Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

These Zucchini Brownies are based on a recipe from King Arthur Flour. However, I wanted a smaller batch and slightly lower calorie brownies, so I made a few changes. These brownies are different in a few ways.

King Arthur makes their zucchini brownies in a 9 inch square pan. I wanted 12 brownies rather than 16, so I scaled the recipe down and used an 8 inch square pan. The original version is actually pretty wholesome. Zucchini adds bulk and moisture, and the recipe only calls for 2 tablespoons of butter. Also, the original version calls for 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/3 cup of flour, and that’s where I started fiddling with ingredients. I used 1/2 cup of Swerve sweetener and 1/3 cup of whole wheat pastry flour.

Made with Swerve, the texture is a little different from how it would be with sugar, but I still enjoyed the brownies and was glad to have a low calorie, low sugar chocolate fix. If making these for a group or for kids, I’d probably stick with the whole wheat flour (we couldn’t taste the wheat at all) and use regular sugar. Also, for best results use exactly 6 ounces of zucchini. If you don’t have a scale, here’s what 6 oz of zucchini likes like packed into an 8 inch cup.

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

Cookie Madness

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies can me made even healthier by using whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour and an alternative sweetener. I used 1/2 cup of Swerve for this batch.

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 35 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Ingredients

 

• 1 6 oz zucchini, peeled and coarsely chopped (1 rounded cup)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sugar or ½ cup Swerve
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder I used Hershey’s Dark
• 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder optional; for enhanced chocolate flavor
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour 1 ½ oz
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8 inch metal pan with nonstick foil.
• Puree the zucchini, butter, eggs, and vanilla a food processor or blender.
• Add the sugar (or alternative sweetener), cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder and salt and process until very smooth. Add flour and process until blended.
• Pour the batter (it will be fairly loose) into the pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Swirl the batter a bit to cover most of the chips.
• Bake the brownies for 25 minutes or, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
• Remove from the oven. Sprinkle a few more chocolate chips on top if desired, then let cool completely at room temperature. These are only good when completely cool, so don't try to cut them while warm.
• When completely cool, lift from the pan and cut into 12 brownies.

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