Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies are amazing! I have been using this recipe for years now, and it has always been a family favorite.
This is such a fun recipe for me because it is simple and delicious. The zucchini adds some moisture to the cookies, without adding any real flavor to it. Who wants a dry chocolate chip cookie? Zucchini is also nutritious and low in calories. It gives us a healthy dose of potassium and vitamin c.
Perfect Party & Holiday Cookie!
I’ve made this recipe for many holiday parties and family gatherings. It intrigues people when I tell them that there is zucchini in these cookies. Which makes them want to try it just to see if it is as strange as they think it is. Nope, they are simply delicious, and those who have tried them are hooked.
I’ve had many family members ask me for the recipe or ask to take some home with them from a party. I always end up making extra, just so they can take some home for later. Now I don’t know about you, but that is one of my favorite parts of holiday and family gatherings. When my family loves a recipe enough to ask for it, as well as asking if I mind them taking some of what I’ve made home. I find that to be a huge compliment! Or when I have friends ask me to make a specific kind of cookie for them.
Sneaking Veggies Into A Diet
I also get a great laugh when I make these. My husband loves them, and that makes me happy. But he’s always accusing me of trying to sneak vegetables into his diet when I make these cookies. Oh hey, a cookie! Don’t mind the green stuff in there… Now, after being married for over ten years, I found I just like to run with this idea that I’m just sneaky and trying to push more vegetables into my husband’s diet. When he asks me this I try to put on the most devious smile I can and say, “just eat the cookie, they’re delicious…” I mean, if he’s going to say that, I might as well take it and run with it, right?
I never really realized until a couple of years ago how much food ties family together. Sharing my recipes and making some of theirs. Even when we don’t see each other, or a family member is gone. Those recipes and those memories stay with us long after and makes us feel close even if we aren’t together for a holiday. That alone has made my journey in cooking that much more fun and worthwhile.
Use Different Chocolate Chips
My favorite way to make these around the holidays is with dark chocolate and mint chips instead of just plain ordinary chocolate chips. Which just furthers my husband’s theory that I’m sneaking vegetables into his diet and using the mint chocolate chips to camouflage the zucchini in these cookies. But I simply love the dark chocolate and mint combination.
These can be made with any kind of chocolate chips, really. That is one of the things I love about this recipe, how versatile it is. Since the zucchini doesn’t add any flavor, any kind of chocolate chips can be used. I’ve used the dark chocolate and mint, semi sweets, and even cranberry chips. The cranberry chips are really fun around the holidays because the zucchini is green, and the red chips give it this really fun and festive color to it. Another good one for the holidays is peppermint chips.
Ingredients:
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup chocolate chips or raisins
1 cup nuts, optional
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350, coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. I always use the special baking kind, not regular cooking spray.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add in the egg, flour, and other dry ingredients. Note, I always cream the butter and sugar, then add my egg and mix again. Then add the salt and other spices, to mix again. Flour is always last, that way (in my opinion) everything is well mixed once it is done. Also add the flour somewhat slowly, maybe half a cup at a time. I’ve added a full cup and then started mixing, and it explodes everywhere. So I’ve found that for the clumsy baker, adding smaller amounts in a little at a time cuts down on the mess.
Don’t be stingy with the chocolate chips!
I don’t know about anyone else, but I have never in my life followed the directions portion of a recipe when it comes to the chocolate chips. Every time I make cookies, I just pour the entire bag in there. I’ve never quite understood the point of measuring it out. It feels stingy to me to just add a cup to my cookies. Plus I’m weird in that I don’t like open bags of chocolate chips lying around. One bag equals one batch of cookies in my mind.
Bake 15-17 minutes until golden brown. The cooking time really depends on the size of your cookies. My husband had a batch that were bigger than the rest, and they required a little more time in the oven. But the smaller ones were just fine after 15 minutes. He also left them on the cookie sheet to rest for about a minute after removing them from the oven. That way when he transferred them to the cooling rack, they weren’t crumbling and falling apart.
Discussion
Zucchini chocolate chip cookies is one of those recipes that is really quite simple, yet versatile. I talked about the different kinds of chocolate chips that I’ve used when I make these cookies earlier. The possibilities are endless! Play around with this recipe and have some fun. I always do and it really is fun.
What is your favorite kind of holiday cookie? Have you tried these zucchini chocolate chip cookies? Tell me about your family favorites in the comments. I’d love to try some new ones this year. Check out my other dessert recipes!
34 Comments
Heather
This is so neat! I’ve never made cookies from scratch, but I really want to try this recipie since I love sneaking veggies into my treats! I may use white chocolate chips since that’s the only type of chocolate I like, but I love the idea of adding mint in as well! Thanks for sharing!
The Prepping Wife
I’ve never tried it with white chocolate. Let me know what you think of it!
Sabrina
Wow that sounds great, i’ll totally try it 😍
The Prepping Wife
They are amazing! I think you’ll really like them. Let me know what you think once you’ve made them.
Cynthia
These look so good! I’m definitely going to try them sometime! I love using zucchini in baking.
Suzanne (FibroMomBlog)
I love zucchini bread- so I bet these cookies are amazing! I can’t wait to try to make them.
The Sunny Side Lifestyle Co.
I never would have thought to add zucchini to cookies! My 12-year-old is an avid baker and always looking for new recipes. I’m definitely going to pass this one along for her to make. Makes me feel a little better about eating a cookie 🙂
The Prepping Wife
I think she will love this recipe and even be inspired to try different kinds of chocolate chips in it! The versatility of this recipe is fantastic, in my opinion. Let me know what she thinks and what kind of chips she does use. I’m very curious if she uses something I haven’t tried!
Melody
Zucchini is such a healthy substitute for carbs. We make zucchini bread and I’ve also had zucchini pasta. This will make a tastier choice than my bread and pasta. Something for an upcoming weekend.
Melissa
These look delicious. I’m growing a zucchini plant in my garden this summer so these should be perfect. I already told my husband I am making these for him. He is not excited, lol.
Lyosha
I need to try that! It sounds like a perfect treat to me. Pinned and saved.
Trish Veltman
Zucchini are so versatile. Years ago I had a courgette-cake in a cafe and it was so moist and delicious.. I’ll have to try these cookies.
Despite Pain
I haven’t tried zucchini in anything baked before. Carrots, yes, but not zucchinis. On the to do list. And yes, totally agree – does anyone actually weigh choc chips? Throw them all in. Nothing worse than a choc chip cookie with only a couple of choc chips in it. They need plenty.
The Prepping Wife
Carrot cake is on my to-make list! That is going to be a fun one since I’ve never attempted it before. I love carrots though, and cream cheese frosting is simply amazing to me. Lol. I swear I could just eat the frosting most of the time. I make my own whipped cream at home to go with pumpkin pie, and Nathan inhales that. We all have our own thing, I guess. Lol.
Despite Pain
Yes, do make carrot cake. It’s delicious. Think we’re related – my favourite part is the cream cheese frosting.
Snehal
Chocolate cookies are my fave! Will try your variant of zucchini chocolate chip cookies. Looks healthy and yum! 😋
Sarah
These look great! I love zucchini! My favorite is chocolate zucchini cake 🙂 I will save this recipe!
omoh felix peters
you never stop to amazing me can there ever be and end to your amazing delicious meal i dont think so always wetting my appettite
Charmaine Daisley
These look so good and the zucchini makes it even better. It looks like something I will enjoy, but because I’m diabetic I’ll probably have to swap the sugar for a substitute sweetener and use a gluten free flour. I think I can get away with a few dark chocolate chips in there.
Lindsay Brown
This looks like a great recipe and I am totally going to use it this summer! I grow my own zucs and am forever searching for zucchini recipes as they just run rampant in my gardens and i find by the end of summer I have an overload of zucchini!
Zucchini + chocolate chip cookies = a tasty treats that my kiddos will love! Also, no more zucchini waste in the garden! Hawzaa!
Rachael Marini
Never in a million years would I have thought to add zucchini in a cookie! Going to try this for sure!
jerry godinho
my favorite food blogger making me hungry again with all these amazing mouth watering recipes and love the blog and love the pics and love the way you make your presentation thanks
Live Learn better
Great recipe you have here. Even though its very tough to switch to something this healthy after years of eating those high calorie cookies. Nevertheless, I will try it out.
Thuy
I have never made cookies with zucchini before, but that sounds awesome! I want to try this in the summer time and see if it will be a successful treat at BBQ’s!
Tracy C
We love zucchini bread, and I have made it with chocolate chips. However, I’ve never thought about using that batter (or similar one) for cookies. What a great idea!
Subhashish Roy
Chocolate chip cookies are my all time favorite amongst cookies and loved learning about the process of making them. I wonder at all the different dishes that you keep sharing.
Debra Roberts
I grow zucchini’s the size of baseball bats, so I’m always looking for things to make with them that are out of the ordinary! These look delish!
ladyRhoda
I always struggle with zucchini My pastries always come out heavy but like you suggested here perhaps i need to add the flour at small amounts at a time.
Britt K
This sounds like such a delicious recipe! We grow zucchini in our garden every year and always wind up with far more than we know what to do with, giving plenty away to family, friends and neighbours. I have made zucchini loaf in the past but I’ve never tried making cookies with it. I am DEFINITELY saving this to experiment with (and add my own twist) after we start harvesting this year! Maybe I’ll even be able to surprise some people with delicious home-baked cookies!
The Prepping Wife
When I have an abundance of zucchini, I grate it and measure what it needed for a batch of cookies, then freeze it. It is so easy and thaws pretty quickly to be used in the cookies. I do recommend labeling the freezer bag with measurements.
Debra A Roberts
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who eats raw cookie dough! I got a kick out of the “sneaking in the veggies”. My husband is horrible about veggies and the only way I could pull this recipe off is if he’s not home when I make them! If he so much as suspects there’s zucchini in the cookies, he won’t touch them!
Kelly Martin
I love chocolate chip cookies and zucchini but I’ve never thought of combining the two together! These look great Erica and almost guilt free! I’ll have to give them a try.
Doris Jean
This is really a twist to a classic.. Some of your recipes are so creative. I’m always trying to be more healthy but I love sweets!!! This recipe is definitely a must try for me. If I like it…I owe you big time 😁
The Prepping Wife
I really hope you love these cookies as much as I do, Doris!