As the old saying goes, there’s more than one way to eat your vegetables and these cookies prove it! This cookie recipe combines ordinary zucchini with chocolate chips that results in yummy Zucchini Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies.
The first thing that needs to be done before making the cookies is to shred the zucchini and remove the excess moisture from it. I use a reasonably large shredding plate on my grater and the shredded zucchini should look like that in the photo below.
The thing about zucchini – particularly the large garden variety of zucchini that many gardeners grow – is that it contains a lot of water. In fact, far too much water for these cookies. If you are using a small store-bought zucchini, chances are it will have been picked for awhile (and probably transported a long distance, especially if it is in winter) so it may not be as watery as the big zucchini that many grow in the garden and that get to be quite huge, often weighing several pounds. However, if the shredded zucchini is very watery (and I suspect all of the big zucchini will fall into this category), then it needs to have much of the moisture removed from it before using in this particular cookie recipe. Otherwise, the cookies are likely to be very soggy. The small store-bought zucchini, on the other hand may not have to have much, if any, moisture removed from them. It all depends on the size, quality, and age of the zucchini.
So, shred the zucchini and then weigh it – you will need 6¼ oz shredded zucchini for this recipe. To remove excess moisture from the zucchini, simply take a clean tea towel (cotton is best) and lay the weighed shredded zucchini on it and start rolling up the tea towel with the zucchini in it.
If the zucchini is really wet, repeat the process with a clean, dry tea towel. You’ll know if the zucchini is super wet and needing further blotting because it will completely and quickly soak a cotton tea towel. Some moisture is still needed in the zucchini but, for these cookies, not a lot.
The texture of the Zucchini Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies can best be described as puffy, soft, and chewy. That texture, in part, is created through the addition of an extra egg yolk that contributes to the chewiness. The additional egg yolk also provides some moisture needed by the absorbent coconut flour. The addition of coconut flour works well in this recipe as it adds lovely subtle flavor and a soft texture and, because its properties are such that it tends to absorb a lot of liquid in a recipe, I find it is a good companion flour to use when a wet ingredient, such as zucchini, is included. Many bulk food stores sell coconut flour in bulk, meaning it is convenient to purchase small amounts of it if it is not a flour commonly used in your baking. Just know that, when a recipe calls for coconut flour as an ingredient, it cannot automatically be swapped out for another kind of flour on a 1:1 ratio as adjustments would need to be made to the liquid content in the recipe in order to maintain the desired texture the recipe developer has intended for the baked product.
Like many drop cookie doughs, this one benefits from being refrigerated for at least 1½ – 2 hours, basically long enough to solidify the butter that was earlier brought to room temperature so it could be creamed for the cookie dough.
While it is important to have ingredients at room temperature to blend them well together, room temperature cookie dough going into the hot oven is often a cause of cookies spreading and becoming thin or flat instead of puffy and chewy. This is especially true of cookies that have a high fat butter content. And, we all like to see drop cookies with that sought-after puffy look and slightly chewy texture!
The butter in room temperature cookie dough will melt rapidly as soon as the cookies go in the oven, causing the cookies to quickly spread out before they have a chance to take shape, rise, and start baking. On the other hand, if the dough has been chilled for at least 1½ hours, the butter has had a chance to solidify, or firm up, and cold, firm butter takes longer to melt in the oven. This delayed reaction gives the cookies a chance to raise up instead of spread out with soft/melted butter. As a result, the cookies begin to bake, create structure, and are able to hold their shape before the butter breaks down and flattens and spreads them out. Don’t skip this step for these Zucchini Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies!
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies
Ingredients:
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
2 tbsp sour cream, room temperature
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
6¼ oz shredded fresh unpeeled zucchini
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup coconut flour
½ cup quick cooking rolled oats
1 tbsp ground chia seeds
1¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
Method:
Bring butter, eggs, and sour cream to room temperature.
Shred the zucchini and roll in clean tea towel to remove excess moisture. If zucchini is still overly wet (i.e., the tea towel is soaked), re-roll and blot the zucchini again in a clean, dry tea towel.
Sieve dry ingredients together into bowl. Set aside.
With stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until soft. Blend in the sugars and beat well. Add the whole egg and beat then follow with the addition of the egg yolk, beating until well blended. Beat in the sour cream, maple syrup, and vanilla until combined.
Reduce mixer speed to medium-low and mix in the blotted-dry shredded zucchini. With mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they are combined with the batter.
Remove bowl from mixer stand and stir in the chocolate chips. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1½ – 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375°. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper.
Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. The dough should be firm to the touch. If it is particularly firm, let dough stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Drop dough by tablespoonful onto prepared baking sheet, spacing cookies about 2” apart. Bake for approximately 13-14 minutes, rotating baking sheets partway through the baking. Let cookies rest on cookie sheets for 4-5 minutes after removing from oven and before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Yield: Apx. 3 dozen
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Zucchini Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 2 tbsp sour cream, room temperature
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 6¼ oz shredded fresh unpeeled zucchini
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup quick cooking rolled oats
- 1 tbsp ground chia seeds
- 1¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
Instructions
- Bring butter, eggs, and sour cream to room temperature.
- Shred the zucchini and roll in clean tea towel to remove excess moisture. If zucchini is still overly wet (i.e., the tea towel is soaked), re-roll and blot the zucchini again in a clean, dry tea towel.
- Sieve dry ingredients together into bowl. Set aside.
- With stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until soft. Blend in the sugars and beat well. Add the whole egg and beat then follow with the addition of the egg yolk, beating until well blended. Beat in the sour cream, maple syrup, and vanilla until combined.
- Reduce mixer speed to medium-low and mix in the blotted-dry shredded zucchini. With mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing just until they are combined with the batter.
- Remove bowl from mixer stand and stir in the chocolate chips. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1½ - 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375°. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper.
- Remove cookie dough from the refrigerator. The dough should be firm to the touch. If it is particularly firm, let dough stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Drop dough by tablespoonful onto prepared baking sheet, spacing cookies about 2” apart. Bake for approximately 13-14 minutes, rotating baking sheets partway through the baking. Let cookies rest on cookie sheets for 4-5 minutes after removing from oven and before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe Notes
Yield: Apx. 3 dozen
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