessert.
To help keep the calories in these chocolate chai zucchini muffins down, I used Zing™ Baking Blend, a combination of stevia leaf extract and cane sugar with just 5 calories per serving. It bakes and browns like sugar so you get perfectly golden cakes and cookies with fewer calories. You can easily use Zing™ Baking Blend in recipes by replacing the sugar with half as much of this sweetener, but since you use less there are a few things to keep in mind.
First, it will decrease the volume of your batter slightly (that’s why these are a little smaller than the oversized muffins I usually make.) Also, since the sweetener doesn’t add moisture to baked goods the same way sugar does, you’ll want to add an extra egg or 1/4 cup more liquid to your recipe. For these muffins, that’s as simple as not needing to squeeze the extra moisture out of the zucchini. I also found the using coconut oil instead of vegetable oil gave the muffins a better texture. You can see more tips for baking with Zing™ Baking Blend here.
Chocolate Chai Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
Instructions
What kind of treats will you bake using Born Sweet® Zing™ Baking Blend?
Angel Jacklyn says
11/01 at 4:08 amhttps://mobile.twitter.com/kytah00/status/660733668076462080
SHAWN GALLAGHER says
11/01 at 2:33 amNOT SURE TWEET WENT THROUGH… https://twitter.com/Esham4life/status/660719539051732992
SHAWN GALLAGHER says
11/01 at 2:30 amGOOD OLD FASHIONED CHOCOLATE PUDDIN’
Norma says
10/31 at 9:26 pmI’d try it in bread pudding!
LAMusing says
10/31 at 9:25 pmI’d make my butter pecan ball cookies!
Kathryn C says
10/31 at 8:10 pm#SweepstakesEntry
I would try making my favorite, Lintzer tart cookies
KC
Jerry Marquardt says
10/31 at 7:43 pmThe treat that I bake most using Born Sweet Zing Baking Blend is Banana Bread.
Betty C says
10/31 at 5:50 pmTweet – https://twitter.com/willitara/status/660574557628030976
Betty C says
10/31 at 5:49 pmI’ll be making cookies and muffins to share with my friends at work.
Erica Best says
10/31 at 3:23 pmhttps://www.pinterest.com/pin/155866837081107033/
Erica Best says
10/31 at 3:22 pmi would try it in banana bread
WHITNEY says
10/31 at 2:21 pmI would try making christmas cookies and banana nut bread.
Tabathia B says
10/31 at 12:53 pmI would bake banana bread
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
Debbie B says
10/31 at 2:48 amI posted a tweet here:
https://twitter.com/bellows22/status/660347522322329601
Debbie B says
10/31 at 2:46 amthose chocolate muffins look delicious! I would like to try making chocolate chip cookies with Born Sweet Zing Banking Bread
Tarissa says
10/31 at 12:28 amTweeted! https://twitter.com/pixel_berry_pie/status/660312098522533888
Tarissa says
10/31 at 12:27 amI’d use Zing for baking with donuts or in waffles. Yum!
Denise L says
10/30 at 4:41 pmtweeted – https://twitter.com/dmarie824/status/660194660636200960
Denise L says
10/30 at 4:40 pmI’d like to try Zing in my favorite banana bread recipe.
angie says
10/30 at 12:16 pmhmmmm what to bake. OH! I know! A carrot cake. Yummers!!!
Rebecca Graham says
10/30 at 3:56 amI will make mini apple pies.
Linda C. says
10/27 at 5:09 pmTweet https://twitter.com/Lindiac/status/659114535039578112
Linda C. says
10/27 at 5:07 pmI’d make mini cheesecakes
Kristen says
10/26 at 6:01 pmtweeted
https://twitter.com/rubylorikeet/status/658765163311448065
Kristen says
10/26 at 6:01 pmI’d like to try using Zing in my favorite molasses cookies.
Kerry says
10/26 at 3:05 pmtweeted : https://twitter.com/KerryBishop/status/658720900234256384
Kerry says
10/26 at 12:35 pmI would make chocolate chip cookies!
Cynthia C says
10/26 at 7:44 amI would like to try Zin to make blueberry muffins.
mysweetiepiepie says
10/25 at 7:52 pmI’d make all kinds of stuff but cookies and muffins are generally the favorites around here.
Deb Ford says
10/25 at 2:10 pmI bet it would be great in my banana walnut bread
Susan Smith says
10/24 at 4:52 pmhttps://twitter.com/susan1215/status/658022751383371776
Susan Smith says
10/24 at 4:48 pmI would make some banana bread with Zing Baking Blend.
ELIZA ELLIOT says
10/24 at 4:07 pmhttps://twitter.com/eliza_elliott/status/658009566806847488
Laura J says
10/20 at 5:31 pmMy Tweet
https://twitter.com/ilovemybeagle22/status/656583567913283584
Laura J says
10/20 at 5:30 pmI would love to try it in my pumpkin raisin bread! One of our favorites this time of year! Your muffins look so yummy!!! I love cooking with zucchini!
Gina M says
10/18 at 7:14 pmtweet–https://twitter.com/WildOrchid985/status/655884603656421377
Gina M says
10/18 at 7:13 pmI will make a lightened up version of my favorite chocolate chip cookies.
Thanks for the chance to win!
wildorchid985 AT gmail DOT com
D Schmidt says
10/16 at 1:10 pmtweeted https://twitter.com/mummytotwoboys1/status/655067540134207489
D Schmidt says
10/16 at 1:09 pmI think I would bake some sort of scones!
OFG says
10/15 at 11:32 pmChocolate Chip Banana Brown Butter Cake!
onefrugalgirl AT gmail DOT com
OFG says
10/15 at 11:31 pmhttps://twitter.com/OneFrugalGirl/status/654861171204464640
onefrugalgirl AT gmail DOT com
Tina m says
10/15 at 10:48 pmhttps://twitter.com/HappyTina0115/status/654851141822386176
Tina m says
10/15 at 10:47 pmI’d bake cheesecakes and pies.
Amy Tong says
10/12 at 12:51 amtweeted:
https://twitter.com/uTry_it/status/653432653731880960
amy [at] utry [dot] it
Amy Tong says
10/12 at 12:50 amI would make some chocolate cake with Zing Baking Blend.
amy [at] utry [dot] it
Carla says
10/11 at 7:36 pmI’ve never had chocolate and chai together, but it seems like this past year has been the year of chai for me; I can’t stop craving it! I can’t wait to try these muffins.
Jeffrey says
10/11 at 12:09 pmI tweeted: https://twitter.com/FireRunner2379/status/653240928610721792.
Jeffrey says
10/11 at 12:07 pmIts pumpkin season so I would use Zing to bake a pumpkin cake!
Jessie C. says
10/10 at 10:08 pmtweet-https://twitter.com/tcarolinep/status/653029081898856448
Jessie C. says
10/10 at 10:08 pmI would bake cinnamon muffins using Born Sweet Zing Baking Blend.
tcarolinep at gmail dot com
Vickie says
10/10 at 7:17 pmhttps://twitter.com/vickievirt/status/652985970971820032
Vickie says
10/10 at 7:12 pmYour recipe sounds yummy.
Interesting new product for me to try and will shop for.
Sounds like to me Zing backing blend can be uses in all my treat recipes.
Fall is the kickoff to all my baking and the first thing I make is my apple, walnut caramel pie.
Erika says
10/10 at 2:24 pmI’d love to bake lots of sugar cookies this Christmas!
chambanachik(at)gmail(dot)com
Shoshana says
10/09 at 2:59 pmWhat a unique and delicious combination! I would use the baking blend to make pumpkin bread!
Madeline says
10/09 at 7:49 amTweet link: https://twitter.com/shala_darkstone/status/652450875823161344
Madeline says
10/09 at 7:46 amI’ll use the Born Sweet® Zing™ Baking Blend to make their cinnamon apple muffins. They look tasty!
Nutmeg Nanny says
10/08 at 7:42 pmThese muffins sounds amazing – no wonder you couldn’t get it out of your mind! I bet the zucchini kept the muffins nice and moist and of course the chocolate chai combo is perfection.
Lori @ Foxes Love Lemons says
10/08 at 4:04 pmOh yes, I have recipe ideas that haunt my dreams at night. So glad these became a (delicious) reality for you!
Amanda says
10/08 at 10:04 amOh my gosh… I NEED to try that Zing Stevia! It’s a game changer!
Katherine says
10/07 at 3:59 pmhttps://twitter.com/mkjmc/status/651848111304900608
Katherine says
10/07 at 3:55 pmI would make my pumpkin roll cake
Natalie says
10/07 at 3:41 pmI would love to use Born Sweet® Zing™ Baking Blend to make some cinnamon apple muffins!!
Natalie says
10/07 at 3:36 pmhttps://twitter.com/yarbr012/status/651843173552029697
naomi says
10/07 at 12:01 pmChocolate and Zucchini are always a great pairing – love this recipe!
kate @veggie desserts says
10/07 at 10:12 amChocolate, chai, zucchini – these sound AMAZING!!! Love the combo.
Lora @cakeduchess says
10/07 at 5:47 amI’m still making zucchini recipes, even though I’ve snuck some pumpkin desserts in here and there. I would love one of these lovely muffins for breakfast right now with my coffee!
Lisa Brown says
10/07 at 4:43 amtweet-https://twitter.com/LuLu_Brown24/status/651679070191681536
Lisa Brown says
10/07 at 4:42 ami will make oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
10/07 at 3:35 amI have so much love for chocolate and zucchini together & the additional spice of chai here sounds divine!
Rachel says
10/06 at 11:40 pmhttps://twitter.com/RachelGriesmer/status/651602757820911616
Rachel says
10/06 at 11:39 pmI would make pumpkin and banana bread.
Will G says
10/06 at 10:32 pmhttps://twitter.com/willgriesmer/status/651585726195310598
Will G says
10/06 at 10:31 pmI would make zucchini bread.
Janice Cooper says
10/06 at 9:44 pmI would love to make Chocolate Chai Zucchini Muffins
Steven weber says
10/06 at 9:13 pmI will bake carrot cake cupcakes
groogruxking40 @ gmail dot com
Kelly D says
10/06 at 8:32 pmtweet
https://twitter.com/Kellydpa/status/651555656269479936
Kelly D says
10/06 at 8:31 pmI would bake chocolate chip cookies.
heather says
10/06 at 8:29 pmI would bake banana bread with it first especially for this Fall cooler weather.
Julie Wood says
10/06 at 8:23 pmtweet-https://twitter.com/JewelWood/status/651553216157515776
Julie Wood says
10/06 at 8:22 pmMy Dad has Diabetes and it runs in my family so I am always looking for healthier dessert recipes and I like the Born Sweet Zing Baking blend to make my Red Velvet Cupcakes and Cinnamon Apple Muffins.
Jessica To says
10/06 at 8:09 pmI would like to make some banana bread.
Mami2jcn says
10/06 at 7:58 pmtweet–https://twitter.com/mami2jcn/status/651547086392049664
Mami2jcn says
10/06 at 7:56 pmi will bake carrot cake.
latanya says
10/06 at 7:37 pmhttps://twitter.com/sweetums82/status/651541657507229696
latanya says
10/06 at 7:32 pmI would bake cookies and cupcakes
Renee - Kudos Kitchen says
10/06 at 7:06 pmThese muffins look so chocolaty and plump. Just what you want when eating a muffin!
Elena says
10/06 at 6:34 pmhttps://twitter.com/ElenaIstomina/status/651525640802295808
Elena says
10/06 at 6:33 pmI would bake muffins
The Food Hunter says
10/06 at 5:23 pmThey sure sound delicious! adding to my must try list
Lana | Never Enough Thyme says
10/06 at 2:30 pmWhat a lovely combination of flavors in this very unique muffin!
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
10/06 at 2:12 pmI love the combo of chocolate and zucchini – just discovered it this past summer. I need these muffins!
christine says
10/06 at 1:38 pmChocolate and zucchini are a match made in heaven!
Paula - bell'alimento says
10/06 at 1:24 pmChocolate and Zucchini are so underrated. Love this Lauren.
Heather | All Roads Lead to the Kitchen says
10/06 at 12:33 pmOh, chocolate and chai sounds like a delicious combo – and zucchini is just an added bonus!
Tasha @thatssoyummy says
10/06 at 8:42 amlove this combo of chocolate and zucchini
Sharon K says
10/06 at 8:11 amMy Tweet: https://twitter.com/711Mum/status/651368752890650624
Thanks for the opportunity!
Sharon K says
10/06 at 7:48 amI love Monkey Bread, but since being told I’m pre-diabetic, I’ve had to radically change the foods I love, especially those treats like Monkey Bread. I’ll be checking out Born Sweet Zing Baking Blend. 🙂