Chocolate Zucchini Bread

There are 3 words that I use to describe this bread...moist, moist, moist oh and rich (ok so there were 4).

This is yet another 20+ year old recipe that I have made dozens and dozens of times. The boys happily put away piece after piece fully knowing that there is zucchini in it! When they were younger, it impossible to get Evan to eat it. He refused to eat anything that had green in it. He was Mr. Dissection picking apart every bit of food on his plate, pulling out a speck of an herb, dangling it on the end of his finger, thrusting it under my nose asking in a purely horrified tone "what is this green thing?????". You can imagine that this bread did not go over well the first few times with Evan. He eventually decided that he better try it since his brother happily devoured it every time I made it. He finally gave in a few years back and even knowing that the "green things" are zucchini, he now eats piece after piece too.

This recipe makes 2 loaf size breads. You can eat one and freeze one, or do what we do, eat two and freeze none. I decided to make one loaf this time and a dozen "muffins". I bought a new Calphalon square bar pan this week and I was desperate to try it out so I split this batch. You can easily make muffins with this batter. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 or until they test done.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Printable recipe
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil (you can substitute 1 cup of applesauce too, works great)
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini, about 2 medium (you can peel them, I never do)
2 1 /2 cups all purpose flour
½ cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon baking powder

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, oil, sugar & vanilla. Stir in zucchini. Combine all the dry ingredients and add it to the zucchini mixture. Mix well. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans, or make muffins by filling the pans 2/3 full with batter.

Bake loaf pans at 350 for 1 hour or until bread tests done.