Okay, so the zucchini gods must have had a snicker at me when they saw me fretting and wringing my hands about whether we’d ever have zucchini this year, and dutifully crouching over the plants each morning manually pollinating each little squash….
They seem to be having no troubles now. Watching them pile them up next to the back door daily is starting to look more like we’re stacking logs for winter!
So we’re doing our best to keep up with the preserving and using up of the zucchini, enjoying many meals of breaded and fried slices, zucchini chowder, and zucchini loaves (plain and chocolate) which are stacked in the freezer along with 20 or so freezer bags of squash for winter baking and soups.
But I have to share a new (to me) recipe that uses up two more cups of the shredded goodness, because these were really good. Did ya ever try a zucchini brownie? If not, well, I think you should.
It’s really not as though I believe the nutritional merits of zucchini come out above the nutritional pitfalls of most baking recipes. But seriously? One can delude themselves if they so choose to.
And, mmmmmm, in this case, I definitely choose to.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
ICING
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup butter
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9×13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched.
To make the frosting, melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa and butter; set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners’ sugar, milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.
Ah – a familiar scene – my son was doing our zucchinis in a Cuisinart food processor today, too. We’ve had chocolate zucchini muffins, zucchinis shredded and steamed with chopped onion, in a casserole with sausage, but haven’t tried brownies. Thanks for the recipe, it looks great.
One thing I tried last year for the first time was zucchini relish – tastes just like pickle relish and you’d never know it was zucchini.
Comment by homejewel — August 13, 2008 @ 6:11 pm
Oh, I’ve been so, so *good* with my zucchini–sauteeing it in butter, making zucchini muffins….now you’ve totally blown it for me. How can I live life without eating brownies that look as fudgy and delicious as those? And with icing! Definitely on my list for tomorrow, thanks for sharing the lusciousness!
Really enjoying your blog, too, thanks for sharing!
Comment by Amanda @ www.kiddio.org — August 13, 2008 @ 7:26 pm
oh, yes, thank you.
i will do this!
we ahve more zukes than recipes…i hate it when i start to run out of steam for these garden goodies.
how can i be tired of cukes?
Comment by prairie daze — August 13, 2008 @ 7:31 pm
mmmmm they look decadent! Remember that old phrase “be careful what you wish for” this might be what they meant LOL!! I also have an awesome zucchini red pepper relish recipe. Let me know and I’ll pass it on.
Comment by lifeinakorner — August 13, 2008 @ 9:39 pm
Oh wonderful! That looks delicious!
Comment by mountainannie — August 13, 2008 @ 10:12 pm
So do you just shred raw zuke and throw it into freezer bags, then toss it soup in February? Could it really be that easy?
I just roasted our bounty of cherry toms and the 7 1/2 #s of picked blueberries, so I’m looking for my next freezing project! Thanks ~H
Comment by Heather — August 14, 2008 @ 5:39 am
Let me offer you a heartfelt *thank you* from my husband and sons, this week they have had zucchini/bean soup, 2 nights of zucchini casserole and 1 meal plus leftovers of zuchinni polenta pizza. I think I will pleasantly surprise them with your zucchini brownies tonight. :-)
Comment by Heather — August 14, 2008 @ 7:55 am
ooh! thanks for sharing this. We are having a tough time with our zuchs but my mom has had a few giant ones sneak in and she has been stumped as to what to make next. I am going to pass this on to her.
happy baking and gardening!!!
Comment by vanessa — August 14, 2008 @ 4:11 pm
Those brownies look so good! I’m going to have to try this.
We do that too…always fret about the status of a non productive plant, then wham-o we get hit with a huge bumper crop.
Comment by asonomagarden — August 15, 2008 @ 1:07 pm
We made the brownies with icing this weekend and they were just amazing. Much more popular than my old stand-by recipe. I was surprised there was no egg in there and I doubled checked the recipe, just in case. Have to pass this on to our vegan preschool teacher (with some slight modifications to the icing).
Thanks for the yumminess! ~H
Comment by Heather — August 18, 2008 @ 5:55 am
I love you Krista…you are such a wonderful person…and mommy…..
I love to read your postes in the morning…especially one like this….it always makes me feel warm inside…thank you :)
Comment by kim — August 18, 2008 @ 7:08 am
[...] Chocolate Zucchini Brownies [...]
Pingback by What to do with all that summer zucchini! — Recipes and Ideas :: hippie dippie bébé — August 21, 2008 @ 11:57 am
[...] to a minimum since I’d have to buy everything new, right down to flour. So I settled on this recipe, which is actually a brownie recipe. I figured if they tasted good in a pan surely they would [...]
Pingback by Playing With Produce « Vegan Homemade — September 2, 2008 @ 11:08 am
i just tried this recipe tonight. It is very yummy and rich! Who would know that there was zucchini in this?!?!?! My last zucchini has now officially gone out with a bang!!
Comment by Leslie — September 20, 2008 @ 9:17 pm
[...] tea). After adding a bajillion new books to my Goodreads to-read list, I set about making these Chocolate Zucchini Brownies. I’ve been craving chocolate (when don’t I crave chocolate?) and it’s getting a [...]
Pingback by chocolate and mail « garish & tweed — October 11, 2008 @ 10:18 am