Zucchini Bread with Chocolate Chips

Hello lovely readers! This world traveler has finally made her way back to her home, NYC! I've been here for a little more than a week and I've already baked! But I didn't take any photos of the brownies I made. However, my last week in Pittsburgh I baked AND took photos!

The dear friends I made in Pittsburgh who allowed me to bake whenever I wanted in their kitchen let me bake one more time. But they had a request: Could I use some of the zucchini that was given to them?

I was so excited about this request! Last year I wanted to bake with my NYC's friend's zucchini crop from his garden, but his crop was late/non-existent. I was overjoyed and quite amused by how large the zucchini was from the Pittsburgh garden.

 

I easily found a recipe online to make chocolate chip zucchini bread and I was quickly whipping up the batter.

It was still warm when I offered it up to my opera friends during our end of season party. The inside of the bread was moist and almost cake like and the hint of cinnamon paired surprising well with the zucchini. Let's just say it was gone before a soprano could finish singing Sempre libera.

Zucchini Bread with Chocolate Chips recipe found here: cooks.com
Erika's Extras: I omitted the walnuts in this recipe.

Bake well and prosper!

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!