Melt in Your Mouth Pecan Zucchini Bread

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!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword bread, pecan bread, zucchini bread

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 24 slices

Calories 203kcal

Author Before and After Lunch

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

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 below.

Yield: 2 9-inch loaves