Sometimes we find a giant zucchini that we overlooked in the garden. Not a problem! Our favorite use for oversized summer squash is zucchini bread. Just add cocoa powder and chocolate chips and you have a wonderful chocolate version of this summer treat. It freezes well so it can be enjoyed even after the season is over.
We enjoy this topped with homemade cherry jam. It reminds us of chocolate covered cherries.
Enjoy!
CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD
We enjoy our chocolate zucchini bread with cherry jam. It's like a chocolate covered cherry.
This recipe is adapted from the Zucchini Bread recipe in Betty Crocker Cookbook my mother gave me in 1997.
Ingredients
- 3 cups of shredded zucchini
- 1 2/3 cups of sugar
- 2/3 cups of canola oil
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla
- 4 large eggs
- 3 cups of gluten free all purpose flour or all purpose wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon of xantham gum (to use with gluten free flour)
- 2 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 cup of cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate morsels (optional)
- 1/2 cup of chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease the sides of two loaf pans.
- Whisk the eggs, sugar, canola oil, vanilla together in a large mixing bowl. Add the zucchini.
- In another bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and xantham gum. Whisk to evenly distribute the dry ingredients.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients a large spoonful at a time and stir to fully incorporate the flour.
- Once mixed, fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.
- Bake on middle rack for 60 to 70 minutes or until the toothpick is clean.
Notes
For a low cholesterol option, you can use two egg whites for each whole egg. I used two whole eggs and four egg whites.
This recipe can easily be doubled.
Bake as cupcakes for 30 minutes.