Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mmm hmm, zucchini and chocolate. In some kind of stupendous feat of baking alchemy, the taste and texture of the squash completely disappears, while adding moisture and a nice nutritional pop. Although those of you with over-enthusiastic zucchini vines know all too well that you can, and are generally required to, sneak zucchini into just about anything (including unlocked cars and neighbor’s mailboxes)–chocolate chip cookies came as a surprise to me.

However I had made a dark chocolate and zucchini cake which was a big hit here at Care2 last summer, and really delicious. Not long after I tried that recipe someone asked me what would be my dream book to write, and I answered that it had actually already been written and I had just read it: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral by Barbara Kingsolver. It’s a great book, and I wish I had written it. (Not only for the year of farming and cooking that she got to experience, but for her wonderful writing.) Anyway, it’s the book that yielded this lovely recipe.

I usually adapt recipes with a strong tweak and swap out refined ingredients for more wholesome ones, but Barbara’s recipe is pretty much spot on to my eye and I only made a few alternative suggestions. I am going to play around with a vegan version using maple syrup for honey, flaxseed meal for the egg and coconut oil for the butter. I’ll let you know how it turns out next week. Until then, happy zucchini hiding.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar (or Sucanat)
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Combine in large bowl:
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Combine in a separate, small bowl and blend into liquid mixture:
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
12 oz chocolate chips

Stir these into other ingredients, mix well. Drop by spoonful onto greased baking
sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350F degrees, 10 to 15 minutes.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

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Debbie C.

6:29AM PDT on Apr 3, 2012

Oh my gosh. I love zucchini, and I love chocolate. This is the best of both worlds!! I can't wait till my Zucchini gets bigger. I will defintely try these. Yummm.