01 September 2011

Zucchini Brownies


Yes, it is another zucchini recipe. I know, you're probably yelling at the computer chanting "No more zucchini...NO MORE ZUCCHINI..."

Think of how I feel? At one point I think I had seven ginormous ones in my crisper drawer. Unfortunately, two didn't make it through. When you get a pile of veggies that just keeps growing...things get forgotten underneath.

Alas, only one is left. I haven't had to buy zucchini for dinner in over a month. In another few weeks I'll be grumbling at the prices and wishing I wasn't having to buy it to make these brownies again.

Because, my friends, I will be making these brownies again. They are delightfully fudgy, due in part to the chocolate frosting on top.

I'm going to digress for a minute and talk about frosting. My Grandma (my mom's mom) used to make the best vanilla frosting. It was smooth and soft and got kind of crunchy after sitting on the cake. Problem was, my Grandma never measured. So no one was really sure how she made her wonderful frosting. In making the Zucchini Bars and then these brownies, I think I've figured out her secret: melted butter. I can't wait to experiment more to see if I can make the frosting from my memories.

So...back to the brownies. I was raving about how good they are. And they are. And they have zucchini in them. So they're healthy. Practically a vegetable.

One note about them - there are no eggs in this recipe. I was stymied at first, thinking I didn't print the whole thing. A quick search confirmed my printout - no eggs needed. The zucchini gives the moistness to the brownies. (This also makes them good for those will egg allergies.) The batter is very crumbly. I had to press it into the pan. It really all depends on how wet your zucchini is. If you have a drier zucchini, you may need to add a little water. If you zucchini is more wet, you won't need to. I've covered it all in the recipe directions.


I hope you enjoy these as much as I do! I apologize in advance if you end up spending to much at the grocery store because you've run out of zucchini in your garden. They are that good.

Oh, and, I started a Linky Party! In case you missed it on Tuesday, click HERE to join the fun. The link is open until this evening.

Oh, and if you're not tired of me begging yet, you can still VOTE for me!

Print Friendly and PDFZucchini Brownies
Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
For the brownies:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini (1 large or 2 small zucchinis)
up to 1/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

For the frosting:
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  3. Using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the oil, sugar, and vanilla until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and stir. Fold in the zucchini. If your mixture is still very powdery, add up to 1/4 cup hot water (start with 1 tablespoon and work up from there, stirring well after each addition). The batter will be crumbly, but shouldn't be powdery. Add walnuts, if desired.
  4. Bake 25-30 minutes until the brownies spring back when gently touched.
  5. To make the frosting: Melt butter and cocoa together, stir and set aside to cool. Stir together milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies. Cut into squares.
Yield: about 24 brownies.

Enjoy!


This recipe may be linked with:

MondayMingle Monday (Add a Pinch), Joy of DessertsTuesday2 Maids a Baking (2 Maids a Milking), Tea Party Tuesdays (Sweetology). WednesdayCast Party WednesdayMade It On Monday (Lark's Country Heart), This Chick Cooks.  ThursdaySweet Treats Thursday (Something Swanky), Chic-and-Crafty (Frugal Girls), Turning the Table Thursdays (Around My Family Table), Tasty Thursday (The How-To Mommy). FridaySweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son), I'm Lovin' it Fridays (TidyMom). SaturdaySweets for a Saturday (Sweet as Sugar Cookies). SundayA Well-Seasoned Life,Sharing Sundays (Everyday Sisters)

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32 Comments:

At September 1, 2011 at 7:59 AM , Blogger Mrs. No-No said...

Yay! No Eggs! I had another brownie recipe that I was going to try this weekend - but, if you are making them AGAIN, then I will be trying this one instead - - the pics make it look realllllly chocolate-y :)
Found you on Around My Family Table - - following you too so that I can get more great tips!
carla aka Mrs. No-No

 
At September 1, 2011 at 5:39 PM , Anonymous The How To Mommy said...

My hubby HATES zucchini...I wonder if I could fool him with these. :) Thanks for linking up to Tasty Thursdays!

 
At September 1, 2011 at 10:31 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

These look amazing! I love a good brownie and when you sneak in some "good for you"...even better!

 
At September 2, 2011 at 6:46 AM , Blogger Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust said...

@Ann
Me too! Thanks for your comment. :)

 
At September 2, 2011 at 6:46 AM , Blogger Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust said...

@Mrs. No-No
I hope you enjoy them as much as we did! Thanks for your nice comments. :)

 
At September 2, 2011 at 11:38 PM , Blogger Lisa said...

Definitely need to give these a try. I've got one zucchini left in my fridge.

 
At September 3, 2011 at 7:43 AM , Blogger Kim McCallie said...

Oh, these look delicious! I love frosted brownies and the idea of incorporating something healthy into the batter. I've definitely got to make these and test them on my kids. Thanks for sharing on Sweet Indulgences Sunday.

 
At September 3, 2011 at 8:29 AM , Blogger MsFoxsSweets said...

They look so yummy!

 
At September 3, 2011 at 5:23 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yummy! I love desserts with zucchini in them! These brownies sounds delicious...especially with the frosting! :)

 
At September 3, 2011 at 5:52 PM , Blogger theFoodette & Family said...

Hi, new follower here from sweet ind. Sunday!
Looking fwd to joining your link party on Tuesday!
*susan

 
At September 3, 2011 at 6:17 PM , Blogger Grandma Bonnie said...

That is a great desert for my grandchildren. I will look forward to telling their parent it has zucchini in it. Thanks for sharing. New follower stopping by from Sweet Indulgences Sunday. Hope you stop by for a visit.

 
At September 4, 2011 at 5:15 PM , Anonymous Erika - The Teenage Taste said...

These look delicious! I definitely know how you feel regarding the zucchini. My garden is FILLED with them! I cannot wait to try this out. Thanks for sharing!

 
At September 4, 2011 at 5:49 PM , Blogger Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust said...

@sweetpeaskitchen.com
Thank you! The frosting takes these brownies to another level, that's for sure.

@Susan
Thanks for following! I'll look forward to seeing you on Tuesday. :)

@Grandma Bonnie
I know I'd be happy if my mom could sneak veggies into my daughters' meals! Thanks for stopping by! :)

@Erika - The Teenage Taste
Thank you! I hope you enjoy them. :)

 
At September 9, 2011 at 9:09 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

CONGRATUALTIONS!!! Your recipe has been featured on Lady Behind The Curtain "Feature Friday" Go grab a button!
http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/?p=14717

 
At September 10, 2011 at 8:23 AM , Blogger PhotoMommy said...

I have a zucchini in my fridge that I will be able to use before it goes bad!! Im going to make these tomorrow with my daughter!! YAY!! Thanks for this.

 
At September 10, 2011 at 11:20 AM , Blogger Nicole said...

I can't wait to try these. You should try freezing the shredded zucchini in recipe-size portions for future brownie consumption. I'm sure that would work.

 
At September 11, 2011 at 4:52 PM , Blogger Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust said...

@PhotoMommy
I hope you enjoy it! Let me know how it turns out. :)

@Nicole
Thanks for the tip! I'll try that next year for sure. Thanks for your comment!

 
At September 12, 2011 at 3:27 AM , Anonymous Teresa (Embracing the Spectrum) said...

This sounds tasty!

 
At September 12, 2011 at 8:10 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I made these brownies last night and they were absolutely fantastic!!! I admit I didn't think they'd be chocolatey enough, so I added 3/4 c of chocolate chips. i was wrong, they'd have been fine without the addition! Love, love, love!!! Thanks so much for sharing! - Kim M. in Norfolk, VA

 
At September 12, 2011 at 7:32 PM , Blogger Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust said...

@Anonymous
I'm so glad you enjoyed them! Just the mention of chocolate has my mouth watering. :)

 
At September 20, 2011 at 9:16 AM , Blogger Cindy @ Creating at Home said...

I just put these in the oven! I added the 1/4 cup of hot water and it made the batter nice and wet. The dry batter freaked me out. lol

 
At October 3, 2011 at 3:57 PM , Blogger Aaron and Kristi said...

Looks amazing! I found the recipe on pinterest, and I am making these tonight with one of my many ginormous zucchinis!!!
I sometimes shred and freeze some of my zucchini when I get overwhelmed. Measure it our before you freeze, and then it's easy to just defrost and toss into breads, or delicious brownies! :) Thanks again for sharing!!!

 
At October 3, 2011 at 7:00 PM , Blogger Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust said...

@Aaron and Kristi
I hope you enjoy them! Let me know how they turn out. :)

 
At October 6, 2011 at 4:55 PM , Blogger Magic and Mayhem said...

Just curious if these are good without the frosting? They look so healthy until that part, and I could justify them as snacks for the kids if they were just bars.

BTW, you can shred and freeze zucchini for recipes like this to use later in the year. Just squeeze it and freeze it in one cup portions. We always do that with our extra zucchini and do the same with homemade pumpkin puree. It's so nice to just grab a bag of frozen, local goodies from the freezer for baking in the dead of winter. :)

 
At October 6, 2011 at 6:26 PM , Blogger Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust said...

@Alicia
I've never tried them without the frosting, but I'm sure they would be okay. There is plenty of chocolate in there! If you try it, let me know how they turn out. :) And thanks for the storing tip! I will use it for sure next summer.

 
At December 5, 2011 at 9:02 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yum!!! These turned out really good.

I shred and freeze zucchini in 2 cup portions in ziploc bags when I have an abundance during the summer so I always have it ready for bread. When you thaw it out there is lots of liquid so I didn't have to add any water to the batter.

 
At April 29, 2012 at 1:53 AM , Blogger Brie said...

Found these on pintrest today and made them this afternoon. omg YUM! Although mine turned out really light and fluffy so was like a cake instead of brownie (not sure what I did wrong there) but it was so nice. I also thought it would be really sweet with the 2 cups of sugar but not at all.

 
At April 30, 2012 at 6:52 PM , Blogger Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust said...

How strange they turned out cakey. Now is when I wish I was a chemist/pastry chef and I could give you a speech on the ins and outs of cakey vs. fudgy. :) Thanks so much for trying them and I'm glad you liked them! I'm so excited - our zucchini just went in the ground. I can't wait for them to grow. I need to make these again!

 
At June 5, 2012 at 9:03 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

My brownies have been in the oven for 30 minutes now. Still not bouncing back. Anyone else have to bake them a bit longer?! They smell so amazing!

 
At June 5, 2012 at 7:52 PM , Blogger Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust said...

That's so strange. I have no idea why they took so long - how much time did they end up taking? As soon as my crop of zucchinis gets going I'm going to re-make these for sure and re-test my time. :)

 
At July 31, 2012 at 10:22 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

My brownies were a bit more cake-like but very yummy. The icing was quite runny - not sure what I did wrong but still very good!

 
At August 11, 2012 at 4:45 PM , Blogger FlipFlop Mom said...

EXCELLENT.. I just made them today.. I cooked it in an 8x8... added a smidge more water than it called for...and cooked it a bit longer than called for.. came out MOIST!!! as for the frosting.. I did everything... but being a whoopie pie expert... I know when making the frosting to never "just add" the milk.. slowly add until you get the desired texture ..many times you don't need the whole amount.... frosting was AWESOME!!

 

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