These double chocolate zucchini cookies are the perfect way to use up that garden zucchini! These gluten free and vegan chocolate cookies are fudgy, delicious, and totally irresistible!
If your garden is overflowing with zucchini, you might be wondering what recipes you can make with it. I know some summers I’m practically begging people to take zucchini off my hands!
I love to make zucchini bread, and zucchini cupcakes, and zoodles, but these double chocolate zucchini cookies are a new favorite dessert of ours. It’s so fun to find ways to incorporate this green vegetable into our diets.
These gluten free cookies are fudgy and delicious, and they taste like little mini chocolate cakes. My boys said that these should be called cake-cookies!
These work really well with gluten free flour, but if you are not gluten free, go ahead and use all-purpose flour, they will still be great.
Ingredient Notes
- Gluten Free Flour – I love Namaste Perfect Flour Blend for cookies – it holds up very well and it’s easy to find. I get the big bag from Costco, but you can also find it at health food stores or other grocery stores.
- Vegan Buttery Spread – I used Earth Balance Soy Free Buttery Spread for this recipe. You could probably use a buttery spread from a different brand like Smart Balance or Melt. If you aren’t dairy free, go ahead and use regular butter.
- Zucchini – You will need to shred the zucchini, and then squeeze out the excess liquid. You don’t want the zucchini to be too wet when you add it to the batter.
- Dairy Free Chocolate Chips – Both Enjoy Life Chocolate and PASCHA Chocolate make wonderful allergy friendly chocolate chips. You could also use dairy free white chocolate chips in this recipe for a variation.
Step by Step Instructions
- Shred the zucchini and remove the extra liquid.
- Cream the vegan buttery spread and sugars, then add the applesauce and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and the shredded zucchini.
- Spoon the cookie dough onto cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-14 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet before moving them.
Special Equipment
I like to grate my zucchini by hand, but you could also use a food processor if that’s easier for you. I find that a grater works better for getting smaller shreds that blend into the batter more easily. Make sure to squeeze out all the excess liquid from the zucchini so the batter doesn’t get too wet.
FAQs
I don’t recommend trying any oils in this recipe. Using oil in cookies will result in cookies with an oily or brittle texture. I haven’t tried this recipe with shortening, but I know many of my readers use vegan palm shortening in their baking with great success. If you can’t use vegan buttery spread, you may want to try palm shortening.
I don’t recommend coconut flour – it works best in recipes that use eggs. The texture will be dry and dense if you use coconut flour.
I think a portion of oat flour would be fine! Use up to ¾ cup. You can try to use more, but the texture may be very delicate, and they may fall apart if you use all oat flour.
Baking Tips
- Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper so that the cookies don’t stick to the pan.
- Space the cookies out in four rows of three, with about 1.5 – 2 inches of space in between them. If your cookie sheet is smaller, do four rows of two cookies.
- Allow these cookies to cool on the baking sheet before moving them so that they don’t fall apart.
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Recipe
Double Chocolate Zucchini Cookies (Gluten Free, Vegan).
Chocolatey and rich, these zucchini cookies are hard to resist! A perfect dessert to pack in lunches.
Ingredients
- â…” cup vegan buttery spread
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup organic cane sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 â…” cups gluten free flour blend
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup shredded zucchini Squeezed to remove excess liquid
- 1 cup dairy free chocolate chips
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
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Place the vegan buttery spread and sugars in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth and combined.
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Add the applesauce and vanilla extract, and mix until combined.
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Stop the mixer and add the cocoa powder, gluten free flour blend, salt, and baking soda. Mix until well combined.
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Stop the mixer and add shredded zucchini and the dairy free chocolate chips. Stir by hand.
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Drop the cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet. Leave about 1.5 inches between them. You should be able to fit about 12 cookies on a sheet. Set the remaining batter aside.
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Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-14 minutes.
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Allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the sheet before moving them. Repeat steps 6 and 7 with remaining batter.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition facts are for one cookie.
I don’t recommend coconut flour for this recipe.
If you’d like to use some oat flour, you can use up to ¾ cup oat flour along with the gluten free flour blend. If you use all oat flour, the cookies may fall apart.
Katie
Chocolatey and delicious!
Darryl
These delicious zucchini cookies are just like little miniature chocolate cakes, they are super tasty!
Chocoviv
This looks so good!!