Zucchini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Zucchini!? In a cookie…!?

Yes, you read right. Zucchini…Oats…and Chocolate Chips to be exact. Toss in a little cinnamon and nutmeg and this soft, cake-like cookie is packed with fabulous, wholesome flavor.  When I was making them MyLittleTwinBoys took one look at me shredding up a big zucchini and said…

“Oh, no. What are you going to do with THAT!”

I simply told them it was going into a cookie and could they please keep an open mind when they tasted them.

“Give them a fair shot! Who knows, they may be really, really good!” is what I said, to be exact.

They made a few faces that led me to believe they would have a hard time keeping an open mind. Goof balls. These two have been hit with the silly bug. They lay in bed at night and laugh for a good hour before they fall to sleep, every single night. Thank goodness summer is still in full swing. Heaven help us when the old school bell starts a ringing and they have to get up and be accountable for spelling words and addition equations.

As it turns out, I was able to coerce my boys into trying a cookie and they totally loved  them.  They each ate four and then hauled a plate full of cookies out to share with their neighborhood pals. They gave them a thumbs up as well, even though I overheard my boy Nate telling them “My mom totally made these with spinach…!”

Spinach! Woah, man. Looks like we need a little lesson on Green Vegetables in Many Varieties, around here. Maybe spinach and zucchini will be on an upcoming spelling test…who knows. 🙂 Until then, we will be giggling late into the night and enjoying a few batches of these great cookies.

Hope you give them a try, gang! It’s a great use for any overgrown zucchini you may have lying around.

Let me show you how to make it happen!

Zucchini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
PRINT RECIPE

Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 36 cookies
Recipe adapted from The Kitchen Magpie

1/2 C butter, softened
1 C sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 C grated zucchini
1 3/4 C rolled oats
2 C milk chocolate chips
1 C chopped pecans

 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Into your stand mixer, or large mixing bowl place 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup sugar. Beat it on medium speed until light and fluffy. Should only take about 2 minutes. Add 1 egg and mix for 1 minute longer. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla and mix until combined.

3. Into a separate bowl place 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Toss it all together to combine and add it to the mixing bowl.

4. Toss in 1 3/4 C rolled oats (I opted for rolled oats because that’s what I had on hand. You can use quick cooking oats if you have that as well). Mix to combine.

5. Take a medium-large zucchini (something that has grown too large to do anything but bake with…)

and grate 1 1/2 cups. Add it to the mixing bowl.

6. Chop 1 cup of pecans and add them in.

7. Add 2 cups milk chocolate chips and mix it all until combined.

8. Scoop the dough onto a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
10. Cool on a wire rack or eat warm from the oven.

Enjoy!