Monday, April 2, 2012

Brownies (with a secret ingredient)

Last night I tried a new recipe I found for brownies that are made with grated zucchini.  They also have a simple chocolate frosting that you make to spread on top.  They were light, fudgy and good.  I think they would also be good with chocolate chips stirred into the batter before baking too...if you wanted to squeeze in one more hit of chocolate.  I will post the recipe as well as a few pics below.  It isn't very often that you can have your brownies and veggies too.  Enjoy!

Fresh out of the oven, waiting to cool and be frosted
Frosted and waiting to be cut and savored
A little splash of color never hurts
Voila!
BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM!

Brownies (Zucchini)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup margarine
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2.
In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
3.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched. To make the frosting, melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa and margarine; set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners' sugar, milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yum! Bookmarking for next time I get zucchini bombed! ;) (it is that time of year here in Texas, where we've gotten tired of picking and let things get a little out of control!)
Have you tried black bean brownies before? I saw them over at Tammy's Recipes and they are surprisingly good (best cold though, unlike most brownies)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

I also used to make a chocolate zucchini cake that was topped with chocolate chips and walnuts that was really good. I need to pull that recipe out again. I have not tried black bean brownies before...I've seen recipes though. I will have to try those too (but keep it a secret from hubby or he would never touch them)! ;-)

Harusami said...

My bad. I live in Colorado... thought it would be a more exotic "secret ingredient" than zucchini. They look yummy! I'll have to try this. :)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

LOL, Harusami -- now I'm not sure if you are doing Wheat Belly or not -- if you ARE...then this recipe isn't compatible -- this was before I eliminated grains and sugar. If you aren't doing WB....it is fine! :-)