Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Zucchini is one of my all-time favorites, and a classic preparation that never fails is fat slices sauteed in olive oil, seasoned with salt & pepper and served with a generous sprinkle of mozzerella cheese!  Sigh.  Heaven! 

But an experiementer I am, and as I've never tried my hand at zucchini bread before, it was my time.  Since I'm a little bit of health nut, the use of vegetable oil, which seemed to be a common demoninator in most recipes, wasn't at all appealing to me.  So I did what I enjoy best, which is to tweak things until it's to my liking!

I hope you enjoy it too!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Makes 36 mini-muffins

Nutritional Info (3 muffins):
211 calories; 5.5 fat grams

Ingredients

1 c plus 2 tbs, sugar
2 large eggs

1/4 c plain fat-free yogurt
1/2 c applesauce

2 tb unsalted butter, softened

2 c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tbs dutch processed cocoa powder

2 medium zucchini, shredded and strained of excess moisture

1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
Pam Cooking Spray

Directions

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a mini-muffin tray generously with Pam Cooking Spray.

Trim the squash on both ends and grate in it's entirety.  Place the zucchini in a fine mesh sieve and squeeze out as much excess moisture as you can.  Toss the squash with the 2 tablespoons of sugar and place in the strainer over a bowl for 15-20 minutes to draw out any additional liquid.  Squeeze the zucchini once more and then set aside. 

 In a mixer and usig the paddle, set to low and cream the sugar, eggs, yogurt, applesauce, and butter.

In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together and then slowly incorporate into the wet ingredients.

Add the zucchini and the chocolate chips and mix on medium for several minutes.

{Resist the urge to lick!  But I don't always!}

And place approximately two tablespoons of batter into the mini-muffin tins, and bake at 350 degrees for approximately nine minutes.

Enjoy!