FoodDay Friday--Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy Friday!  It's been a blast here so far--we got up early to beat the heat, and though the kids complained about waking up, they quickly changed their tune.  We hit the Y as soon as childcare opened, and I hopped on the treadmill.  I got in a very solid 6 miles with interval training!  I love intervals on the treadmill because it takes all the thought out of it.  I just push buttons and make sure my legs don't fling me off like a jackass keep up.  I started with a .6 slow/.4 fast mile, the next mile was .5 slow/.5 fast, then .4 slow/.6 fast, and so on.  And my "fast" got faster every time.  I finished with a new record for myself:  6 miles in 54:26!  Woohoo!  I hopped sweatily to pick up the kids and discovered that my little social butterfly daughter already knew kids there and was the talk of the town.  The boy was on a buggy ride and looked quite entertained as well.  I showered off quickly, and we hit the waterpark for a few hours.  They played hard, snacked and drank tons of water, and then both fell asleep on the way home.  I call that a win.

Happy kids!

 So it took me a while to get to this post, and I won't be posting any finished product pics today unfortunately.  It's just too dang hot to turn on the oven!  But this is the recipe I had planned and therefore I shall share.  It's delicious, I promise!

After one of our trips away, we came home to this recently:

Why yes, those are indeed three freakishly huge zucchini!  We began trying to figure out all sorts of ways to fix them in which we wouldn't just get bored, and one of the first thoughts was cookies.  I've made them before, and the recipe I use is kind of a combo of a few with some tweaks to make them a good bit healthier.  Here are your ingredients:

3/4 c. butter 
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2  c. grated zucchini, drained
1 c. chocolate chips

First, cream together the butter and sugar.  Then, add your egg and vanilla, and beat well.  Add flour--I use whole wheat because it's healthier than all-purpose, but it will also make it "breadier".  You can switch back if you'd like, but this still tastes delicious!  With the flour, add the baking powder and soda, cinnamon, and salt.  Beat the entire mixture together.  In a colander, make sure your grated zucchini is drained a bit--squeeze it against the sides.  When it seems not so drippy, add it and the chocolate chips, blend entire concoction, and scoop out spoonfuls on a greased cookie tray.  Bake at 350 for 11-13 minutes.  They should be nice and moist because of the zucchini (it still holds a lot of water), and with far less sugar than the competing recipes, they should be healthier while still tasting great! 

To make it even healthier--add in steel cut oats or nuts.  Be sure to soften the oats for a bit ahead of time, and you'll still probably have to bake a bit longer.  But they'll add some awesome fiber and protein.

I hope you guys all have an awesome weekend full of family fun and sun!  Of course, don't get too much sun in the Southeast, or you may look like this:

Any big plans for you this weekend?