Zucchini Cookies with Chocolate Chips

All the small talk this week about healthy zucchini recipes has been cute, but it’s time we cut to the good stuff: Zucchini Cookies.

Thick, pillowy, and studded with chocolate chips, these soft Zucchini Cookies get right back to the basics of one of zucchini’s most fantastic qualities.

You can use zucchini to bake yummy, healthy desserts!

Zucchini makes for wholesome desserts that:

1. Taste FAB, while
2. Squeezing in a serving of green, which allows us to
3. Enjoy multiple servings with utter justification.

These delish Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies are made with more nutritious ingredients, don’t require you to chill the dough, and like many of my favorite healthy cookie recipes, they’re sweet enough to leave you satisfied without sending you into sugar overload.

To continue our Zucchini Week fun, let’s make this simple, super satisfying zucchini cookie recipe!

How to Make Zucchini Cookies

You’ll need a few pantry staples to make oatmeal Zucchini Cookies. I bet you have them on hand already.

• Whole Wheat Flour. These Zucchini Cookies are 100% whole grain but do not taste like it! I like to bake with white whole wheat flour, which, like all-purpose (white) flour, is mild in taste but offers benefits that all-purpose flour does not, such as additional protein, fiber, and nutrients.
• Oatmeal. I adore oatmeal and zucchini together! Oatmeal gives the Zucchini Cookies a delightful texture, a homey, comforting vibe, and extra whole-grain goodness.

Plus, the transformation of the recipe from zucchini chocolate chip cookies into zucchini OATMEAL cookies means we can eat them for breakfast, yes?

^Rhetorical question.

^^If you are still looking for an answer, it is YES.

• Cinnamon, Spice, Everything Nice. A few spices add to the comfort factor of the Zucchini Cookies without overpowering them.
• Honey + Coconut Sugar. These more natural sweeteners give the Zucchini Cookies a delightful, almost caramel-y backnote.

You can find coconut sugar at most grocery stores and online here. If you can’t find it or don’t want to purchase it, brown sugar works in the recipe as well.

And of course we need one last optional (or not optional) ingredient…

• CHOCOLATE.

I used a heaping helping of smooth dark chocolate chips.

Skeptical about zucchini and chocolate together? YOU MUST TRY IT. I know it sounds odd at first, but the combo works famously.

Case(s) in point: Zucchini Brownies, Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, Paleo Zucchini Bread.

Zucchini Cookie Recipe Variations

Here are a few more ways to jazz up the recipe to suit your preferences or what you have on hand, and to make extra batches to use up that zucchini!

• Vary the Mix-ins. Instead of (or in addition to) the chocolate chips, try making Zucchini Cookies with raisins, Zucchini Cookies with coconut, or Zucchini Cookies with walnuts or pecans.
• Lemon Zucchini Cookies. Omit the chocolate chips. Beat the zest of 1 small lemon in with the sugar and the butter. For an extra burst, top the Zucchini Cookies with lemon glaze (the lemon glaze on top of this Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake would work nicely).
• Zucchini Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting. Bake the cookies as directed and let cool completely. Spread them with the cream cheese frosting like the one on top of this Cream Cheese Banana Bread.
• Vegan Zucchini Cookies. You can swap zucchini for the carrot in my Carrot Cookies, which are already vegan. OR, if you want to play around with this specific zucchini cookie recipe, you can experiment by using a flax egg, maple syrup, nondairy yogurt, and a nondairy buttery substitute. (I haven’t tested this yet, so please comment and let me know how it turns out if you do!)
• Zucchini Cookies No Flour. Swap zucchini for the carrot in my Carrot Cookies.
• Gluten Free Zucchini Cookies. Use a 1:1 GF baking blend like this one in place of the white whole wheat flour.

Take advantage of summer’s bounty. Bake yourself, your friends, and your coworkers a batch of Zucchini Cookies with Chocolate Chips. It’s the right thing to do!

Recommended Tools to Make Oatmeal Zucchini Cookies with Chocolate Chips

• Easy-clean box grater
• Favorite cookie sheets
• Parchment paper (if you use parchment paper to line baking sheets often, these pre-cut sheets are well worth it)
• Cookie scoop (evenly portioned cookies = evenly baked cookies)

ReviewSave to FavoritesPrint

Zucchini Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Oatmeal

5 from 19 votes

Healthy Zucchini Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Oatmeal. Thick, soft and made with wholesome ingredients this easy zucchini dessert is popular and delish!

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Prep: 25 mins

Cook: 12 mins

Total: 50 mins

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Servings: 28 cookies, approx.

ReviewSave to FavoritesPrint

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 1/2 cups finely shredded zucchini from about 1 medium zucchini
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup  coconut sugar or swap light or dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt at room temperature
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups  white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats not instant
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4  cup dark chocolate chips

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Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with nonstick spray or line with parchment paper or silpat mats. Place the shredded zucchini between layers of paper towel, then thoroughly squeeze out as much excess water as possible. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on high until completely smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the coconut sugar and beat on medium high for 3 full additional minutes, stopping to scrape down the bowl as needed. On high speed, beat in the honey and Greek yogurt, then the egg and vanilla until completely combined. The mixture may look curdled, but it will be fine. Scrape down the mixer as needed and blend the batter as well as you can.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, oats, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. On low speed, slowly add one-third of the dry ingredients to the wet. By hand, fold in half of the shredded zucchini. Mix in the next third of the dry ingredients (again on low speed), fold in the remaining zucchini, and finally mix in the last third of the dry ingredients. By hand, stir in the chocolate chips.
• With a cookie scoop, portion the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until the tops are barely set and the edges are dry to the touch. They may seem underdone, but do not overbake or the cookies will be dry. Let rest on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

• Batter can be prepared and stored tightly covered in the refrigerator up to 1 day in advance.
• Store leftovers at room temperature in a paper-towel-lined airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
• To make the cookies gluten free: I have not yet experimented, but I think you could successfully replace the white whole wheat flour with gluten-free oat flour, adding an additional 2 to 3 tablespoons if the cookie batter seems too wet. An all-purpose gluten-free flour blend like this one would also work well. Ensure your quick oats are certified gluten free, like these are. OR make my Carrot Cookies, using zucchini instead of carrots.
• To make vegan: I have not yet tried the recipe this way, but I think you could use a vegan buttery spread in place of the unsalted butter, replace the honey with maple syrup, the egg with a flax egg, and the Greek yogurt with a nondairy yogurt.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 84kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 2gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 38mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4g

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