Chocolate Zucchini Cookies

My kids have an odd problem. Not a single one of them likes brownies. I'm not sure how a chocolate-loving mama managed to raise 4 children with brownie disdain, but somehow, despite my best efforts, it happened. A particular recipe I've tried a few times and liked, but with brownie-hating children had to eat on my own, is the zucchini brownies. If you google "zucchini brownies", you'll get 7.2 million hits. (See kids! Your mom is not crazy trying to hide a veggie in the brownies!) 

A good chocolate chip cookie, however, and you won't bat an eyelash before half a plate of them are missing. So I wondered and googled to see if zucchini chocolate chip cookies might exist. Lo, and behold, they do! I adapted the recipe I found, because that's what I do.

One of my kids can be picky if she happens to find shreds of zucchini in her cookies, breads, or cakes. This recipe called for Greek yogurt, and since I always have too much homemade kefir lying around, I used it instead. Blending the zucchini and kefir in the food processor first seems to make the zucchini much smoother and lessens the chance of rejection by the non-shred-loving child.

I also happened to be without butter the day I made these cookies.  I found that coconut oil is a great substitute, but you end up with a grainy batter when the coconut oil hardens as it comes in contact with the cold ingredients. It didn't affect the end result though.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies (adapted from Chocolate Fudge Zucchini Cookies)

1 medium (6-7 inch) zucchini
1/3 cup kefir or yogurt
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1 egg (the original recipe did not call for this, but I didn't want crumbly cookies)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2/3 cup granulated or turbinado sugar
1/3 cup almond meal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Blend the first 2 ingredients in food processor until smooth. Pour into bowl and blend with coconut oil, then egg and vanilla. Add cocoa powder and dissolve into mixture. Add remaining ingredients and stir just until blended. Drop by tablespoon onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets. If batter seems too runny, add another few tablespoons of flour until dough is wet but not runny. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are set.

These cookies really do taste very brownie-ish (shh! don't tell my kids!), and they freeze well. Now you have a treat that you can feel good about sending in lunch boxes!