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 made their 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 than 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.
- 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
- 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.
Yum, I’ll take one!