Last Saturday, it started with 5 large zucchini and a pile of bread tins, it ended with 4 different kinds of zucchini bread. Oh, 16 loaves of them! Jeff and I had picked a number of zucchini from the garden and knew we had to use them soon. We haven't had much luck with our zucchini and yellow squash this year. Zucchini bread was on the list of things to make since this might be the only pickings from our garden.
Jeff's daughter, Kate, and I were already plotting for what we would make. I knew we were going to make our favorite Pineapple Zucchini Bread and Mom's Zucchini Bread, but what else? You can't start a baking project with 5 large zucchini and not make a few different kinds. Jeff's mom had sent over a recipe for Lemon- Poppy Seed Zucchini Bread and I found a recipe called Lemon Zucchini Tea Bread. Two lemon zucchini cake recipes means I'm going to be creating a different flavor with one of them. The only other zucchini recipe I would have made was the Chocolate Zucchini Cake, which is amazing, but I didn't have buttermilk.
NOTE: You can make your own buttermilk with 1 scant cup of whole milk and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. Let sit for 5 minutes. Presto - buttermilk!
The Orange Craisin Zucchini Bread with Mini Chocolate Chips was an adaption of the Lemon Zucchini Tea Bread from a cookbook called I remember...Recipes and Memories put out by the Alzheimer's Association, Maine Chapter. It was a recipe donated by Susan Grondin of Raymond, Maine. I decided that instead of lemon peel I would use orange rind. It called for raisins and nuts which I substituted the craisins and chocolate chips. I figured this would give us some traditional zucchini bread, pineapple, lemon-poppy seed and orange craisin varieties.
We took the orange craisin zucchini bread to Block Island with us on Sunday (to visit friends) and it was a big breakfast hit. I didn't have a photo of the bread so I took some out of the freezer this morning and we have already finished 1/2 the loaf. This bread is moist with a hint of orange and tanginess from the craisins. The chocolate is slight but adds a nice flavor. Add coffee - Heaven!
It's funny, I tend to enjoy zucchini breads that have some different ingredients, hence, why love the pineapple zucchini bread. All of these breads are delicious in one way or another. I will be highlighting the lemon-poppy seed zucchini bread next. If you have the time, make a few loaves, freeze them, share them and enjoy the wonderful flavors of summer.
Ingredients:
3-1/2 cups of flour
3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons of salt
1 tablespoon of freshly grated orange rind
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla
4 eggs
2 cups of shredded zucchini
1 cup of craisins
1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips
Preparation:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Slightly grease two 4 X 8 inch loaf pans or tins. I like tins because I can freeze the bread in them.
3. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda, put aside.
4. In a large bowl using a mixer or hand beater, beat the sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs until well blended and light yellow in color, about 2 minutes. Add the orange rind.
5. Add the dry ingredients, mixing with the beater.
6. Stir in (by hand) the zucchini, once blended add the chocolate chips and craisins.
7. Place into tins and bake for 35-40 minutes. We made 5 loaves when we doubled the recipe. On average they took about 50 minutes to cook.
8. When tested with a toothpick and it appears clean, remove from the oven. Cool on racks.
We freeze additional loaves so we can enjoy them into September.
