Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Chocolate is a thing of beauty. It can transform anything: bread, fruit, vegetables, ants, or fingers. Chocolate is just good stuff. We should all be eating it a lot more often, especially since it helps keep us safe from the sun. And might I just say – God bless chocolate research. Amen. Keep it coming, scientists.

I’ve been gifted with zucchini several times this season – and I happily take it. I’ve loved zucchini for a long time. Our favorite way to eat it is chopped up and sautéed in a skillet with some butter and then tossed with soy sauce. But, sometimes I get tired of that – okay, so not really. I was just looking to add a little chocolate to my life. You caught me.

I went to my trusty Zucchini Bread recipe out of my Betty Crocker Cookbook, but it needed a few tweaks to fit our whole foods lifestyle. And it needed chocolate…lots of chocolate. So, I remade the recipe to fit our tastes…and I added chocolate, did I mention that?

Some people like to shred their excess zucchini and freeze it for later. When you use it, you just thaw it and squeeze the water out. My freezer is stock full right now of corn, green beans, fruit, and freezer meals so I didn’t have room for that. And besides, I needed chocolate. For this recipe, you need about 3 cups of shredded zucchini which for me was 2 good sized zucchini – some of those puppies are whoppers!

I’ll give you my secret to chocolate success. Are you ready? When mixing up the batter, take out some of the called-for flour and add the same amount of cocoa powder. This does not work if you take out MOST of the flour and replace it with cocoa powder…or so I’ve been told – from OTHER PEOPLE. *Cough*

Mix together all the wet ingredients: zucchini, sucanat (or sugar of your choice), coconut oil (melted), vanilla, and eggs. Stir well and then add the flour. Sure, you could sift the flour. But, I don’t sift flour. It’s against my religion.

Add the dry ingredients and give it a good stir to incorporate everything. It’s chocolate you know.

Divide the batter between 2, 8 inch loaf pans.  And like I told you with the Banana Bread, I always grease and flour loaf pans when making quick breads. It saves me a lot of crying.

Pop it into a 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes and then turn out to cool all the way on a wire rack. Do not cut while hot – it will crumble and make a big mess on the floor – which you in turn will have to declare the 5 second rule and scoop it up to eat it…because it’s chocolate and it should not be wasted. Amen. Not like I’ve ever done anything so silly in my entire life. *Cough*

And there you have it – a little more chocolate in your life. This freezes beautifully, but try to let it thaw before you dig in. You might break a tooth.

NOTE: Stacy is not held responsible for any teeth injuries – she is 100% innocent.