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Zucchini Cookies are a surprising way to use up your summer zucchini harvest! These sweet cookies are a bit cakey and infused with plenty of lemon for a bright citrus flavor.
I cannot garden to save my life. Seriously, I kill mint. Those of you who garden know that mint is often deemed “unkillable,” if that’s even a word.
Mint is definitely not unkillable. I‘ve killed it – several times.
But for some reason I always think my black thumb will turn a pretty shade of green every single spring – that I’ll miraculously transform into some kind of amazing farmer.
Well, folks that doesn’t happen – ever.
So despite my best efforts year after year, I’m pretty much gardenless and have to rely on veggies from our friends or the farmers market.
Thankfully, I still always end up with plenty of zucchini because it seems to grow like mint for everyone but me.
ZUCCHINI IN COOKIES? REALLY?
Yes, really.
Look, if you’ve had your friends drop bags of zucchini on your porch ding-dong-ditch-style, you know that you’ll do anything creative to use it up.
After making Lemon Zucchini Bread, Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, Lemon Zucchini Cake, Zucchini Bread Pancakes and Chocolate Zucchini Cake, I wondered if it was possible to put zucchini in cookies.
I’ve got news, folks. You can!
Just like with any other baked good made with zucchini, let me go on record as saying that the zucchini flavor in these cookies is subtle and sweet. Delectable even.
And because we love lemon and zucchini together, they’re infused with a bit of lemon zest and drizzled with a lemon glaze.
These cookies are a little bit cakey, a little bit chewy from the raisins, and bursting with sunny citrus flavors. I think you’ll love them!
HOW TO MAKE ZUCCHINI COOKIES
The ingredients for these Zucchini Cookies are pretty similar to what you might use to make zucchini bread or zucchini muffins:
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- Finely shredded zucchini
- Finely grated lemon zest
- Pure vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Kosher salt
- Raisins
Start by beating the butter and sugar together with a stand mixer until light and fluffy, then add the egg, zucchini, lemon zest, and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add this to the wet ingredients until just combined, then fold in the raisins.
To make sure the cookies are perfectly round, we’ll bake them in a whoopie pie pan. Grease the pan and drop the dough into the center of each well with a medium cookie scoop.
Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. Once the cookies have cooled on a wire rack, drizzle them with the lemon glaze.
DO I HAVE TO USE A WHOOPIE PIE PAN?
If you don’t have a whoopie pie pan, you can bake them on a regular parchment-lined baking sheet instead. The shape just won’t be as perfect!
Drop the dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheet with a medium cookie scoop. Make sure to leave a few inches of space between the cookies as they will spread quite a bit.
CAN YOU FREEZE THESE COOKIES?
Just like your favorite zucchini breads and muffins, Zucchini Cookies freeze really well.
I like to freeze cookies in airtight containers with a layer of parchment paper or waxed paper between each layer of cookies. This keeps the cookies from sticking together once they freeze, so you can grab as few or as many cookies as you want at a time.
Zucchini Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup finely shredded zucchini
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup raisins
For the Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar sifted
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a whoopie pie pan with nonstick cooking spray or line a regular baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg, zucchini and lemon zest and vanilla.
- In a medium bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in raisins.
- Use a medium cookie scoop (1 ½ tablespoons) to drop dough into the center of each whoopee pie well or simply drop them directly onto the prepared cookie sheet. If you are using a cookie sheet, be sure to leave a few inches between each cookie.
- Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
- Make the glaze by mixing together the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Drizzle the glaze over cooled cookies.
Notes
- If you are using a regular a regular sheet, your cookies will be a bit thinner than the ones pictured above.
- Store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Recipe adapted from allrecipes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
We planted a garden this year, for the first time ever. A 40×60 PLOT sized garden! It is split between 2 families (our 6 in mine, and 3 w/my parents and brother) – so so far we’ve been managing to eat and consume what’s come out of the garden. Of course it’s taking some creative thinking right now to use up the zucchini. Even when we pull everything we can off, usually within 3 days we’ll have several more giant zucchini! Next year, you might try planting zucchini – I’ve heard that pretty much EVERYONE can grow zucchini and no matter how many plants, you’ll always have an abundance!
So recipes that I’ve been sneaking zucchini into (because my kids are 8, 5, 3, 1 and do not just EAT the zucchini) is to dice it all up and saute it down, throw it into spaghetti sauce (actually gives it a really nice flavor!) Chop it up and throw it into Taco Soup. Lynn, from Lynn’s Kitchen blog – chopped it up and threw it into taco meat with tacos (going to try that one soon) From Two Pea’s and their Pod – she’s made zookies (zucchini cookies), zucchini brownies, zucchini fries. There is of course lots of zucchini bread recipes that are wonderful going from sandwich type texture bread – to what my mom calls as zucchini cake (with my recipe it’s more like yummy banana bread!) Than there is official zucchini chocolate cake as well! Zucchini skillets (z, rice, beans, tomatoes,green pepper, onion AND either chicken or beaf if you’d like to round out the whole skillet! YUM!) Even just grilling or baking the zucchini quarters – oil them, sprinkle with salt – than smear a bit of butter on after grilling/baking. Even slicing it, sauteing it and adding some garlic, salt and butter at the end and the zucchini is GOBBLED up (well, the adults do. My kids eat their required “one bite” right now. It’ll grow on them. I hope. We’re going to be having a huge garden every year from now on!)
Enjoy your zucchini!
Couldnt you use a muffin tin instead?
It looks absolutely divine! yum yum!
These sound lovely! I need a new zucchini baking recipe, and this is super unique. A few weeks ago I made this quick bread: http://warmvanillasugar.wordpress.com/2011/07/23/zucchini-sweet-potato-bread/
It is really yummy and reminds me of carrot cake. Hope you try it!
Great way to enjoy cookies and convince myself they are healthy!
The texture looks so good. I love adding zucchini to baked goods, just never thought of adding it to cookies!
Your Spiced Zucchini Cake is one of my all time favorites. I blogged about it last year. I plan to make it again soon.
http://mignardise.blogspot.com/2010/09/spice-cake-now-with-more-zucchini.html
These look absolutely delicious! I must try them soon!
So adorable – I love zucchini! Especially in baked goods, of course. And especially with chocolate chunks.
What a great way to use up zucchini – the flavours of this cookie sound so perfect!