Birthday Breakfast Muffins

It's my brother's birthday today! I wanted him to wake up to something special, a nice little birthday muffin to get the day going. He's been on this health kick lately (I wonder if living with me, my big mouth, and my always busy kitchen has anything to do with it) so it was my obligation to make him a muffin that satisfied his taste buds but didn't sacrifice his health. Here's to the healthier side of the muffin... and to my brother's 25 birthday!

3/4 cup all purpose flour*
1/2 cup cake flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 banana, mashed
1/2 cup raw sugar**
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce***
1/4 cup almond milk, or alternative plant-based milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease muffin pan and set aside. If using paper liners, lightly spray inside of liners with cooking spray to prevent sticking. In a bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together. In another bowl, cream mashed banana with applesauce and sugar. Add in the plant-based milk, vanilla, zucchini, chopped walnuts, and chocolate chips. Stir until evenly combined. Slowly stir in the flour mixture to banana mixture until completely incorporated. Spoon batter into greased muffin pan and bake 18-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

*The recipe called for 1 1/4 cups pastry flour, which can be hard to find. I subbed it for the cake flour and AP flour- the texture came out nice, moist and soft like a cupcake.

**To be completely honest, the sugar could have probably been cut down to 1/4 of a cup. I'm curious to see how it would turn out with agave instead of raw sugar, if you try subbing let me know how it turns out!

***I made my own with the apples I had in the fridge. Just peel, slice, add some water and cook down over medium low heat on the stove until you can mash it to a sauce. This was easier for me than having to run out and buy a jar of applesauce that would have become forgotten in the fridge.

This recipe made 9 extra large muffins and they do well in both the fridge and freezer!
 Recipe adapted from Lindsay S. Nixon of Happy Herbivore blog