Still life in loaf. Note the still melty chocolate chips!
I’ve been planning to make a post about pumpkin pie, as a way to use up the canned pumpkin that I previously posted about, but I couldn’t resist the call of the frozen zucchini in my freezer. So naturally I had to make a chocolate chip zucchini loaf!
Why do I have frozen zucchini in my freezer? Well, the DH bought some a few weeks ago and I hadn’t had a chance to cook it before it was losing optimal freshness. And since we all know that I hate wasting food, obviously I had to do something with it. So I grated it, placed 1/2 c. mounds of the grated zucchini on a cookie tray, stuck it in the freezer until semi-solid, and popped the resultant 1/2 c. servings of zucchini into a freezer bag. Bam! Pre-grated, pre-portioned servings of vegetables for whenever I need them!
Key ingredients.
Of course, now I need to actually see how the frozen veggies hold up in the baking. The Chocolate Chip Zucchini Loaves (two) are currently in the oven, and I’m resisting the temptation to peep and see how they’re doing. Watched loaves never bake, amirite?
What recipe did I use? This one! Naturally, I made some modifications:
- I added a half cup of water, because while the recipe said that the dough would be thick, it didn’t say that it would be the consistency of thick cookie dough and unable to be stirred.
- I cut out 1/2 c. of the chocolate chips, because the recipe calls for 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips. Cutting out the half cup is my attempt to make it healthier. Ish.
- I also added in a half cup of chopped walnuts because I have a container of walnuts in my baking supplies cupboard that I want to use up. The DH went shopping at Bulk Barn a while ago, and came home with so. many. nuts. He was so enthusiastic over his purchases; it was so cute! Of course, we have now have large containers of walnuts, cashews, and I believe almonds too. So I’ve been looking for ways to use them up.) And healthy fats are always good.
Speaking of the DH, he was doing some work while I was baking the loaves, and when the lovely fragrance of baking sweets started drifting from the kitchen, he popped his head around the corner and was all, ooooh, you’re baking! So now not only do I need to stop myself from looking in the oven, I need to stop him from checking if it’s done too. *shakes head and smiles fondly* I do love my domestic little moments, can you tell? 🙂
Nutty, chocolate-y yumminess!
The result? Yum-city! (Oooh, speaking of which, I was in New York last week for a long weekend, hence the time lapse between my last post and this one. I was too busy eating New York bagels with cream cheese, street pretzels, Brooklyn-style oven-fired pizza, and various other delights. I also did the touristy visiting places things. But come on, the food!)
I would totally freeze other grated veggies like I did with this zucchini. The loaf turned out great! I’d likely decrease the cinnamon a bit next time, and perhaps reduce the water to a 1/4 c., as the loaf took about 1.5 times as long to bake as the recipe said. But regardless, it’s yummy! Time for a midnight snack, I think!
Next Post: Likely the pumpkin pie I was talking about. Or the homemade peanut butter cups I was talking about. Or the genuine Indian spice I was talking about. Or reviewing a book that the sister of a friend of mine wrote. So much food — so little time to post! 🙂 Any preferences?
I tried this recipe and it was a smashing success. When I reached into the pantry to get the chocolate chips and the walnuts, “someone” had beaten me to them. All that was left was a few walnuts so I added them to the last bit of dough. Hubby likes them with, the rest of the family likes them either with or without. This recipe is a keeper.
Whoohoo! Am so glad it was successful! 🙂 Chocolate makes everything better, tbh. 🙂
UPDATE: Yesterday Hubby asked me to bake him more!
I also tried freezing the zucchini already shredded in one cup portions which will make this recipe easy to fix.
I am undecided about adding chocolate chips because he (ok, and me too) have gained a few pounds over the summer. If I add chocolate chips, he might not be able to stop eating them.
Yay! It IS yummy, isn’t it? I love chocolate chip everything. Without chocolate chips really would be healthier, though.
I also love freezing the zucchini in one cup portions! I freeze it in cup portions on a cookie sheet, then take the frozen portions and dump them in a freezer bag. They’re easy enough to separate when I want a one cup portion, and I use less plastic than if I was putting them in individual bags.
Mmm…zucchini! 🙂
I cooked the muffins again this past week but I didn’t have any zucchini (garden fail) so I tried leftover spaghetti squash. I feared the spaghetti noodles would not work well in a muffin but they were not stringy at all. In fact, they made the muffins moister. Just like before, I didn’t add chocolate chips and also choose to leave out the walnuts. Only my husband likes muffins with crunchy things. It was a hit with all three of my sons (home for the weekend). My youngest even saved some so he could share with the guys at work.
This is an excellent recipe.
Jeannie
Whoohoo! I’m so glad you liked the recipe, and wow, who knew it would be even yummier with spaghetti squash! I assume you grew the squash yourself? No wonder they were delicious!