Zucchini bread plus cookies…….zookies? Zu-brookies? Who cares, they’re delicious.

I was browsing Pinterest the other day, and I came across this recipe for zucchini bread cookies. I finally made them today, not really knowing what to expect–I am always a fan of adding veggies to any dish, but putting vegetables in a cookie seemed a little bit out there, even for me. These were fantastic, though–not too sweet, but sweet enough to satisfy a craving for dessert. The recipe is below as well, but here’s what they ended up looking like:

Let me first say what these cookies are not. They are not a super-decadent dessert. If you’re really looking to indulge, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere. However, they are a great option for every day, and with oats, whole-wheat flour, and a shot of veggies and fruit from the zucchini, cranberries and raisins and protein from the walnuts, I feel good about giving these to Hannah on a regular basis. In fact, I think you could even make a reasonable argument for eating these for breakfast or a pre-workout snack. By the way, Hannah was my (not totally unwilling) taste-tester and they officially met with her approval:

Joel approves too. And considering that these are a “healthy” vegan cookie and Joel is, well, Joel, that’s saying something.

Zucchini Bread Cookies
Adapted from Vanilla and Spice, which was adapted from Running to the Kitchen   🙂

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp pure maple syrup (I used Truvia, and closer to 1/4 cup total)

1 cup grated zucchini (you can leave the skin on)

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup raisins (I added an additional 1/4 cup of dried cranberries as well)

2 tbsp chocolate chips (I omitted these, but they’d probably be delicious with)

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Prepare a large baking sheet by spraying with cooking spray or lining with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (oats to salt).  In a separate bowl, mix the coconut oil, applesauce and maple syrup.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until the dry ingredients are incorporated.  Gently stir in the zucchini.  Fold in the walnuts, raisins, and cacao nibs.

Take spoonfuls of the batter and roll into golf ball sized cookies. Place each cookie on the prepared baking sheet and press down to flatten slightly.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10-13 minutes, until cookies feel firm on top and are lightly browned on the bottom (mine took 13 minutes).

Let cool on baking sheet for a few minutes to firm up a bit more, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 22 cookies (says the recipe; I made some of mine bigger, so I came out with more like 16-18.)

What else have we been doing? Well, we recently got over a ridiculous heat wave here in Boston, so last Friday I took Hannah to the toddler pool at a nearby state park. I knew that you had to get there early, but I didn’t realize quite how fast this place fills up. We got there literally ten minutes after they opened, and we were the very last car that they let in before they closed the gate. It was worth it though–this place was awesome! The girlie was a bit trepidatious at first:

Hangin’ by the towel…thinking about dipping her toesAaaaand a little closer…….  And she’s in!

Once she was in the water, she was totally sold. We had a great time and as luck would have it, left just as the ice cream truck was pulling up. Fortunately for me, Hannah doesn’t know what an ice cream truck is yet and she was completely oblivious. At some point she’ll figure it out, but in the meantime I’m enjoying her cluelessness.   🙂

We’ve also been spending a lot of time in various public libraries, shopping malls, etc. Basically, any place that’s air conditioned and not our apartment. Which led to this the other day:

Yup, that’s a sparkly purple motorcycle. What have I done?

Other than that, nothing too exciting going on. We’re getting ready for our trip to Chicago and Arizona next month, which we’re really looking forward to. I’m also part of a book club that has its second meeting in about a week. I missed the first meeting, so I’m doubly excited about this one. Except I haven’t finished reading the book that we’re to be discussing, but I’m sure that as in all things, I’ll get in just under the wire.    🙂