I am not one for hiding veggies in baked goods and sauces in the hopes of tricking unsuspecting diners into eating them. But I do love to make nutrient dense treats, so when I came across this recipe for flourless zucchini brownies, I was all about it. But I can never let a recipe go as is. First order of business is ALWAYS to reduce the amount of sugar called for, which worked great for these. I also figured these brownies needed more chocolate (because, well, chocolate) so I added a few tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, too.
Voila: a treat that gets you some veggies, good fats and a little protein and still definitely tastes like a treat.
Zucchini Brownies (adapted from Delighted Momma)
3 zucchinis, grated (I use a cheese grater). Drain a bit of the excess water
1 cup nut butter (cashew butter is my favorite so far, though almond butter was delish, too. Peanut butter is the most economical choice and will also work great)
1 egg
1/4 cup real maple syrup
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp each: vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda
dash or two of nutmeg
1 cup dark chocolate chips (choose a brand that has less than 8 grams of sugar per serving)
optional mix-ins: chopped almonds, coconut flakes, hemp hearts, crystallized ginger, walnuts, etc
Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips together in a medium bowl. When well combined, add the chocolate chips and optional add ins. I tried it with coconut, which I thought was divine but my daughter wasn’t into. Bake at 350 for 35-55 minutes in a 9X9 pan, depending on how much water you drain from the grated zucchini. Without draining anything, they took me 55 minutes to drain. When I squeezed a bit with some paper towels, I cut the baking time to 45 minutes
These yield light and fluffy brownies, not dense fudgey ones (for fudgey brownies, see here). This would also work well as a cake.
Enjoy!
