Homemade Chocolate Pecan Zucchini Bread

Well this weekend Sue handed me a ginormous zucchini, biggest yet I swear. What to do with it was not an issue, three days of grilled zucchini on the BBQ and then time to bake. This year I decided to “pimp” out my normal Zucchini Bread recipe. Introducing my Chocolate Chip Pecan Zucchini Bread, and the fam loves it.

I have mentioned this before but our neighbours have an amazing garden and provide us with fresh beans, tomatoes, lettuce and my fav Zucchini.  All the benefits of having a garden but none of the drawbacks, no weeding, no critters, no back breaking work,  just the pleasure of fresh produce without going to the store or market.

Cooking with Zucchini

Are you a fan of cooking and baking with zucchini or more of a traditionalist? Do you stick to pure zucchini as a vegetable side dish? I am an all around love my zucchini anytime any style gal. Muffins, pizza dough, breads, cakes or just straight up on the grill, it all works for me. Tody a Chocolate Pecan Zucchini Bread and tomorrow I am going to try a zucchini Dip so stay tuned to my kitchen adventures with veggies.

Tis the season, zucchini’s are growing like crazy and our neighbours garden is full of the fresh and delicious secret ingredient to great baking. So let’s get started shall we.

Zucchini Bread Ingredients

Gather all your ingredients together for the Chocolate Pecan Zucchini Bread and get your work space prepared. I am a measure everything out first and then get baking, ok sometimes I do that, other times i just get going and measure as I go:

• 3 C flour
• 2 1/4 C Sugar
• 1 tbsp salt ( I use sea salt always)
• 3  tsp Vanilla ( always Mexican)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 C vegetable oil
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 2 C grated Zucchini
• 3 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 C chopped pecans
• 1 C Chocolate Chips ( milk or semi)
• 3 eggs

How to Make Chocolate Pecan Zucchini Bread

This is one of the easiest breads I have made. and adding cocolate and Pecans to the Zucchini bread makes it the perfect dessert or sweet bread.

Prepping is a lot less time than the baking.

1. I always begin with grating the zucchini, that way it is all prepared.
2. Grease and prepare two loaf pans and preheat oven to 350 degrees
3. Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon, set aside .
4. In separate bowl beat oil, eggs, sugar and vanilla, beat until well blended. slowly add in one cup of flour mixture at a time.
5. add zucchini
6.  add pecans
7. add chocolate chips
8. do not overblend the mixture, you can actually mix by hand if you prefer
9. add to greased pan,
10. bake 40-60 minutes ( my oven actually took 70)
11. check centre after 50 minutes to see if cooked through remove from oven, let stand for 20 minutes and then remove from pan.
12. Let cool and then slice and serve.

You ask, I answer

Do I leave the skin on zucchini for zucchini bread?

Don’t peel the zucchini – Yes, it’s tempting to remove the zucchini’s skin, but there is no need to do that. Zucchini melts into the bread, so peeling is just an unnecessary step. True confession though, sometimes I peel if the zucchini is large.

Should seeds be removed from zucchini for bread?

Definitely remove the seeds. By the time the zucchini has large and well formed seeds, it is tougher and the seeds are tough to eat and often taste bitter.

How do you know when zucchini bread is done?

I use my cake tester and as long as it comes out clean it is perfectly done. Or check the internal temp and pull it at 200°F (93°C) for this or any other quick bread.

Why does my zucchini bread fall in the middle while baking?

The most common reason for zucchini bread sinking as it cools is the ingredients are too vigorously or quickly mixed, which incorporates lots of less stable air bubbles into the batter. I recommend mixing by hand or on a very slow speed.

Can I freeze my zucchini to use later?

Yes you can, I do this every summer for baking later in the year. Pat the zucchini dry, then pack it into freezer bags, squeezing out as much air as possible, and freeze for up to 3 months