Brown Sugar Zucchini Bread
As everyone welcomes the return of pumpkin spice and the mood changes to themes of autumn, the end of summer garden is still in full swing. We all like to think of September as the beginning of fall, but really that does not come to our part of the country until late into the month and generally the beginning of October. The garden lends its hands to coloring up the pumpkins while simultaneously pushing out more and more zucchini squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, and beans. I have been letting our zucchini plants grow, avoiding walking down to the patch and gathering them as the sheer amount of summer squash in our home is enough to make me sick.
I meandered about the patch just the other day pulling out fruits that had grown to be triple the size of what they should be for fresh eating, which is about 6-8 inches long. Instead, these behemoths were over 12 inches long, some even as long or longer than my daughter, who is less than 3-months-old. What to do with all of these overgrown zucchini? Why, make zucchini bread, of course! Good thing zucchini bread freezes well.
ingredients & recipe:
4 cups grated fresh zucchini
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup coconut or sunflower oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 375° F. Grease 2 standard loaf pans and set aside.
In a large bowl, with a wooden spoon or spatula, mix together the zucchini, eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla until the sugar has dissolved.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the zucchini mixture and stir until just combined.
Pour the batter evenly between the two loaf pans. Tap the pans gently on the counter 1 or 2 times to release any air bubbles.
Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the bread to rest in the pans for at least 10 minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack.
This zucchini bread is a lovely marriage of late summer and early autumn with its spicy flavors and the addition of brown sugar. I love to make a big batch of loaves to wrap and freeze for enjoying into the winter months. You can easily store this bread for up to a year by wrapping it firmly in cling wrap followed by aluminum foil. Label the loaves and put them into the freezer! When you are ready to eat one, simply let it thaw on the counter for an hour or two and then slice as normal.
If you have an overabundance of zucchini like I do, I would highly suggest giving this recipe a try. Or you could also get a set of hogs - they love a watery zucchini!
xoxo Kayla
