Foodie Fridays: Chocolate Zucchini Bread

My vegetable garden is producing prodigious amounts of summer squash and eggplant right now.  I am using most of these veggies to make vast quantities of quick and easy stir-fries, but am also occasionally using the squash in other recipes as well.  One recipe I tried recently was for Chocolate Zucchini Bread, and I can highly recommend it!  The chocolate flavor is so intense you would never even know there was any zucchini in it at all, but the zucchini helps to make the bread moist and tender.

I only made a couple of minor changes to the original recipe.  I used white whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose white flour, and I also reduced the sugar from 3/4 cup to 1/2 cup.  I might reduce the sugar even more next time to just 1/3 cup, as I found the bread to be more than sweet enough thanks to the addition of chocolate chips.  If you are indundated with zucchini right now and are craving a chocolatey treat, you really should make this zucchini bread!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

1 C. flour
1/2 C. cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 C. unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/4 C. oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. brown sugar
1 1/2 C. packed shredded zucchini
1 C. semisweet chocolate chips

Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, butter, oil, vanilla, and brown sugar until smooth (a few small brown sugar clumps is fine).

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients (do not overmix).  Stir in the shredded zucchini until just combined.  Add 3/4 C. chocolate chips.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 C. chocolate chips over the top of the bread.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.  Run a knife around the edges of the bread and carefully remove from the pan.  Let the bread cool on the wire rack until slightly warm. Cut into slices and serve.  Serves 12.

Notes: The bread will keep on the counter, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 4 days.  To freeze, cool the bread completely and wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil.  Freeze for up to 1 month.  Defrost before slicing.

(My internet service has become unreliable recently, I think due to all of the storms we have had, and our provider cannot come to check out the problem until Monday, so if I am missing in action over the next few days that will be the reason.)