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Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies
By Melissa Breyer, Senior Editor, Care2 Healthy and Green Living
Yes that’s right, 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 just the best 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
INGREDIENTS:
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.
Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/green-dish-zucchini-chocolate-chip-cookies.html#ixzz1361w8jps
Good, Quick, Cheap & Filling!
Grilled cheese and tomato soup (shared by Colleen) is something that we often make around here for lunches, particularly when someone isn’t feeling good. Our oldest son particularly likes this meal and sometimes requests it out of the blue.
Spaghetti with homemade marinara (shared by Fran, who describes the marinara: “canned tomoates, chopped onion and garlic sauteed together”) is absolutely delicious and can make enough to fill a family of four for about $2, especially if the garden is producing.
