Chocolate Chip Brownies with Dried Zucchini
Brownies are God’s gift to mankind, but have you ever considered making them healthier? These dried zucchini brownies with an extra boost of zucchini powder help elevate nutrition levels and give you another way to use your zucchini harvest! And it’s so easy to do with this recipe!
INGREDIENTS:
- If you have special dietary needs, you probably already understand how to replace things in baking. I don’t have that knowledge, so I can’t speak faithfully about it.
- Oil: use a neutral oil. Extra virgin olive oil can leave a lot of flavor that might not taste great. I used avocado oil in my brownies.
- Chocolate Chips: You can omit the chocolate chips – they’re just a fun chocolate bite. You can integrate them into the batter or put them on top.
- Add a tablespoon or two of green powder to the mix if you want to add even more nutrition.
- While the exact measurements of the recipe call for ¼ cup of zucchini flour, you can experiment with using more up to ⅓ of the total flour volume.
REHYDRATING ZUCCHINI TIPS:
Baking recipes for using fresh zucchini usually say shred, then either:
- Use as is
- Squeeze excess moisture
When using dehydrated or freeze-dried zucchini, it’s helpful to rehydrate first.
- Use ½ Cup dehydrated zucchini if a recipe calls for 2 cups fresh;
- Use 2 Cups freeze dried zucchini if a recipe calls for 2 cups fresh;
- Rehydrate in water, and then wring out just enough water that it isn’t dripping for the “use as is” method.
You can go with your gut when using dried zucchini in cooking recipes. Rehydrate if you want, but slower cooking methods and a little extra moisture is all that is needed for dehydrated zucchini. With freeze-dried, I toss it in and let it go!
BAKING TIPS
- Use a spray to grease the bottom of your baking dish so that they release well.
- Do NOT overbake. These aren’t typical brownies and can turn to a dry, cakey consistency if cooked too long.
Chocolate Chip Brownies with Dried Zucchini
Equipment
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Spatula
- 1 9×13 baking dish
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Sugar
- 1 Cup Neutral oil Avocado, canola or vegetable oil
- 1.75 Cup All-purpose flour
- 1/4 Cup Zucchini Flour
- 2 Cups Freeze Dried Zucchini shreds *OR* use 1/2 C Dehydrated Zucchini shreds
- .5 Cup Water Omit if using dehydrated
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/3 Cup Cocoa Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 large Egg
- 1 Tablespoon Instant coffee optional
- 1 Cup Chocolate Chips
Instructions
Rehydrating Instructions
- If using dehydrated zucchini, place in a bowl with enough water to cover.
Baking Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Mix flours, sugar and oil and mix well. A stand mixer is helpful but not necessary.
- Blend in the rest of the ingredients.
- Pour into a greased 9×13 pan
- Sprinkle chocolate chips across surface.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until pick comes out mostly clean. DO NOT OVERBAKE
- Allow to rest and cool for 30 minutes.
Darcy’s Tips
- If using dehydrated zucchini, use ½ Cup dried zucchini and rehydrate it in water. Squeeze out excess moisture enough to leave it very wet, but not dripping water. Reserve the water in case you need to add a little extra moisture to the batter.
- With freeze-dried zucchini, I don’t rehydrate first, I just put them in with a little extra water in the batter.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only. Nutrient information for dehydrated foods is based on fresh. Use 1/4 of the servicing size for the same nutrient information. Thus 1 Cup of fresh fruit has the same sugars as 1/4 dried.
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