Indulge in a decadent treat with chocolate coconut zucchini bread
Sneak something healthy into your dessert with chocolate coconut zucchini bread.
TinaMarie Craven/ Hearst Connecticut Media
Feeding people is hard. I’m not just referring to children who are devotees to the almighty dinosaur chicken nuggets. No, I’m talking about people in general: we might like to pretend that picky eaters grow out of their rigid food preferences by adulthood, but we all know that isn’t the case.
For example, I have a relative that hasn’t ingested a green vegetable since he was two. He essentially lives on peanut butter, waffles, chicken nuggets, ketchup and french fries, and I’m still trying to figure out how his body functions at all. Sometimes I try to trick him into eating something healthy, like the time I made cauliflower wings and told him they were regular chicken wings.
I certainly understand, however, how difficult it can be to get little ones to eat something healthy. Let’s be honest: brussel sprouts less enticing to kids than gummy bears.
As someone who enjoys zucchini, I like to get creative with how I prepare it. Sure, there’s zoodles (always a good choice) or zucchini chips, but I have a lot of love for zucchini bread. This recipe is great because it tastes like a chocolate-y treat without being too sweet. Hints of cinnamon and coconut keep this bread from being boring, and since it’s made with an entire zucchini, we can pretend that it’s healthy — or at least healthier than a standard chocolate cake.
Chocolate Coconut Zucchini Bread
Makes 2 loaves/24 muffins
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Shred a zucchini with a cheese grater (you shouldn’t need more than one zucchini to get a cup) and put to one side. Combine all the dry ingredients into a large bowl (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt) and put aside. In a medium bowl, mix the sour cream, eggs, oil and milk together. Pour it into the bowl with the flour mixture. Stir until the two are well combined. Fold the shredded zucchini, coconut and chocolate chips into the bowl. Once the batter is evenly mixed, place it into a greased or lined muffin tin. The muffins will take 19-23 minutes to bake. If you bake it as two loaves it takes 40 minutes.
Let them cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tin and serving.
