Summers at home were ushered in not so memorably by the end of the school year, but instead by loaves of fresh zucchini bread. My sister and I would devour the green-flecked loaves, drenched with glossy powdered-sugar icing, almost as soon as our mother could get them out of the oven.
Last year, I must have asked my mom on a busy day for her zucchini bread recipe because she told me to "Google it, something similar is sure to come up." Well, last weekend, I asked again, and she helped me find her cookbook with the recipe scrawled in it.
I jotted it down and made a batch as soon as I got home--one loaf for my sister and a half-batch of muffins for me... And that disappeared just as quickly as the loaves we enjoyed as kids.
Mom's Zucchini Bread
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil (OR 3/4 cup applesauce plus 2 tbls oil for a low-fat version)
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Preheat the oven to 350. Using parchment paper, create a sling in two loaf pans, or butter and flour a muffin tin. (This recipe will make two 8x4 loaves, 24 muffins, or one 9x5 loaf and six muffins.... your pick!)
In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil (or applesauce and oil for a lower-fat version), sugar, vanilla, and zucchini. I always double the amount of zucchini, so feel free to put as much as you want in there.
In a smaller bowl, sift together the flour (you can substitute some whole wheat flour if you'd like--I always do) and other dry ingredients. Add the dry mixture to the wet, and mix until well incorporated. No need to use a mixer for this recipe--a simple hand whisk will do the trick.
Pour the batter into the appropriate baking vessel, and pop into the oven. For muffins, bake about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For loaves, bake about 50-65 minutes, or or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
If you'd like to ice them, whip up a simple glaze icing:
1 cup powdered/confectioner's sugar
2 tbls lemon juice
Mix together, adding either more sugar or liquid until the desired texture/thickness is achieved. Pour over the hot bread and be sure to lick the bowl.
2 comments:
ahh yes. I remember this from my childhood. always the zucchini grew out of control and after we'd tired of sautees and the like, it was time for zucchini bread, baked 2-3 loaves at a time, going directly into the freezer until some cold winter day. I used to love it heated up with butter!
Oh, this looks delicious! Here in BC, our squash isn't out in full force yet, but I will file this away for future reference. Also am feeling brave enough to try my hand at flour tortillas again thanks to the lovely ones you made. Is it wrong that the thing I miss most about Texas is not my family, but Tex-Mex??
Thanks for the inspiration!
P.S. Hope you enjoyed the jam...
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