Zucchini Bread and Zucchini Brownies

[MadClikr]

I made my first loaves of zucchini bread recently, using this recipe I found on-line:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/p...ipe/index.html

The result was a lot like banana bread, and with almost as much sugar as flour, it was very sweet! A dessert bread, or maybe a sweet breakfast bread, for sure. I think that I'd like to try making it again, only less sweet. Does anyone have a favorite recipe to share?

[mspete]

In the latest edition of a diabetes magazine there is a recipe for zucchini brownies. Would you like to have it? I also have a recipe for good zucchini bread but it is very sweet and heavy on oil - but good!

[MadClikr]

Since the bread really didn't taste anything like zucchini, I'm really interested in how the brownies will taste! I made red velvet cake with beets awhile back, and it turned out great, too!

[mspete]

Zucchini brownie squares
2 cups grated zucchini
1 whole egg plus 1 egg white
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 cup splenda no calorie sweetner, granulated
2 tbls light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Nonstick cooking spray
20 regular, plain M & M candy pieces

preheat oven to 350 F, combine zucchini, egg, egg withe, canola oil, applesauce and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl with a spoon. Add salt, baking soda, cocoa powder, splenda, brown sugar and flour. Stire just until well combined. Spray a 13" x 9" baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour batter in and spread evenly with a spatula. Place candy pieces on top in four rows, 5 pieces of candy in each row. Bake about 20 minutes until firm when touched in the middle. Brownies will be cakelike and should not be overbaked to prevent dryness. Cut into 20 squares so that each square has one candy piec.

Yield: 20 squares, 20 servings 1 square each

Per serving:
Calories 79
Carbohydrate 11 g
potein 2 g
fat 3 g
saturated fat 1 g
cholesterol 11 mg
sodium 99 mg
fiber 1 g

Exchange per serving: 1 starch, 1/2 fat, carbohydrate choices 1

Hope these are good! Zucchini is very plentiful in the summer.

A favorite joke in our area is to be sure to lock your car or someone will put a bag of zucchini in it!

[MadClikr]

Thanks, I'll have to try these!

Here's a zucchini related excerpt from another Web site:

"So, now, like that mad scientist in the movies who is sloppy with the plutonium, you’ve created an unstoppable monster in your yard that’s producing a dozen full-sized fruit every day. You hate ratatouille in a way that you never thought possible. Zucchini bread is now strictly verboten in your household. You’ve given so many zucchinis out to your neighbors that they cross the street when they walk past your house. You’ve officially lost control of your harvest."

From the same Web site, there is also this:

"10. Turn them into a bio-weapon.

Leave bags of surplus zucchini on your neighbor’s doorstep, in his mailbox or in her unlocked car. Bonus points if you can train their dog to bring it, like the newspaper, into the house. August 8th is National Sneak Zucchini On Your Neighbor’s Porch Day, so this form of domestic terrorism is completely within the law."

http://www.wisebread.com/gadzukes-10...ucchini-bounty

While I still need to buy mine, I don't mind too much, because even organic ones are pretty inexpensive this time of year. I'm also going to try pickling them - I've never made pickled zucchini before. We'll see how it goes!

[MadClikr]

The pickled zucchini went really well, so now I'm making zucchini relish, which is currently sitting in some salt in the fridge. Also made cucumber pickles and relish, today.

For baking, I made the blackberry muffins and the zucchini brownies, both of which are really good. The zucchini leaves the brownies very moist and cake like, without a ton of oil, which I like. I used regular sugar in mine, but left off the candies. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us, it's a keeper!