Savory Basil Zucchini Muffins

I found this recipe on another website today, and everyone here liked them so much that I figured I should post it for easy access. This is originally from Gourmet Magazine, July 1990. The recipe calls for the muffins to be sliced in half and served with butter and sliced radish, as a tea sandwich. However, they are tasty with or without radish, so I figured I'd just post it as a muffin recipe and not strictly a tea sandwich. My boyfriend and I ate the sandwiches with some homemade chai tonight, and felt very British. Of course, it would have been more British to eat them at 5PM and not 10, but we silly Americans can never get those things right. Supposedly using mini-muffin tins yields a better tea sandwich, but I used a regular muffin tin and was very satisfied with the result.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Yields: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1  teaspoon double-acting baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
• 2  tablespoons vegetable shortening, softened
• 1  tablespoon sugar
• 1  large egg
• 1⁄4 cup buttermilk
• 1  cup  coarsely grated well-scrubbed zucchini
• 1⁄2 cup  finely chopped fresh basil
• 3  tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (optional, for tea sandwich)
• 8  radishes, sliced thin (optional, for tea sandwich)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and the pepper; set aside.
3. In a large bowl cream together the shortening [I used olive oil spread instead of shortening]and sugar; beat in the egg and the buttermilk, beating until the mixture is combined well.
4. Stir in the zucchini and the basil. Add the prepared flour mixture to the zucchini mixture, stirring the batter until it is just combined.
5. Spoon mixture into well-greased muffin or mini-muffin tins. Bake the muffins on the middle rack of your oven approximately 18 to 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. (Subtract a few minutes for mini-muffins).
6. Remove from oven and turn the muffins out on a wire rack and let them cool.
7. To serve tea sandwiches: Halve the muffins horizontally, spread the cut sides with the butter, and sandwich the radish slices between the muffin halves.