Pecan Zucchini Bread. A simple is a quick and easy sweet bread from American cuisine. In fact, it looks more like a cupcake, tender, moist, literally melting in your mouth, and it’s hard to believe that this delicious pastry is made from grated Zucchini! Such bread can be served for breakfast or afternoon with tea or as an addition to the dinner table.
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Melt in Your Mouth Pecan Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter unsalted
- 3 eggs large, room temperature
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup applesauce unsweetened
- ¾ cup raw cane sugar* *Can use regular white sugar instead of raw cane sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar dark, packed
- 1½ tsp real vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 cups shredded zucchini
- 1¼ cups pecans roughly chopped and divided
Instructions
- Place top oven rack in the center position and pre-heat oven to 325°F. Generously grease two 9-inch loaf pans with butter and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, vegetable oil, applesauce, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract just until blended.
- Add the flour, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to a medium bowl and stir to combine.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet, a little at a time, and mix to combine. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula, as needed, to make sure the dry ingredients are thoroughly incorporated into the batter.
- Add the shredded zucchini and one cup pecans to the mixing bowl and fold into the batter.
- Divide the batter between the prepared loaf pans and place in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle the remaining pecans on top of each pan.
- Return to oven and bake for another 30 minutes before checking for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of each loaf. If necessary, continue baking until the toothpick comes out clean. (Depending on how much moisture is in the zucchini, it may take an hour or slightly longer for the loaves to finish baking).
- Remove from oven and cool for several minutes. When cool enough to handle, transfer the loaves to a wire rack or cutting board. Slice and serve immediately or cover tightly with plastic wrap once cooled and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Notes
Yield: 2 9-inch loaves
If your family members love Zucchini, then they will definitely appreciate this bread. So, pamper your friends and family with it at the weekend with this delicious bread.
Some Useful Tips
- You can also add some orange peel, grated apples, or carrots if you like.
- If your Zucchini is a larger one, slice it in half horizontally and remove all seeds. You don’t need to peel the Zucchini.
- The juice in Zucchini adds moisture to the bread. So, don’t squeeze it.
- If you want more nutty bread, increase the amount of pecan and add one extra tablespoon of oil.
- If you want to add chocolate chips to the recipe, go for it. But chocolate also draws moisture from the bread. So add one extra tablespoon of oil if you are using the chocolate.
- Don’t cut back on the spices. It is great for adding moistness to bread, but Zucchini is a tasteless vegetable by itself. It is best used in recipes that require a lot of spices or other flavorings.
- Bake the bread in two small pans versus one large one. In this way, the bread will be baked in the middle without the top getting too burn or brown first.
How to Store and Keep Pecan Zucchini Bread
You can keep this bread at room temperature in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap for 4-5 days. If you want to freeze it, let it cool down completely. After that, wrap it in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil.
The frozen bread will taste good if you eat it within 2-3 months. Thaw it on the countertop, still wrapped, or in a low oven.
If you want to freeze shredded Zucchini, double the amount that you need to freeze. It seems to turn to 98% water after you freeze and re-thaw it.
What Can I Add to Pecan Zucchini Bread?
We have used pecan in this recipe, but you can add more dry fruits according to your taste. Some best options are pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds, chocolate chips, sunflower seeds, more dried fruit. You can add them all together. Use your imagination and try more interesting options for the best results.
Which other types of flour can be used in this recipe?
This recipe has used all-purpose flour, but you can also try whole wheat, gluten-free, or oat flour. White Spelt flour can also be used with great success.
How do you know how much moisture is “right” for Pecan Zucchini Bread?
The batter should be consistent. Ideally, it should be thick but not pasty and pourable but not thin. If your batter is too thick, you can add some extra mix in water until the batter is looser. In this way, you will get the perfect moisture for your bread.
The timing for this recipe can vary quite a bit depending on the amount of moisture in the zucchini. Some recipes recommend draining the excess moisture after shredding the zucchini for more consistent results. However, if moist, delicious bread is your goal, you definitely won’t want to do that.
Instead, shred the zucchini with a box grater placed over a large, rimmed plate, as shown, to collect the excess moisture. Then, bake the bread at a fairly low temperature (see notes below) and check after 45 minutes to determine your final bake time.
Kitchen-Testing Notes: This recipe was tested at both 325°F and 350°F. At the higher temperature, the outside developed a really nice golden-brown crust long before the inside was baked through. Toward the end, the loaves needed to be covered with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning. For best results, use the lower temperature and adjust your bake time as noted in the recipe form.
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