Teeny McMunn: My Recipe Box

I have posted this one before and made it this weekend because I harvested my first zucchini. So many choices as to what to make with zucchini! I decided, going with the theme of Farm to Table, I took my zucchini from the plant to the kitchen for baking, making me kinda like a farmer.

I used local honey and had bought a sack of Joseph’s Grainery, Soft White Wheat Pastry Flour. I used 2/3 all -purpose flour needed to 1/3 of the Soft White Wheat Pastry flour, making a 2/3, 1/3 combination. I’ve been using it like that in almost all of my baking. Does it make a difference? I don’t know because I’d have to do two batches, one with and one without, which I’m not willing to do.

This bread is not very sweet, more chocolatey. I have the espresso powder so I also used that and the Hershey’s was the dark chocolate flavor.

INGREDIENTS:

2 large eggs

1/3 c. honey

½ c. vegetable oil

½ c. brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt’

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp espresso powder (opt)

1/3 c. All purpose baking cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa

1 2/3 c. Unbleached all-purpose flour

2 c. shredded, unpeeled zucchini, gently pressed

1 c. chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, lightly grease a 8 ½” x 4 ½” pan

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, honey, oil, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

Add the salt, baking soda, baking powder, espresso powder, cocoa and flour, mixing until well combined

Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips

Pour the batter into the prepared pan

Bake the bread for 65 to 75 minutes, until the loaf tests done (a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, save a light smear of chocolate from the melted chips)**

Remove the bread from the oven, and let it cool for 10-15 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto a rack.

Cool completely before slicing, store well-wrapped at room temperature.

MY NOTES:

I doubled the recipe, as long as I was heating up the oven. I don’t know why, but sometimes I have trouble doubling recipes, not remembering if I doubled it, so in case I didn’t, do I add more?

** The note about the smear of chocolate on the toothpick—I wish I had read that. When I put the toothpick in the loaves, one came out clean and one didn’t so I baked it for another 5 minutes, did it again, same results, so baked it again for another 5 minutes. Finally I took it out, wondering if I was hitting a doughy area that would hopefully firm up. I froze one and the troubled one, I kept for us. It was fine, then it dawned on me that my toothpick was hitting chocolate chips.

The recipe says to gently squeeze the shredded zucchini. Mine was full of water. I’m glad I did.

I’ve since picked two more zucchini. Sigh. What is your favorite zucchini recipe?

ENJOY and stay cool, stay safe!