Got zucchini? Make these brownies!
I recently went out of town and came home to a ginormous zucchini in the garden. (Note to self: Don’t forget to check on the garden before you leave town.) I scraped out the soft, seedy part and started shredding. Eleven cups of finely shredded zucchini, people!
Good thing I love chocolate zucchini bread, lemon poppy seed zucchini bread and we have shared so many other great zucchini recipes. We were missing one though…zucchini brownies. Off I went to research recipes and then into the kitchen to start using up that zucchini.
I tried a few different recipes, but nothing was satisfying my desire for the perfect zucchini brownie. To me a brownie needs to be dense, chewy, and chocolatey. The inside should be moist, and I like the outside to have a slight crust. Quite the list of demands, huh.
Anyway, some of the recipes I tried ended up more like a cake, but we’ve already shared a great recipe for zucchini cake. Another recipe resulted in brownies that were too thin and oily for my taste, although still pretty tasty. So I made a few tweaks, used up more of that zucchini, and now I can say that I have found my best zucchini brownies! I hope you like them too!
To squeeze the excess moisture from the shredded zucchini, I like to place it in the center of a clean dish towel, bring the corners of the towel together so it makes a little zucchini bag, then squeeze over the sink three or four times. For this recipe, the zucchini doesn’t need to be all the way dry, but it shouldn’t be dripping wet either.
I use a 9×9 baking pan, but you can try using an 8×8, if you want to. The brownies will be a bit thicker, so you may need to adjust the baking time. You might also want to use a bit less frosting, or maybe not. 
You can also try doubling the recipe for a 9×13 pan.
Note: If you’re looking for a zucchini brownie in which you can taste or see the zucchini, this is not the one for you. The zucchini blends in really well, so you can barely even see it. And I would never guess there is zucchini in the brownie just from tasting it!
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup grated zucchini, excess moisture squeezed out
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9 baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium saucepan over medium low heat, combine oil, chocolate chips, and cocoa, whisking or stirring occasionally, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the sugar. Then add the eggs and vanilla, and whisk until combined. Stir in the zucchini. Fold in the flour, baking soda, and salt, until batter is well-combined, but don't over mix.
- Spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs.
- While the brownies bake, melt together the butter, cocoa, chocolate chips, and milk in a small or medium saucepan over medium low heat. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla and powdered sugar, until combined and smooth.
- When the brownies come out of the oven, pour the frosting on and spread it evenly over the top. Cool for 5-10 minutes, then lift foil to remove brownies from pan, cut into pieces, and serve.
This recipe is adapted from Lauren’s Latest.
OXO Silicone Whisk – I love using this whisk any time a nonstick surface is involved. Don’t want to scratch my pans!
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