This weekend I took on Operation Holiday Cookies.
The amount of butter in my kitchen was at an all time high and my mixer found a new temporary home on the counter top.
I baked a handful of treats that my mom always had for the Holidays like oatmeal candy canes, spritz cookies and almond crescents.
While in the middle of my baking marathon Adam poked his head into the kitchen.
“I know you are making things that your mom used to make, but those are not cookies,” he told me.
Um, have you seen the amount of sugar I have gone through? These definitely are not crackers….? I was confused and really curious why he thought this way.
“They aren’t circles. Cookies are circles,” he stated.
For those of you who might be new… Hi! Thanks for reading. And just so you know, Adam is my husband… Not a toddler. I thought it would be best to clear that up after this preschool observation.
Okay then…!
Cookies are circles. Only.
-Weirdo.-
Hmm.
Well, that ruled out my plans for gingerbread men or frosted sugar cookies in the shape of trees and bells.
So, instead, to appease my husband’s wishes for round cookies, I made one of his (and my) summertime favorites: Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies.
By the middle of the summer, we have zucchini’s covering every surface of the kitchen. We saute them, grill them, bake them. We have so many that I even make special trips to Indianapolis to pawn them off give them away to my friends.
But, even with all this, there are still tons of zucchini’s that come out of the garden everyday in the middle of the summer. To help make the most of our plentiful zucchini’s I like to freeze them either grated or sliced so that Adam and I can enjoy them throughout the winter months.
This cookie recipe calls for grated zucchini, either fresh or frozen. However, if frozen, be sure to squeeze out all the liquid.
Now, I know what you might be thinking… Zucchini in a cookie?!
It’s actually really good.
So good, that I think the flavors would make a really good ice cream too. Maybe I will play with that next…
The taste of the grated zucchini isn’t strong by any means and is complimented by the ground cinnamon. It’s also a fun way to sneak in vegetables in a picky kid’s diet.
Or husbands.
… And they are circles.
- 1 cup (2 Sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups grated zucchini (about one large zucchini or two medium sized zucchini's)
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Using a stand mixer, beat together butter, sugar, brown sugar, until combined and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time until combined and mix in vanilla.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and beat on low until they are just incorporated.
- Add the zucchini and chocolate chips and mix until they are just incorporated.
- Scoop the cookies onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.