Post spanking dessert

Hermione, on her blog today, posted a delicious sounding recipe for Baked Zucchini Chips.  She got the idea from Daisy over at Daisychain, who once a month shares a recipe with her readers.  What a fabulous idea!  This month Daisy shared three cookie recipes with her loyal readers and encouraged them to share their own tried and true recipes.

Each summer I join a farm share from which I get weekly deliveries of fresh seasonal produce from a local farm.  This is one of my favorite parts of summer and each week I look forward to seeing what is in my box!  I've discovered some great new veggies I'd never tried before, and many wonderful new recipes.  Here's one I plan on making this week with my recent delivery of zucchini:

My zucchini does not look like an adorable duck :(

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:
3/4 c. oil
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2 c. grated zucchini
1/2 c. sour milk or buttermilk
3 T. cocoa
1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
2 1/2 c. flour
small bag of chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease bread pan(s) (I make 2 small loaves out of this recipe)
3. Mix all ingredients and bake 30-35 minutes (or until a toothpick dipped into the center comes out clean)

I adapted this recipe from one of my favorite summer cook books: From Asparagus to Zucchini.The original recipe makes a cake in a 13x9 cake pan, but I prefer to cook it as two small bread loaves.  Perfect for snacking on and oh so yummy!

And here's a good baking tip: for best results, allow your oven to pre-heat for 20 minutes after reaching the desired temperature.  This gives the oven walls time to evenly absorb the heat and reduces the temperature fluctuations caused by opening the oven door.  It's also handy to keep a pizza stone in your oven - it absorbs moisture and soaks up heat, again regulating the temperature of your oven!

If you try this recipe I'd love to hear from you, or share your own recipe, either here or on your own blog!