Mom’s zucchini bread

You know those gigantic zucchini you get from your garden towards the end of the season when you already have more zucchini than you ever want to eat?  My mom used to make bread out of those and freeze the loaves for us to eat all winter.  The botany club garden had a few of those gigantic zucchini, so I had my mother send me her recipe. I made enough to fill up both of my bread pans, two cake pans, and two muffin pans and have been sharing with anyone who will eat it.

Reviews from friends:

Delicious!

It doesn’t taste like vegetables at all!

The best muffin I’ve ever had!

I’m trying not to eat all the bread you sent home with Anna, but…

So that you can also make the world’s best zucchini bread, I’ve reproduced my mother’s recipe below with advice.

Mom’s Awesome Zucchini Bread

  • 2 1/2 c. sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/4 c. cooking oil
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 3 c. flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 3 c. grated zucchini (unpeeled)
  • 1 c. crushed pineapple (drain, but don’t squeeze every bit of the moisture out)
  • 1 1/2 c. coconut
  • 1 1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans (walnuts are better)

Beat together sugar and eggs until creamy.   Add oil and vanilla; mix.  Add dry  ingredients.  Add zucchini and mix.  Add pineapple, coconut and nuts.  Mix.  Bake in a greased and floured pan for one (1) hour at
350degrees,  Makes 3 loaves or 1 Bundt.

After adding the dry ingredients, the mixture will be almost like cookie dough, but will get very soupy once you add the zucchini and pineapple.  This is a pretty dense bread.  I live at high altitude and made it fluffier by not adjusting for that (and leaving extra room in the pan!)  If you overcook the bread, it will be dry and disgusting.  Take it out as soon as a knife stuck in the middle comes out with cooked bits stuck to it.  Making it in a Bundt pan is a great way to make the bread dry, so you probably actually shouldn’t do that.  All measurements are approximate.