Soft and Chewy Triple Chocolate Drop Zucchini Cookies

One of my all time FAVORITE things about summer is the abundance of fresh produce.  See I have an absolute adoration for zucchini. I’ve made it as Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Muffin Cakes, stuffed with you Crab Stuffed Zucchini with Gruyere Panko Crust ,  gave you amazing Crispy Baked Zucchini Fries, went Italian on you with Zucchini Lasagna, gave you an amazing Savory Summery Tomato & Zucchini Tart and the list goes on and on. So as you can see, I have a slight addiction to them.

But that’s okay. See zucchini is super healthy for you and can often substitute as an egg in certain baked goods.

Diet: One cup of zucchini has 36 calories and 10% of the RDA of dietary fiber, which aids in digestion, prevents constipation, maintains low blood sugar and curbs overeating.

Heart Attack and Stroke Prevention:  A one cup serving of zucchini contains over 10% of the RDA of magnesium, a mineral proven to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. Zucchini also provides folate, a vitamin needed to break down the dangerous amino acid homocysteine, which – if levels in the body shoot up – can contribute to heart attack and stroke.

Lower Blood Pressure: Along with magnesium, the potassium found in zucchini helps lower blood pressure. If unchecked, hypertension, or high blood pressure, can lead to arteriosclerosis (blood vessel damage), heart attack, stoke, and many other serious medical conditions. Both the potassium and magnesium in zucchini, however, can help alleviate the stress on the body’s circulatory system.

Plus it tastes AMAZING! The other day when I was at the market I picked up 6 GORGEOUS zucchini.  I had been craving zucchini muffins but when it came to making them I decided to switch it up and go more of a soft and chewy drop cookie.  I had never really had zucchini as a cookie and wanted to give it a shot.

People what came out of my oven was pure magic!  I’m telling you in all honesty.. if I gave you one and didn’t tell you what was in it, you’d have NO IDEA that it’s healthy AND it’s made with zucchini.  You want your kids (small and big) to eat more veggies, this is the perfect way to sneak them in!  It’s loaded with chocolate and packed with all kinds of yumminess!  It’s soft like a brownie but has a cake like consistency.  It’s super moist and almost chewy.  The chocolate in this is so sinful that even though you’ll wanna feel guilty for eating it, you won’t have to.  Well okay I take that back.. if you eat 6 at once, yeah, you should feel a tad guilty.  *wink*

These drop cookies are so soft and tender, they pretty much just melt in your mouth.  The richness of the chocolate is so decadent.  The soft cakey-brownie type cookie is super moist and luscious.

The centers are fudgy and just overloaded with chocolate. Wait, can you actually have too much chocolate?  Me thinks not.

So just to prove my theory I took a batch to work.  Now I did tell people that they were dairy free (I used dark chocolate chunks) and that they had a secret ingredient but that it wasn’t yucky. Fortunately my co-workers trust me and love my foods because they were all eager to try.  Within an hour I had instant messages and IM’s asking me for more and for the recipe.  Everyone asked what the “secret ingredient” was and how I made them so fudgy without eggs.  When I fessed up and told them that it was zucchini almost no one believed me.  Most said “But I can’t taste it.” or “I don’t like zucchini.”  Well sorry guys but you really won’t taste it and apparently you do like zucchini!  LOL

The next time you’re out shopping, pick up a gorgeous zucchini and have at it.  These are a pure heaven in a cookie!

Soft and Chewy Triple Chocolate Drop Zucchini Cookies

Print Recipe

Save Recipe Recipe Saved

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 1 review

Find more fantabulous recipes, tips and tricks at www.thekitchenwhisperer.net. Also, join our TKW Family on Facebook

• Author: The Kitchen Whisperer

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup natural apple sauce
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoon chocolate extract
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 2 cup dark chocolate chunks

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the applesauce, sugar and chocolate extract until well blended.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, espresso powder baking soda and salt.
5. Using a sturdy spoon, stir the flour mixture into the wet mixture. It will be very dry but once you add the zucchini it’ll become more like cookie dough.
6. Stir in the zucchini until well blended. You want the dough to be sticky and thick but not dry.
7. Add in the chocolate chunks and just mix to incorporate.
8. Drop by heaping rounded Tablespoons about 1 1/2” apart.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are set but just barely soft. Do not over bake.
10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 1 minute on the pan.
11. Remove from the pan and cool completely on a cooling rack.
12. Store tightly covered.

Save For Later!