Eclecticisms: Zucchini-Spice Cupcakes

Alas, the end of summer brings an end to fresh zucchini from the garden. (Speaking of the end of summer, how is it 80 degrees on october 10th?! Where is fall, my favorite season?) Last night I used up most of what we have left by making these delicious little cupcakes. Although they might be more nutritious than your run of the mill yellow cupcakes with butter cream frosting, don't be fooled! These guys are sweet and delicious. For an added health boost, you can add 2 Tbs flaxseed to the batter.

This recipe came from a cookbook my friend Susan gave me for my B-day this year, Martha Stewart's Cupcakes.

Ingredients

Makes 24 cupcakes

3 Cps All purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 Cp vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temp
1 Tbs pure vanilla extract
3/4 tsp finely grated lemon zest
2 Cps packed light brown sugar (I used half light and half brown for a deeper flavor)
3 Cps packed grated zucchini (about 2.5 meduim zucchinis)
1 Cp toasted and coarsely chopped walnuts (optional... I did NOT add these. If using, you mix into the batter last)
2 Tbs flaxseed (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting

Pre-heat the over to 350 degrees and line muffin tins with paper liners. Grate zucchini and set aside. The grater I use is one my Mom got at IKEA (left). It's so fantastic that I stole it from her. (This might be an item she voluntarily gave me actually... I'm not sure.)

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. (I'm back to making faces with my dry ingredients!)

Using your mixer, whisk together oil, eggs, vanilla and zest until well blended. Whisk in brown sugar and blend until smooth. Stir in zucchini (I left a little of the water from the zucchini out since this recipe seemed so moist already. I'm not sure if there would have been much of a difference had I left it in.) Gradually add flour mixture and stir until combined.

Fill cups about 3/4 full with batter. One tip I've read to keep the cupcakes evenly sized is to use an ice cream scoop. I found this batter to be so messy that I wasn't about to start caring about completely uniform sized cupcakes. Each of my cupcakes would be their own unique and individual selves, whether they liked it or not.

Bake 20 minutes, rotating the tins halfway through. Allow to cool completely on the stove top or wire racks before removing the cupcakes and icing them.