zucchini chocolate chip cookies

a deliciously cakey cookie made with zucchini, oats, and chocolate and naturally sweetened with sucanat

It is zucchini season and what a time! We are bringing in zucchinis that are practically the size of our mini labradoodle on the regular so I needed to get baking with them. I already have a couple zucchini breads on my website, zucchini muffins, zucchini brownies, and zucchini coffee cake, but the one gap in my zucchini repertoire was cookies - until today! These zucchini chocolate chip cookies are the perfect way to use up some zucchini, in addition to being absolutely delicious. This recipe was partially inspired by Justine Doiron’s sticky oaty zucchini cookies. I loved her method of melting the butter, adding oats, and letting the two brown together. I did make some notable changes to her recipe though - one being that I cut the amount of butter in half and added an egg instead (because two sticks of butter just seemed like a lot!). I also swapped in sucanat for the brown sugar and granulated sugar and way reduced the amount (from 300 grams total in her recipe to just 120 grams total in mine). The end result is a deliciously cakey and moist cookie streaked with chocolatey goodness that’s the perfect light treat on a hot summer day.

As noted, I naturally sweetened these cookies with sucanat, which is an unrefined whole cane sugar that goes through minimal processing and thus retains many of its inherent nutritional properties. If you are interested in learning more about sucanat, including where you can get it, check out my natural sweetener 101 post.

I hope you give these zucchini chocolate chip cookies a try and if you are looking for other zucchini recipes, check out my zucchini brownies with coconut sugar or my zucchini bread with coconut sugar. Enjoy!

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from the archive …

zucchini muffins with dates and maple syrup : a healthy breakfast treat with zucchini, dates, oats, and natural sweetened with maple syrup!

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zucchini chocolate chip cookies

makes 13 cookies

ingredients

• 113 grams (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

• 130 grams rolled oats

• 165 grams zucchini (about 1/2 of a large zucchini)

• 120 grams sucanat, ground in coffee/spice grinder

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 150 grams all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 egg

• 110 grams dark chocolate, chopped (or feel free to use chocolate chips/chunks)

directions

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the 113 grams unsalted butter. Once melted, add the 130 grams rolled oats. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the oats are slightly browned and smell toasted.

2. Grate the 165 grams zucchini, press the liquid out, and add to a medium bowl. Add the oat-butter mixture to this bowl as well as the 120 grams sucanat and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix until combined. Set aside to cool down.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the 150 grams all purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt.

4. Once the oat mixture has cooled down, stir in the 1 egg. Then stir in the dry ingredients. Finally, mix in the 110 grams chopped dark chocolate. Place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

5. When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners. Use a 2 inch cookie scoop to portion the dough into 13 cookies (6 on one sheet, 7 on the other). Bake the cookies until golden brown and set on the edges, about 15-17 minutes.