Fudgy Chocolate Zucchini Cookies
This Fudgy Chocolate Zucchini Cookie recipe makes for a soft and delicious treat that is easy to make. Veggie-loaded for a little extra healthy goodness, they are Paleo, gluten free and dairy-free.
She has done it again, folks! The fabulous and talented Heather from Happy Kids Kitchen has created another amazing veggie-loaded recipe for the TNN community. Meet and get ready to love and adore Fudgy Chocolate Zucchini Cookies!
My friends and family went utterly nuts over these cookies, TNNers! I baked them on a Wednesday afternoon and by Thursday at lunch, I was staring into an empty glass container where all the lovely, fudgy cookie goodness had once been. My husband loved them and shared them with coworkers. My daughter asked if a chocolate zucchini cookie could double as a veggie for dinner. My friends sent me texts IN ALL CAPS (so I knew they were serious) asking when the recipe was going to be live on the blog….and maybe…possibly….pretty please…could they have it ahead of time? You know, on the down low?
Yep, this brownie-in-zucchini-cookie form is all kinds of magic. Super easy to whip up, soft and perfectly chewy….this is a veggie-loaded treat you are going to love eating and your crew will be SO jazzed about seeing show up in the house. Though, speaking from experience, you might want to create a hidden stash for yourself somewhere in the fridge. Because once word is out that they are in the house, every chocolate zucchini cookie is at risk for going MIA. You have been warned.
How to squeeze out moisture from your grated zucchini
Zucchini is a veggie with a lot of natural moisture. Which is great….except when it comes to making cookies! So we need to squeeze out a bunch of that water so that these cookies come out perfectly chewy instead of mushy!
If you’ve never baked with zucchini before, here is my method to best squeeze moisture from my grated zucchini.
- Measure out grated zucchini.
- Place grated zucchini in the middle of a paper towel or a clean dish cloth.
- Wrap zucchini in towel and squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
Tips for Fudgy Chocolate Zucchini Cookie recipe
- Don’t skip on draining the zucchini. Zucchini holds a lot of water and since there is no flour in this recipe to absorb the liquid, it is vital to squeeze out the moisture from the zucchini before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.
- Let them cool completely before removing from baking sheet. Cookies are quite soft when fresh out of the oven. They will firm up and and hold together easier once cooled.
- Store them with a layer of wax paper in between the layers. Because these zucchini cookies are so soft, fudgy and chewy, they also have a tendency to stick together. Putting a layer of wax paper between them will help you to separate them more easily when it comes time to enjoy them.
Suggested adaptations
- If you love PB and chocolate together, sub the almond butter with your favorite natural peanut butter.
- Add chocolate chips for a little extra chocolaty goodness!
Other veggie-loaded cookies you are going to adore
- Flourless Peanut Butter Carrot Zucchini Cookies
- Morning Glory Breakfast Cookies
- Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies (with pumpkin)
- Chocolate Sweet Potato Cookies
- Pumpkin Almond Butter Cookies
- Zucchini Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Did you make this recipe? And did you love it? Awesome! I’d love for you give it your review below! 👇 And make sure to share your creations by tagging me on Instagram!
Also, don’t forget to follow and connect with Heather on Instagram and follow her blog Happy Kids Kitchen for more amazing recipes to cook with and for your family!
Fudgy Chocolate Zucchini Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup grated zucchini, squeezed dry (measure first)
- 3/4 cup almond butter , (I used Trader Joe’s creamy raw unsalted)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar , or granulated sweetener of choice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt, skip if almond butter is salted
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp almond flour
Equipment
- food processor
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Add all the ingredients to a food processor. Blend until everything is well mixed and a sticky dough forms.
- Remove the blade and scoop heaping tablespoons of the cookie batter onto the prepared baking pan.
- Bake until the cookies are puffed and the edges are set, 8 to 10 minutes. Don’t over bake or you’ll miss out on the gooey brownie-like center.
- Allow to cool fully on the pan before removing with a spatula.
- Store in an air-tight container in fridge. If stacking cookies, place a layer of parchment paper or wax paper between layers to prevent cookies from sticking to one another.
- When ready to enjoy, garnish with a little sprinkling of powdered sugar (optional).
I want to bake these for friends for Christmas. I’ll try a regular batch although how do I sub the egg to make them vegan? Thanks
Unfortunately I don’t think these would work well without egg. You can try this recipe, though it doesn’t have veggies
https://thenaturalnurturer.com/chocolate-almond-butter-cookies-egg-free-paleo-gluten-free/
What a great idea to use zucchini in cookies! It works well in bread so I imagine these will be delicious. I will definitely squeeze as much water out of them as possible though! And the addition of natural peanut butter sounds great – I might definitely give it a go!
I mase these yesterday, and even though I altered rhe recioe to accomodate what I have and added more zucchini thst it calls for, they are delicious! Thank you so much!!!
My 3 year old loves these cookies! From start to finish he helps make them, clean up, and of course devour them! Yet another TNN recipe that is in our rotation.
Yay! That’s so awesome! I love that he is part of the entire process. I’m sure the fruits of his labor are extra sweet tasting!
Is a food processor necessary? Would either a Vitamix, or hand mixer work?
The batter is a bit thick for the blender but a hand mixer or stand mixer would probably work.
Thanks! Will give it a “whirl.” 🙂
My two year old helped me make these! Simple and delightful! My husband likes adding whipped cream and making a fudgy cookie sandwich.
Oh I like how your husband thinks!
So yummy!! The texture is fantastic! I love the review above about using whipped cream and making a cookie sandwich…. Guess I’ll need to make more.
I licked my finger after getting them on the cookie sheet to bake 🤩 wow it tastes amazing!! Can hardly wait the 10 min for them to bake!!
So glad you loved them! This recipe is a personal favorite! And thank you for leaving a review!
These are great and we didn’t even use a food processor! Ops! My 3.5 yr old and I made them and love them. Thank you for another great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed, Roselyn! I often don’t use a food processor either but it is a great way to help the zucchini “melt” into the cookies a bit more if needed! And I love that your little enjoyed them too. Nothing warms my hear more than a kiddo loving a veggie-loaded recipe.
These are a well balanced flavor. Definitely not super sweet but still feel like a treat. I added a few chocolate chips on top and recommend! Mine came out slightly cake-y, not fudge-y. The best part is that it was such a quick recipe. Fresh hot cookies in no more than 20 minutes. I will be making these again!!
So glad you enjoyed them, Lauren! I have never had mine come out cakey and kinda want to! Did you make any changes??
I added a few chocolate chips on top before baking. My kids gobbled these up so fast and couldn’t believe there was zucchini in them. Delicious!
Delighted to hear these were such a success in your house, Christina! Thanks for taking the time to share!
The recipe Google gave me did not include egg or regular flour if any can you tell me how many eggs and if there’s any flour other than the almond flour thanks
Hi Tamra. I’m not sure what ingredient list you are looking at when you say Google gave it to you. But I just double checked this recipe that you commented on and there is the 1 egg listed in the ingredients. You are correct that there is no regular flour, but this recipe does call for almond flour. Hope that helps.