Whole Grain Zucchini Blondies

by Anne Papina on February 24, 2013

Whole Grain Zucchini Blondies

While searching for something interesting to make with zucchini, I stumbled across a recipe for zucchini blondies. Hmmm. I do love a good blondie, almost better than brownies (gasp!). I have a thing for butterscotch, what can I say? I know from many years of baking zucchini bread that the mild flavor of zucchini works well in baked treats. Why not a blondie? The combination may seem odd, but trust me, when zucchini season is in full swing and you have zucchini coming out of your ears, you’ll be thanking me for this recipe. And you’ll be marveling at how good these blondies taste, seriously.

The original recipe from Smith & Hawken’s Gardeners’ Community Cookbook called for butter, which obviously is a key component to that butterscotch flavor. However, I decided to throw caution to the wind and use coconut oil instead. You won’t miss the butter at all. In fact, the coconut flavor seems to enhance the butterscotchiness, and as a bonus the coconut oil helps make this slightly healthier. I also skipped the all-purpose flour and used whole grain spelt flour instead, which adds a nice nutty flavor and can be subbed 1:1 for regular flour. These substitutions made for a lighter blondie with a cake-like texture. I think you’ll agree, this recipe is a keeper.

It’s also super easy to throw together–so let’s start!

chopped zucchini

Peel and dice the zucchini. One medium-sized zucchini should yield about one cup once it’s diced. Set aside.

Whole Grain Zucchini Blondies

In a mixer bowl, let’s get the wet ingredients and the brown sugar all mixed together.

Whole Grain Zucchini Blondies

Now, sift the dry ingredients into the bowl and blend well. Note, the batter is really stiff.

Whole Grain Zucchini Blondies

Stir in the nuts and zucchini. The zucchini will help soften the batter and will help make these blondies moist.

Whole Grain Zucchini Blondies

These are best served warm, right out of the pan, with a tall glass of milk.

Whole Grain Zucchini Blondies

Try not to eat the whole pan in one sitting.

5.0 from 1 reviews
Whole Grain Zucchini Blondies
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
These flavorful blondies get their moistness from zucchini, and the addition of spelt flour and coconut oil give them a great taste.
Author:
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Serves: 16
Ingredients
  • 4 tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup whole grain spelt flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ⅛ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup peeled and chopped zucchini
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease 9-inch baking pan.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the coconut oil, water, applesauce, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until well blended.
  3. Sift the dry ingredients into the bowl and mix thoroughly.
  4. Stir in the zucchini and nuts. The batter will be stiff.
  5. Spread the batter into the greased baking pan, and bake for 25 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out almost clean.
  6. Cool before serving.

 

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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }

Julie @ Texan New Yorker February 25, 2013 at 8:04 am

I like blondies better than brownies too (gasp!). 🙂

Reply

Anne Papina March 3, 2013 at 11:53 am

Blondies are definitely the best!

Reply

Tanya February 25, 2013 at 10:02 am

These look amazing! I want to try them soon 🙂

Reply

Anne Papina March 3, 2013 at 11:54 am

Thanks! I think you’ll enjoy them!

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Kristi Rimkus March 1, 2013 at 7:45 pm

I’m intrigued. This is definitely a must try recipe. It sounds like a terrific use for zucchini.

Reply

Anne Papina March 3, 2013 at 11:54 am

It’s definitely different–but zucchini is so neutral, it’s an easy fit for sweet treats!

Reply

Mike @ Webakecookies.com March 27, 2013 at 3:46 pm

OMG! I never would have thought Zucchini, but these look pretty good. I think I might give these a shot. A friend told me about squash in cookies, not sure I am ready for all of that just yet. Thanks for sharing!

Reply

Anne Papina March 27, 2013 at 4:56 pm

Thanks! You’d be surprised–the zucchini keeps them moist, and it’s so mild, you hardly notice it’s there. A long time ago, I used to make zucchini bread all the time, which is basically a spice and nut bread with shredded zucchini stirred in–if you haven’t tried that yet, check out an old Betty Crocker cookbook for the recipe–it’s quite yummy too!

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Lea May 1, 2013 at 2:44 pm

I made these exactly as suggested- Except I used “all-purpose” flour instead of the “spelt ” flour. (It’s what I had on hand). And they are excellent! I highly recommend them to anyone looking to try something new. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!

Reply

Anne Papina May 1, 2013 at 5:47 pm

So glad you enjoyed them–thanks for stopping by to let me know! Nice to know the recipe works fine with the all-purpose flour too!

Reply

carrie May 7, 2013 at 1:55 pm

These look great! I love zucchini baked goods. If I wanted to use butter though, how much would I use? I don’t typically have coconut oil.

Reply

Anne Papina May 7, 2013 at 5:24 pm

Hi Carrie! The original recipe called for 5 tablespoons of butter, so that should be the correct amount.

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