CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI COOKIES

Chocolate Zucchini Cookies

As the zucchini's keep flowing I am always looking for ways to use them up. This is a recipe I created some years ago when I had another zucchini glut in the garden. My friend Michelle reminded me of the recipe a while ago, as they are her favourite cookie. They are a chewy, not to sweet cookie, that remind me a little of the chewy chocolate chip cookies I ate while living in Canada (though with a lot less sugar).

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1 medium zucchini grated (approx 1 loosely packed cup)
• 75 g soft butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 free range egg small size
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup white flour or use half wholemeal/ half white flour
• [GF: use 3/4 cup brown rice flour + 1/4 cup tapioca/ corn flour]
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup approx. 50g chopped dark chocolate 70%

Instructions

• Preheat oven 180C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
• Place the grated zucchini into a sieve and squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible. This is very important or you will end up with soggy cookies.
• Cream butter and sugar in a bowl or food processor until pale. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix well. Add oats, flour, baking powder, zucchini and chocolate. Combine. Using two tablespoons, scoop 12 mounds of the mixture onto the baking tray. Don't press the mix down and make sure there is space between the cookies as they will spread a little as they bake.
• Bake for 20 minuets until golden (if using gluten-free flour as I did they won't brown much). Use a metal spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to a cake rack to cool. Store in an airtight container and eat within 3-4 days as they won't keep so well with the zucchini.

Notes

Tip: Always use room temperature eggs when baking for best results.

Summer has been kind this year. Hot days, warm nights, and just enough rain to keep the garden water tanks full. In a few days it will be Autumn (officially 1st March in the Southern Hemisphere) and the gradual cooling down to winter will begin. Let’s not rush ourselves here though, for now a reflection on summer that has provided warmth for our souls and food for our bellies.

Our backyard has provided us well this summer. Possibly the best summer garden I have had yet. Having more time on my hands meant I could be more attentive and plan ahead. I started early to get my summer seeds (tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers etc) sown for planting out at the end of October. I nurtured my seedlings making sure they were happy and healthy so to grow strong plants. Over the season I kept up with successive planting (carrots and beetroot) every few weeks, and mulching to keep the weeds down and moisture in.

The first fruit, from our surprising apricot tree, kicked started the summer fruit to be followed by, the peach, greengage plums, early season figs and elephant heart plums. But it is the blackberries hands-down to win the best producer this year. We easily pick a container full every few days (mostly eaten by little fingers and some frozen for winter crumbles).

The vegetable garden beds have also been kind with a constant supply of zucchini’s and marrow, a years supply of garlic, half a years supply of agria potatoes, possibly a quarter year of onions, plus peas, carrots and beetroot. And our small tunnel house (my Christmas present two summers ago) is keeping the tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and chilli’s happy. Though the tomatoes are a little later this year to ripen we are now daily picking cherry tomatoes, Roma’s, and a beef-steak tomato – delicious on toast with salt and a drizzle of olive oil. Sadly my green beans have been very slow this year, I possibly planted them a little late as the garden beds were full. On the to-do list for winter, build more garden beds (I am rapidly heading towards the ‘food not lawns’ philosophy in our garden).

Save

Save