If I've learned anything at work these last few months, it's that the kitchen is the true heart of the Southern home. It's sacred in all of its secrets: how to season a cast-iron skillet, how to make Grandma's biscuits just right, and even how to share recipes. I'd always known my grandmother's recipe box was a cherished staple of the kitchen, but it wasn't until she gifted me with a box of my own (OK, so it's a more modern recipe book, whatever) that I understood its power.
It isn't just a random collection of things to make my beau on a weeknight; it's my family history passed down from generation to generation in recipe form. Not to get all sappy about my lineage, but the strong women in my life won't always be there. This handwritten collection of recipes from both my grandmother's (plus a few from my mother) is a family tree of sorts. Some of the recipes are ones I've made so many times I don't even need to follow the instructions, while others were added just because someone aught to know how to make Granny's Lima Bean Soup.
Either way, every good Southern gal should have at least a handful of go-to recipes under her belt, and this recent edition to my recipe box is definitely one of them. Granny only started making these zucchini-nut muffins a few years ago, but they've quickly become a family favorite. Since this recipe yields about 36 muffins (if you make small ones, if you don't, it's around 24), I love to make a batch on Sunday and freeze the extras for the week (or longer).
It isn't just a random collection of things to make my beau on a weeknight; it's my family history passed down from generation to generation in recipe form. Not to get all sappy about my lineage, but the strong women in my life won't always be there. This handwritten collection of recipes from both my grandmother's (plus a few from my mother) is a family tree of sorts. Some of the recipes are ones I've made so many times I don't even need to follow the instructions, while others were added just because someone aught to know how to make Granny's Lima Bean Soup.
Either way, every good Southern gal should have at least a handful of go-to recipes under her belt, and this recent edition to my recipe box is definitely one of them. Granny only started making these zucchini-nut muffins a few years ago, but they've quickly become a family favorite. Since this recipe yields about 36 muffins (if you make small ones, if you don't, it's around 24), I love to make a batch on Sunday and freeze the extras for the week (or longer).
Granny's Zucchini-Nut Muffins
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
4 eggs
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups raw zucchini washed, peeled and grated
2 cups chopped walnuts
2 cups sugar
1 cup light olive oil or canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
Instructions:
Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together and set aside.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat 4 eggs and sugar until creamed.
Slowly add 1 cup oil, mix well.
Add vanilla, zucchini, walnuts and raisins, mix well.
Fold in dry ingredients, only a few turns, don't over mix.
Pour into greased muffin pan.
Bake in preheated 375 oven for 20 - 25 minutes.
3 cups flour
4 eggs
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups raw zucchini washed, peeled and grated
2 cups chopped walnuts
2 cups sugar
1 cup light olive oil or canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
Instructions:
Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together and set aside.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat 4 eggs and sugar until creamed.
Slowly add 1 cup oil, mix well.
Add vanilla, zucchini, walnuts and raisins, mix well.
Fold in dry ingredients, only a few turns, don't over mix.
Pour into greased muffin pan.
Bake in preheated 375 oven for 20 - 25 minutes.