Day 38: Shhh - hiding veg in your baked goods

I'm sitting here, stuffy nose and watery eyes, wishing I had some brownies. I feel pretty bad for me.

But I want to be healthy. 

It's a constant struggle, ya know. 

I'm pretty sure I drank all the tea in the universe yesterday. 

And to ease my need for health,  I'm sitting here tinkering around with veggie baked goods recipes. I found some recipes that add vegetables to your baked goods. Oooh!

Some of them sound really yucky, tho, like savory cauliflower cookies? I mean, it ceases to be considered a cookie when it stops being sweet, in my opinion. Don't you think?

Also, it sounds gross if you're thinking of really big chunks of veggies in your brownies, but we're talking about pureeing or grating them and adding them to the batter. 

Thing is, you don't notice them. 

And they make the baked goods moist. Dry baked goods are yucky.

Today I am going to try Zucchini Brownies. 

Mostly because I have a lot of zucchini and I want brownies today. ( Yesterday I made soft pretzel rolls and ate 3 of them with butter! It was a kit. I know, I'm so bad.I think I even bought it for my daughter but she never got around to making them or eating them. She didnt even want any once they were made. She just wanted my chicken soup. Heathens, I tell ya.)

Part of me hopes that because i have a cold, no one else will want any brownies. (smile) but I'm sure it won't bother the kids, heck they gave me the cold. Such givers they are. 

Anyway, while dinner cooks I've been doing some research and you can even use celery in brownies. What!? Celery?!

I have wilted celery just crying to be used. I bet I could try that. 

Anyway, just mixed up the dry ingredients, then wet, then mixed them together. I used white whole wheat flour instead of all purpose, you know, since we are already going healthy. 

That's baking now. I can see the zucchini strips which I hope disappear when we cook it. 

It was thick like a cookie dough, which is what the author says is right. 

There is a frosting that you make with melted butter - well that was easy! usually you're fighting the butter temperature because you ALWAYS Forget to set out the butter to warm. Well I do, anyway.

So now we wait to see how they turn out. .... 

 I will now philosophize to pass the time.

Thought #1: A lot of these veggie baked goods recipes have chocolate. I am beginning to think chocolate is the great confounder of tastebuds.

Thought #2: Never tell your kids what is actually in the brownies, unless you want them all to yourself. In that case, tell them it has kale. 

Thought #3: Disappearing teens tend to peek our their heads when chocolate appears. Shh, don't squeal with delight, they spook easily. Just lay out a plate for them and pretend you don't see them. Maybe make a space on the couch next to the upside down English Setter just in case. It helps if you can wire up an extension cord into the couch somehow so they can charge their phones.

Thought #4: With this cold I'm not sure I will smell the brownies when done. Sniff. Nothin.

Thought#5: If you had amnesia, and you had to start over with who you are, do you think you would pick all the same things? Does your experience help shape who you are today? How much, do you think?  (Well my thoughts cant ALL be about food. )

Thought #6: You really cant hide zucchini in brownies.

The frosting (L) and the brownies(R).

Thought #7: Why is it that wheat is free in Super Farm Game? 

Thought #8: I wonder why bats wont go into the bat house our neighbor put out 2 years ago. Maybe there is a broken seam? Not enough bugs?

Thought #9: Foodies really ought to stick together. We feed off each others ideas. :)

Thought #10: This brownie is taking forever. Like 45 mins. 

Waiting for it to cool now and then I can frost it. 

~`~`~`~`~The verdict: ~`~`~`~`~

Frosted brownies

Tasting...

The frosting is yummy. The brownies are chocolatey and sweet, which is good. No you cannot taste the zucchini. However, you can smell it. It's weird. I don't suspect kids would eat it if they knew it had zucchini in it. You cant see the zucchini except on top, which is why you put frosting on it. Plus it's not really overly sweet, it needs something.

I give it an 8/10 stars. (********--)

Note: Turns out I made them in a 9x9 when the pan called for was 9x13. So you can probably bet you'll get it done in 30 mins if you read the directions. Oops.

Try it, but don't tell. See what happens!

-- Vicky aka The Clumsy Chef

The recipe: 

ZUCCHINI BROWNIES

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE BROWNIES:

·        2 cups all-purpose flour (i used white whole wheat)

·        1/2 cup cocoa powder

·        1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

·        1 teaspoon salt

·        1/2 cup vegetable oil

·        1 1/2 cups sugar

·        2 teaspoons vanilla extract

·        2 cups shredded zucchini (1 large or 2 small zucchinis)

·        3-5 tablespoons water

·        1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

FOR THE FROSTING:

·        3 tablespoons cocoa powder

·        1/4 cup butter, melted

·        2 cups powdered sugar

·        1/4 cup milk

·        1 tablespoon vanilla extract

·        Pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:

1.     Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13" baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

2.     In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3.     Using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the oil, sugar, and vanilla until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and stir. Fold in the zucchini. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes so the batter can absorb the moisture from the zucchini. Then, if your mixture is still very powdery, add up to 5 tablespoons water (start with 1 tablespoon and work up from there, stirring well after each addition). The batter will be very thick but shouldn't be powdery. (It partially depends on how wet your zucchini is!) Add walnuts, if desired. You may need to use your hands to work the water in instead of a spoon. The dough is super thick, like cookie dough. Do not add too much water! Spread in prepared pan.

4.     Bake 25-30 minutes until the brownies spring back when gently touched.

5.     To make the frosting: Whisk butter, cocoa, salt, and powdered sugar. Whisk in milk and vanilla. Spread over cooled brownies. Cut into squares and chill to semi-set. The frosting hardens slightly on the top but stays wet and gooey underneath.

6.     These brownies are best stored in an airtight container and eaten within 2 days. Chill them to make them last an extra day. They're what I call "fork" brownies because they are so gooey.

7.     *NOTE* People have been saying these brownies are cakey. Every time I've made them they turn out super fudgy like in the photos. The problem is how much water you add. It's hard to say how much to add because every time I've made these I've added a different amount. It really does depend on your zucchini. The batter will be very thick and need help spreading in the pan. If your batter is at all liquidy or thin you're going to get a cakeier brownie.