Though this zucchini cookie recipe is one that will make any late summer baking repertoire complete, they are also a fantastic option any time of year that zucchini is available. Bring these chewy, soft cookies to a bake sale, potluck, or even back-to-school night for enthusiastic reviews. If you love baking recipes that use zucchini, then check out my homemade zucchini muffins, classic zucchini bread, or chocolate zucchini bread recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Zucchini – choose fresh zucchini that are smaller and dense for their size and have smooth, dark green skin. If possible, avoid using overgrown or extra-large zucchini, as they can have a woody flavor and an undesirable texture. Butter – brought to room temperature so it whips up well to create a fluffy dough. Additionally, use unsalted butter if possible, as different brands of butter add differing amounts of salt to salted butter. If needed, you can use salted butter, but reduce the additional salt in the recipe to ¼ teaspoon. Old-Fashioned Oatmeal – also known as rolled oats, this type of oatmeal is not fully processed to remove all of the bran, leaving it with a nuttier flavor and chewy texture. Do not substitute quick oats or steel-cut oats for the rolled oats, as they will not work in this recipe. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – complete the cookie recipe with notes of rich and sweet chocolate. If desired, add your own spin to these cookies by substituting in semi-sweet chocolate chunks, dark chocolate chips, or white chocolate chips. Brown Sugar – packed tightly in the measuring cup to measure. Light brown sugar is my favorite for these cookies, but you can use dark brown sugar for deeper caramelized molasses notes. Vanilla Extract – for the best flavor, use pure vanilla extract.
How to Make Zucchini Cookies
- Wrap the zucchini in a double layer of paper towels and squeeze firmly to remove the excess liquid. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined and fluffy, about 1 minute.
- Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Stir the shredded zucchini, oats, and chocolate chips in until well combined. Cover and chill the dough for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Scoop 1½ tablespoon-size balls of cookie dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, spacing the balls at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned on the edges. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Continue scooping and baking the remaining cookie dough as directed.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
Grate the zucchini using a box grater or hand-held vegetable grater. Most food processor graters produce zucchini shreds that are too long and thick for these cookies. Chill the cookie dough. The high moisture content of the grated zucchini needs to be absorbed into the cookie dough, and the butter will firm up again during the chilling process. If baked without chilling, the cookies will spread too much in the oven. Chill the dough covered for at least 2 hours or for up to 2 days. Change up the mix-ins. Semi-sweet chocolate chips give these easy zucchini cookies a comforting old-fashioned cookie feel, but you can also experiment with other mix-ins. Raisins, dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, slivered almonds, or cinnamon chips are all delicious options.
If you’ve tried this Zucchini Cookie recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
