Profiteroles with Chocolate Chips & Zucchini

Oven to 345°F. That’s it—everything else falls into place from there. Got two cups of grated zucchini and a mixer? Fifteen minutes from now you’ll have batter ready. These aren’t cakey. Dense. Fudgy brownies that taste like someone snuck chocolate into something healthier and nobody noticed. The zucchini doesn’t announce itself—it just makes them stay moist for days.

Why You’ll Love These Chocolate Brownies

Makes the kitchen smell like actual chocolate, not artificial cocoa. Twelve minutes to mix, twenty-two minutes baking—easy enough for a weeknight dessert that feels fancy. Fudgy in the center even when they cool completely. Zucchini keeps them from drying out, which somehow nobody expects. No mixer needed if you don’t have one. Your hands work fine. Cleanup’s one bowl and a pan.

What You Need for Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

Half a cup of canola oil. Vegetable oil works if that’s what’s there. Seven-eighths cup granulated sugar plus a third cup of packed brown sugar—not the same thing, brown adds moisture. One egg. Two teaspoons vanilla. Two cups all-purpose flour. Half a cup of unsweetened cocoa powder. Baking powder. Fine sea salt. A cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Two cups of grated zucchini, squeezed dry. That last part matters more than it sounds.

How to Make Chocolate Brownies

Mix the wet stuff first—oil, both sugars, the egg, vanilla. Hand mixer or stand mixer on medium. Not smooth like frosting. Just combined. Looks grainy. That’s right.

Whisk together the dry ingredients separately. Flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt. Cocoa powder clumps. Work it through. Not crucial if some lumps stay, but fewer is better.

Fold the dry into the wet slowly. Don’t whip it. Stir gently until flour disappears. Then chocolate chips go in. Stir those through.

Zucchini last. Stir by hand—the mixer tears the fibers and that changes the texture. Doesn’t matter if it looks stringy still. Spread it into a greased 9x13 pan. Level it out with a spatula, flour on the spatula helps. Should be even but dense.

How to Get Fudgy Brownies Every Time

Bake 18 to 23 minutes. Less time means fudgier. More time means cakey. Watch the edges—they’ll pull away from the pan slightly when they’re close. The top cracks a little. Doesn’t look shiny anymore.

Toothpick test: insert one in the center. Should come out with moist crumbs stuck to it. Not raw batter. Not clean either. That moist crumb is everything.

Cool in the pan. This is the hardest part. Cutting warm brownies turns them into mush. Wait until completely cool. Texture sets up as it sits. The fudginess deepens.

Chocolate Brownies Tips and Fixes

Squeeze the zucchini hard. Like, actually dry. Use a clean kitchen towel or coffee filter and let it sit for a minute. More than once these came out soggy because someone—not naming names—skipped this step. Moisture ruins the crumb structure.

Bake too long and they tighten up, lose that fudgy thing. Too short and they feel raw. Twenty minutes is usually the sweet spot but ovens vary.

Powdered sugar instead of granulated gives smoother texture. Watch the sweetness though. Coconut oil works but the flavor shifts—tastes like coconut brownies now.

Applesauce instead of oil? Works. Adds moisture, loses some richness. Not quite the same thing but it’s fine.

Add an espresso powder or cinnamon to depth the cocoa. Maybe nuts if that’s a thing you do.

Profiteroles with Chocolate Chips & Zucchini

By Emma

Prep:

12 min

Cook:

22 min

Total:

34 min

Servings:

20 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 7/8 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups grated zucchini, squeezed dry

Method

1. 1 Oven to 345°F. Grease a 9x13 pan or line it; parchment, better for cleanup.
2. 2 Mix wet — canola oil (sub veggie oil), sugars (slightly less granulated, a touch more brown), vanilla, and the egg. Use stand mixer or hand mixer on medium until poor man's creamy.
3. 3 Whisk dry — flour sifted or not, cocoa, baking powder, salt. Skip lumps, cocoa stubborn but important.
4. 4 Add dry to wet slow, folding gently to avoid overmix. Stir in chocolate chips, then zucchini last by hand—no mixer here, fibers fragile. Zucchini moisture crucial, squeeze it well or excess water ruins crumb.
5. 5 Spread level in pan. Not sloppy but dense spread. A spatula with little flour works best, keep it even.
6. 6 Bake 18-23 minutes. Less for fudgy, more for cakey. Watch edges pull away, top slightly crackled but not dry. Toothpick with moist crumbs, not raw batter, but avoid fully clean.
7. 7 Cool fully in pan, trickiest part. Cutting warm makes mash; patience will reward texture and flavor budding.
8. 8 Returns? Share tweaks, add nuts, maybe cinnamon or espresso powder for depth. Tried replacing oil with applesauce? Adds sweetness, loses some richness.
9. 9 Mistakes? More than once made soggy bars—too much zucchini or skipping squeeze step. Also, baking too long dulls moisture, too short feels raw.
10. 10 Efficiency tip: Grate zucchini a day ahead, drain overnight in coffee filter or clean towel to prevent sogginess. Mix dry ingredients first to save time.
11. 11 Swap notes: Powdered sugar instead of granulated gives smoother texture but watch sweetness. Coconut oil works but flavors shift.
12. 12 Closing: Expect dense, moist, not cakey brownies. Chunky with chocolate pockets, rich cocoa smell fills kitchen mid-bake. Sharp edges when cooled. Keeps well; refrigerate if warm kitchen.

Nutritional information

Calories

150

Protein

2g

Carbs

20g

Fat

8g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Chocolate Brownies

Can I make these chocolate cake instead of brownies? Not really. The zucchini moisture and bake time make it dense on purpose. If you want chocolate cake, different recipe.

How long do these stay fresh? Three days in a container at room temperature. Refrigerate if your kitchen runs warm. Four days that way. They don’t actually get stale—just firmer.

Can I use zucchini bread recipes with these? Sort of. The ratio changes. These use less zucchini proportionally, which is why they stay fudgy instead of turning into zucchini bread.

What if I don’t have a stand mixer? Hand mixer works. Or whisk the wet stuff really well by hand—takes longer but identical result.

Can I double this? Use a 9x13 and a square pan, or bake in batches. Doubling in one pan makes it thick, takes longer, dries out easier.

Why squeeze the zucchini? Water content makes them soggy. Squeezing removes that. Grate the day before, drain in a towel overnight if you want ultra-dry zucchini.

Is this actually healthy because of the zucchini? It’s a dessert. The zucchini keeps it from being completely dry. Don’t eat it thinking it’s vegetables.