With this post (and these Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies), I give you permission to eat cookies for breakfast. But seriously these cookies are the perfect sweet treat to make at the end of summer, with whatever extra zucchini you have from your garden (or your friendly neighbor’s garden)!
After all, these cookies have eggs (morning), granola (morning), and chocolate chips (at breakfast), so if you sneak one in with your morning coffee, I won’t tell a soul.
Plus, I’m pretty sure it’s okay to eat zucchini bread for breakfast, and these cookies are basically zucchini bread, except smaller and actually lower in sugar than a lot of zucchini bread recipes.
Eat these for breakfast, or okay…dessert. But, it’s definitely worth making them especially if you have a pile of zucchini that you don’t know what to do with!
Tips for cooking zucchini
Zucchini is about 100% water. Obviously it’s not 100% water, but it feels that way sometimes when you try to cook with it.
So the first instruction for baking with zucchini, especially for these cookies, is to dry the grated zucchini as much as possible. If you don’t, your Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies will be too soggy and end up sad.
I try to get rid of the excess moisture by wrapping the grated zucchini in some paper towels and pushing out as much liquid as possible.
If you’re measuring, you want about two cups of zucchini for these cookies. It should be about two small zucchinis, but it’s not necessary to be perfect either. A little more or less zucchini will not kill the cookies.
My secret zucchini cookie ingredient
Zucchini tends to be soft when baked and cookies are not known for being very textured.
The secret ingredient I like to add to these cookies to give them some body and crunch is granola!
The granola gives the cookies great texture and body and adds a lot of built-in flavor. I used almond granola for this version, but literally any granola will work just fine.
If you don’t have granola, you can use rolled oats, which will turn them into a zucchini oatmeal cookie, but still add a nice texture to them.
Instructions for baking these zucchini cookies
To start the cookies, whisk together the flour with the spices. I like to use cinnamon, nutmeg and salt for my version. If you want you can replace up to 1/2 cup of the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour for some extra nutty flavor.
As with any good cookie dough, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. I used my stand mixer with the paddle attachment for this, but you can also just use a hand mixer.
For the sugars, I like to use a mix of brown sugar and white sugar, but you can use either or the other depending on what you have.
Then add some almond extract (or you can use vanilla extract) and an egg.
Once that is mixed, add in the dry ingredients and mix together until everything just comes together. Try not to overmix the cookie dough. Even if you have some unmixed pieces of flour, that’s fine.
Now for the extras! Mix in all the zucchini, chocolate and granola. If you want to add some nuts to these like walnuts or pecans, you can add up to 1/2 cup of nuts as well.
When your dough is ready, roll heaping spoonfuls of the dough onto two baking sheets. You should get about 16 large cookies. Give the cookies plenty of space on each cookie sheet.
Bake these zucchini cookies in a 350F oven for 14-16 minutes. The finished cookies should swell a little and brown at the edges.
Let them cool a bit, ideally on a wire rack, before searing, but I personally like them slightly warm so the chocolate is still melting! They are also great at room temperature.
These are the cookies of the summer: light, but still loaded with chocolate.
Plus, did I mention you can eat them for breakfast?!
Storing these cookies for later
These zucchini cookies store wonderfully in an airtight container on the counter for a day or two or in the refrigerator for longer. The zucchini keeps them really moist so they don’t dry out and stay very soft and delicious.
It’s almost like zucchini bread (or these zucchini muffins), but just smaller so it’s easier to sneak one in while you’re on the go or while you’re watching a show.
My zucchini chocolate chip cookie recipe
Zucchini chocolate chip cookies
By Nick
- presenter:
- 16 large cookies
- Preparation time:
- Cooking time:
- total time:
Print a recipe
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Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies are loaded with toppings plus a secret ingredient to give it some texture and flavor! These are a must make in the summer!
Component
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon of almond extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 cups of grated zucchini
1 cup almond granola
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Useful equipment:
Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Grate the zucchini and use some paper towels to absorb some of the moisture from the zucchini.
2) In a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until a light and fluffy mixture is obtained. Then add an egg and the almond extract. Mix together quickly and then add in the flour mixture. Mix until the dough just comes together.
3) Mix in zucchini, chocolate chips and granola. Mix until combined.
4) Make heaping spoonfuls of cookie dough and divide on two cookie sheets. I recommend making 8 cookies per sheet so they have room to expand. If you like, score each cookie with some chocolate chips for an extra touch.
5) Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F. for 14-16 minutes.
6) Take out the cookies and let them cool for a few minutes before cutting them. Keep the cookies in an airtight container and they will keep for a few days (not that they will last that long).
