Chocolate Squash Muffins- Eating Your Veggies for Dessert

Summer vegetable gardens usually bring no shortage of yellow summer squash.  For us, it's one of the easiest, quickest maturing, and most productive plants.  It's definitely a regular vegetable in our garden.
Summer squash is best fresh, however, and coming up is different ways to eat the bounty is always interesting.  This is the beginning of an effort to post at least one recipe for each type of vegetable that we harvest from our summer garden this year.

Yellow Summer Squash

I recently purchased a great cookbook for gardeners called All New Square Foot Gardening Cookbook, by Mel Bartholomew.  I love that each featured veggie or fruit has it's own section that includes a harvest guide, easy recipes, and a suggestions on how to involve kids of all ages.
Click here to get this great cookbook:
All New Square Foot Gardening Cookbook, by Mel 

I made Mel Bartholomew's Creole Chocolate Squash Muffins.  With this recipe, I'm able to kill three bird with one stone (a side dish, baby food, & muffins).

I usually have a hard time following recipes directly.  I'll eyeball all the measurements, skipping all the extra dishes & measuring utensils (I don't have a dishwasher so I try to keep it simple) and I'll change several of the ingredients.... But for the sake of trying the new recipe the way Mel intended & for this post, I stuck to the recipe (almost... I added a shot of ground cinnamon into half of the muffin batter, just to try it)!

Ingredients:
1 lb yellow squash (2-3 Medium) (I used about 10 small & had enough extra for supper & baby food)
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp plus 2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tsp salt

First- wash, cut & steam or boil yellow summer squash with a touch of salt & butter.  There you go- side dish for supper is ready!

Leftover boiled Yellow Squash from supper

Next- use leftover cooked squash (approx 2.5 cups) & purée.  You need to end up with 2 cups of yellow squash purée for the muffins.  If you have a baby like me, leave out the salt & butter in the first step, then purée a little extra & BAM- a healthy, yummy baby food.  Thicken it up with a bit of infant rice or oatmeal cereal, if you'd like.  Freeze whatever baby will not be eating that day.  Busy moms need to multitask!

Mmm- Healthy Baby Food

Then- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Take 2 cups of the squash purée and add the eggs to it, mixing very well.  In a separate bowl, combine the butter, cocoa, and white sugar.  Add this to the squash mixture and mix well.  Now, combine brown sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the center of the flour mix.  Pour the squash mix into your well and carefully stir until completely incorporated.

Chocolate Squash mixture poured into the flour well.

Fill muffin tins/papers two-thirds full, and stick them in the oven.  Wash the dishes, change a diaper, and approximately 20 minutes later (or until toothpick test comes clean), you've got this yummy treat!

I always add a bit of water into the empty spaces on a muffin tin.  Nice thick batter!

Get a glass of milk ready & enjoy your chocolate squash muffin!  Mel says it makes 18 medium muffins, but I ended up with 22 (those extra 4 were gone in about 10 minutes).

Yummy Chocolate Squash Muffins!

The texture was very nice and moist.  They are mildly sweet, nice for a breakfast muffin.  I think a sprinkling of walnuts would be great on them, & the cinnamon I added is always appreciated in our house.  However, the chocolate flavor makes me think dessert.  If you wanted to serve it as such, I'd top it with a chocolate frosting.