Zucchini Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

Have you been seeing as many zucchini recipes online as I have this summer? It seems like everyone with a garden has had an influx of zucchinis this year.

 

Well, personal gardens are a little hard to come by in NYC, but I asked the one person I know with one in Astoria and he said that he planted late and is hoping to see some in a couple of weeks.

 

This meant that last night I had to buy some from the grocery store. No biggie. But then I couldn't find any and started getting frustrated in the produce section. So I finally settled for the green squash that was near a gourd and figured it was close enough.

 

When I went to the self-check out aisle and scanned in the green squash, it said, "zucchini" as the item.

 

Well I learn something new each day...

This recipe also called for chocolate chips and I wanted to use some organic chocolate. I love sweetriot and was happy to discover that they had a dark chocolate bar with coconut in it. Since this recipe called for coconut already, I figured this was a win-win!

While this recipe has many components which needed many bowls, it was relatively easy to put together.

These bars are rather hearty with all the oatmeal that's called for. You would probably associate them with granola bars more than cookies (like I did.) They are nice and moist with subtle flavors. I think next time I make them I'd add a kick of some spice. Now what spice goes well with zucchini?

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Coconut Cookies (adapted from Two Peas & Their Pods)

1 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted and cooled to room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded zucchini
2 cups old fashioned oats (Erika's Extra: I used gluten free oats bc I had them on hand)
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes (Erika's Extra: I used desiccated semi-sweet coconut. I suggest using the sweetened flakes)
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (Erika's Extra: I used the chocolate bar mentioned above and chopped it up in my food processor)

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine coconut oil and sugars, mix until smooth. (Erika's Extras: I did this with my hand and not via a blender. It worked fine.) Add egg and vanilla extract. Next, add the shredded zucchini. Mix until combined.
4. Add flour mixture until combined. Stir in oats, coconut, and chocolate chips.
5. Drop cookie dough by heaping tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or cookies are slightly golden around the edges and set. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Bake well and prosper!

No-bake Chocolate Crackle

When I made the Vegan Breakfast Cookies last week, I shared some with my coworker and explained to her how I used coconut oil for the first time ever. Another co-worker overheard and told me about a coconut oil based dessert they have in Australia (which is where he's from.)

I promptly asked for a link to a recipe and last night I finally had time to make them. (After being released early from an opera rehearsal. Yippee!)

I didn't want to buy a whole box of Rice Krispies that I wouldn't finish eating, so I decided to make this recipe with some Special K I had on hand. Man, these things are good (and sugary)! Super quick and no oven needed, these are a great last minute recipe to make for a party. I should have named them Special Krack!

No-bake Chocolate Crackle

Ingredients

4 cups of Special K (or cereal of your choice)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup desiccated coconut (shredded if you can't find desiccated)

1cup+ ounces of coconut oil

3 Tblsp cocoa

In a large bowl, mix the Special K, powdered sugar, cocoa, and coconut.

Slowly melt the coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat.

Allow to cool slightly.

Add to the large bowl, stirring until well combined.

Spoon mixture into paper cupcake liners and refrigerate until firm.

Bake well and prosper!

Vegan Breakfast Cookies

Confession (I feel like I confess a lot on my blog...) - I've never used coconut oil before. This recipe calls for it and I was scared that I wouldn't even find it at the grocery store. But there it was in the "European and World" food isle.

When I opened it up at home I was surprised to see it was in a solid form. I guess I was expecting more of a liquid oil. I was concerned I would never get it blended into the cookie dough. But then I researched it online and found out that it usually comes in solid form and softens very quickly in heat. I let out a sigh of relief.

You can make these cookies with normal chocolate chips, but since I had vegan chocolate chips on hand I decided to use those. Therefore it made the recipe vegan.

I really enjoyed these as did the few people I shared them with. One friend said, "I could eat a couple of these each morning." To which I said, "Me too. In fact, I think I ate 5 this morning!"

Vegan Breakfast Cookies (Modified from uTry.it)

Ingredients

2 bananas (preferably ripe or spotty bananas)

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

3/4 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Then, mix the remaining ingredients into the bananas until well combined.

Allow the batter to sit for 5 to 10 minutes. With a mini ice cream scoop (about 1 tablespoon), place the batter onto a baking sheet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.

Bake well and prosper!