Lemon Zucchini Bread

Lemon Zucchini Bread

I found my favorite zucchini quote years ago on a local sign board: “It’s Zucchini season. Don’t make eye contact with your neighbors.”

So true, right?

Just one zucchini plant can feed a neighborhood block worth of families.

And, if you neglect them for just a couple of days, there are enormous green baseball bats in the garden. Luckily, my chickens and goats LOVE those.

While my family thinks every bread should have chocolate chips in it, I’m a huge fan of this zucchini bread recipe.

The yogurt keeps the bread super moist and the lemon makes it sing as it melts in your mouth. I even love it cold with just a little smear of real butter.

OK, now I’m drooling. I think there’s a little slice in the kitchen calling my name.

One minor kitchen catastrophe was experienced during the making of this bread: I tried to cheat and see if I could “grate” the zucchini in my food processor.

Um….no.

The zucchini chunks refused to be treated that way and I went back to my old stainless grater.

Ingredients List

Makes one loaf

• Spray oil
• 2 cups flour (I use a mix of whole wheat and unbleached white)
• 5 Tbsp sliced butter, chilled
• 2 cups seeded and shredded/grated zucchini
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup plain Greek-style yogurt
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Coat one, 8×4 inch, loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a food processor, pulse flour and sliced butter until butter pieces are small and crumbly.

In a separate medium-sized bowl, stir together all remaining ingredients: sugars, eggs, baking soda and powder, salt, shredded zucchini,  yogurt, lemon juice, vanilla and cinnamon.

Add in flour and butter mixture and stir until moist.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Dark pans are usually done in 55 minutes while glass pans can take a little over an hour.

Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack.

Run a dinner knife around the edges of the loaf and invert to remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

As with most quick breads, this one is even better the next day. I recommend making it at night and then to serve warm in the morning, heat slices in microwave for 10-15 seconds.