Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies (adapted from www.skinnychef.com )

Sweet Mother of God. You must make these brownies. Get thee to a farmer’s market, snatch up some zucchini, and BAKE, DAMMIT! Just listen to me and take a gander at the pics. I know throwing a vegetable into a chocolate chunk of love seems like a travesty of all that is gooey, chocolate, and comforting. BUT trust me. I may not be as big as I used to be, but I still categorize myself as a Big Girl. If you trust nothing else, trust the food that comes from this Big Girl’s kitchen. I will certainly make these once my son starts preschool this fall. I see a lunchbox treat in the making!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies
Ingredients

5 oz bittersweet dark chocolate, chopped

1/4 C vegetable oil

1 egg

1 C granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 C all-purpose flour or oat flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini, (about 1 large zucchini)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or almonds

Non-stick cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 8×8-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
   
2. Place chocolate in microwave (30 seconds to 1 minute) until melted. Cool slightly.
   
3. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, egg, sugar, vanilla and melted chocolate until well blended.
   
4. Stir in the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
   
5. Fold in the zucchini and nuts and spread evenly into the prepared pan.
   
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the pan. Cool completely in the pan and cut into squares. Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Makes 12, 1.5 ounce brownies
   

Notes:

Chocolate: I made this on a spur of the moment and had to accept that Wal-Mart only has so much to offer in regards to chocolate. Those in the chocolate world may cringe, but the best I could do was one of those super-size Hershey Special Dark bars. I used my handy 10-inch butcher knife to chop it up.

Flavoring: The original recipe called for cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. I have a tough time stomaching the taste of cinnamon outside of a few recipes. I don’t even want to discuss pumpkin pie spice. This one? I couldn’t make myself put in either spice. I’m sure if you’re a lover of all that’s cinnamon, you’ll like one, the other, or both. The Skinny Chef called for 1 tsp of that stuff.

Batter: Not unlike the zucchini fritters also adapted from the Skinny Chef, this batter will be unbelievably dry and tough until you add the shredded zucchini. Do NOT despair and do NOT add any other moisture. And for all that’s holy USE YOUR HANDS to combine the batter with the zucchini. It’ll be messy but so much easier and “mother earth” than using some new-fangled spoon thing.

Zucchini: This lovely stuff adds so much moisture to the brownies. No cake-like texture in THIS recipe! No no no! And fiber. My brothers and sisters, you can eat these suckers with the knowledge that you’re getting some FIBER. For real. Amazing stuff, I tell ya.

Nuts: I didn’t put any in here because the kid gets ookey about what he calls “creepy” textures. Yeah. He’s four and uses the word “creepy” to describe things. Just roll with it. That’s what I do.

Cook time: I must confess that I only cooked these for 20 minutes and liked the texture of what came out of my oven. Some people are zealots when following a recipe. I follow my gut.

Variations:
Change up the nuts or leave them out.
Add chunks of chocolate.

Feedback:
Both the husband and the kid were salivating when I pulled these suckers out of the oven. I used the oven timer because we were eating dinner while they were cooking. When the beeper went off, my son flew into the kitchen. Note: He hadn't eaten his dinner and was summarily sent back after being allowed to inhale all that is chocolate and top-secret zucchini. I didn't tell him these suckers had vegetables in them and never will!