I’m that person who falls head over heels for an ingredient and can’t seem to get enough of cooking with it. The past few weeks, I have been in a zucchini phase. Last week, I made five batches of zucchini bread. Don’t worry, I didn’t devour all of it. I made most of it for my customers, but I did cut myself a slice or two. Two of the batches went to one client, where they disappeared in three hours. I made an executive decision to restock the fleeting loaves, because when something is that great, it must have a sequel. This past week, this bread has been my go-to indulgence. It’s incredibly moist, not too sweet, and just dense enough. It’s the recipe that tastes like home: rustic, comforting, and the perfect way to use the first local zucchinis of the season.
One of the best exchanges in this recipe is replacing coconut sugar for the standard brown sugar. It provides a more complex, deeper flavor, a touch of caramel or toffee without being too rich or too sweet. Coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index as well, meaning it doesn’t spike blood sugar as quickly, but I mostly use it for taste. It gives the loaf a nice depth that table sugar just can’t. If you don’t have it, brown sugar will work just as well, give or take, but if you’re willing to experiment, coconut sugar is a delicious pantry staple to fool around with. Not trying to talk you into coconut sugar or anything, but my mom purchased 10 packages because she didn’t want to run out.
For zucchini, you can grate it by hand with a box grater, or you can use a food processor. I’ve had great results both ways. The processor is faster and gives a different shred, but hand-grating works just as well if you’re only making one loaf. The most important step? Drain the excess water after grating. Zucchini is high in water content, and if you skip this step, your loaf will be gummy. Just wrap it in a fresh dish towel and squeeze it hard over the sink.
When you’re swimming in bucketfuls of garden zucchini or just trying to find a fairly healthy bake, this bread is worth the effort. It’s simple and is devoured faster than I’d expect. I like to enjoy it for breakfast with coffee or as an afternoon snack. Honestly, I don’t know when my zucchini frenzy will subside … but I think it will be soon after I prepare another batch.
Zucchini bread
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups zucchini, grated and packed
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt and sugar. In a separate medium bowl, combine the wet ingredients: melted butter, vanilla, eggs and zucchini. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk to combine. Pour in the chocolate chips and whisk just until incorporated.
Lightly coat the inside of your loaf pan with cooking spray. This helps the parchment stick and prevents the loaf from sticking to any exposed areas. Tear or cut a sheet of parchment that’s slightly larger than your loaf pan, enough to cover the bottom and all sides with some overhang. Place the parchment inside the pan and press it down into the corners so it molds to the shape of the pan. You’ll see that the paper bunches at the corners. Use scissors to make a vertical cut at each corner, going from the top edge of the paper down to the point where the bottom and side of the pan meet. You’re creating flaps. Fold the flaps over each other so they lie flat against the sides of the pan. One flap should overlap the other at each corner. Press them into place.
Pour the batter into the lined pan and bake 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs. Enjoy!
