Dark Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

It makes me crazy when people add vegetables to desserts and call it “good for you!” No, it’s not good for you. It’s still a treat. Anything with this much sugar cannot reasonably be called anything else. But now it’s a treat fortified with some nutrients. Disclaimers dutifully issued, I present you with these moist, chocolately brownies. I’m not going to tell you they’re good for you. If they were, you wouldn’t find them quite as decadent.

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup baking cocoa (see tips)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups unpeeled, shredded zucchini
1 large egg
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup dark chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8 x 8-inch square baking pan with a bit of canola oil.
In a large bowl, combine the flours, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Stir in the shredded zucchini.
In another bowl, combine the egg, sugars, yogurt, oil and vanilla. Beat with a fork, then add the zucchini mixture.
Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the chocolate chunks on top and bake for 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean. Cool on a rack.
Quick Tips
1. I used Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa.
2. I wasn’t paying attention very carefully. I added the zucchini to the wet mixture, then added it to the flour instead of the reverse. I also forgot the oil entirely and only realized my mistake when I couldn’t seem to combine the dry and wet ingredients easily. I had to add it at the very end, once I’d mixed the batter together. I was able to incorporate it just fine, but I’m sure it would have been a bit smoother had I done things in the correct order. This is why I don’t like to bake. Anyway, my point is that they turned out just fine despite my having butchered the method and so if you misread the directions (which are correct above), the brownies will still probably turn out okay.
3. The original recipe calls for a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. I hate nothing more than low-profile brownies. One look at the batter made me think this size pan would be too large, so I used the square to create thicker brownies. If you want to stretch out the batch a bit and get a few more brownies cut (you can likely get about 24 with the larger pan), use the larger pan.

Preparation time: 15 minute(s)

Cooking time: 35 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 16 brownies

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