Zucchini. Blech.

I despise zucchini.

I spent a year in Germany, and somehow, the family I lived with got the impression that I LOVED it. As in, the mom walked in one day with not one but two THREE FOOT LONG, SIX INCH DIAMETER zuccs from grandma’s garden. She showed them to me and said, in all seriousness, “Look Erin, your favorite food!”

EW.

I suffered through every type of zucchini I could there out of sheer politeness and embarrassment, and spent more time than I’d like to admit coming up with creative ways to dispose of my leftovers-for-lunch so that they wouldn’t notice I threw them out.

And before you try to tell me that it amazing/delicious/terrific and I just need to try it in/on/with/near something else and I’ll love it, let me just tell you that the ONLY place I like to see zucchini is in the trash.

At someone else’s house.

Cuz I’m sure as heck not letting it in mine.

… unless I want to make these cookies.

My old friend Therese made them for me a few summers ago after she read Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. They quickly became my favorite cookie, and I’ve yet to meet someone who didn’t love them… even if the green bits look a little strange!

I visited my a college friend and her family in Ogallala this week, and whipped up a batch with a zucc they had lying around. Might as well use it up before it turns into a zucchini boat!

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Makes about two dozen)

1 egg, beaten
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
Combine in large bowl. Try not to spill the vanilla all over the counter.

Then don’t forget the most important part: clearing out the cookie jar so there’s plenty of room to fit these babies! You will need your fuel for step 3!

1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (that’s in the “coffee” jar)
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
Combine in a separate, small bowl and blend into liquid mixture

1 cup finely shredded zucchini (with or without peels)
12 oz chocolate chips
Stir these into other ingredients, mix well.  Drop by spoonful onto greased baking
sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon.  Bake at 350°, 10 to 15 minutes.

This is my zucchini grating secret so that I don’t make a mess everywhere. Maybe not what you’re supposed to do but it gets the job done! Helpful hint: if you don’t have a grater handy, don’t think you can just chop up the zuccs. It will still give you cookies but definitely does not have all the moisture that shredded will. Also, you can see the green in the cookies either way, but its less obvious if you peel them. I’ve made them both ways and its all delicious, so its totally up to you.

Now, a word of warning for fellow zucchini-haters. At some point during this process, you will get a smidge of dough on your finger and lick it off. This will be delicious. Under no circumstances should you use this as an invitation to dig and eat spoonfuls of raw cookie dough.

No, not cuz of that raw-eegs-cause-salmonella-or-e coli-or-whatever drama. Because you can TOTALLY taste the zucchini and while the batter is delicious the veg is not. so just say NO!

NOW you may eat. and eat. and eat. Seriously, these have veggies in them. That makes them healthy, right??

At least that’s what I tell myself… a “healthy” cookie is the only way I can excuse allowing zucchini in my kitchen!

Go whip yourself up a batch and when you’re done, come back and see the rest of my adventures in small town Nebraksa, plus delicious brunch in Omaha x2!