My friend’s birthday is this weekend and I love an excuse to bake! Sometimes it is a occasion that warrants it, other times a holiday, but more often it really is just an excuse to bake and experiment. (The “experimenting” part drives Kate nuts! Heh.)
So, said birthday friend, dropped a not-so-subtle hint that zucchini bread is his favorite baked good. (He’d actually mentioned this before and THEN at least 2 more times after that.) Happy birthday, Shaun! (Sometime today, I’m sure you’re going to be tearing into this bad boy at work…)
(Adapted from NY Times published September 9, 2008)
Makes 2 8″x4″ loaves
Ingredients
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour
3 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 TBS unsulphured molasses
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp King Arthur Espresso Powder
2 cups grated zucchini
2 oz. package of Taza Chocolate Cocoa Nibs (chopped)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Steps
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 8-by-4-inch loaf pans with non-stick spray, set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat eggs until light and foamy, 3 minutes. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, melted butter, baking soda, vanilla, molasses, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, espresso powder and remaining flour. Mix just until blended. Stir in zucchini, nibs, and walnuts.
3. Divide batter between pans. Rotate pans 180 degrees after 30 minutes of the total 1 hour baking time. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
4. Let cool on wire rack in pans for 15 minutes. Turn bread out of pans and let cool on rack or enjoy warm!
The result: A yummy sweet-but-not-too-sweet bread that even your cutest little veggie hater will love! There’s something about cacao nibs in baked goods that’s insanely delicious. They add a little bit of crunchy texture like the walnuts in this recipe. Speaking of…
A fun note: I used nibs from Taza Chocolate — a local organic, gluten-free, dairy free, & soy free mexican style small batch dark chocolate made in Somerville, MA (yay!). Their rustic chocolate is a robust dark chocolate with floral notes (Kate thinks the notes are very fruity) that appeals to bakers and purist chocolate lovers alike.
sippetsandsharpies 
Hollah at us!