From the roundup: 24 Zucchini Cookies Recipes Easy Enough for Any Home Baker
These zucchini chocolate cookie sandwiches started as a way to use up the zucchini that piles up in August, and they’ve turned into a regular request at our house. The cookies bake up thin and flat, which is exactly what you want when you’re stacking two of them around a buttercream filling. If you skip the step of gently flattening each dough mound before it goes in the oven, you end up with domed cookies that slide around and look sloppy. Ask me how I know.
Active time is about 25 minutes total, split between mixing the dough and making the buttercream while the cookies cool. The rest is just waiting: 10 minutes in the oven, a few minutes on the pan, and then enough time on the rack for the cookies to cool completely before you fill them. Rushing that last part means the buttercream melts into the cookie instead of staying put.
The finished sandwiches are sturdy enough to pack into a cookie tin or bring to a cookie exchange without everything sticking together. They hold at room temperature for two days, which makes them one of the more practical things I bake when I need something that actually travels.
Why you will love this
- The zucchini keeps the cookies soft without making them cakey, and no one can taste it once the cocoa is in the mix.
- Baking at 350 for just 8 to 10 minutes means you’re not babysitting the oven for long.
- The cookies are thin and flat by design, so sandwiching them is easy and they don’t crack when you press them together.
- They hold up for two days at room temperature, which makes them a practical choice for parties or gifting.
- One batch makes 16 sandwiches, enough for a decent crowd without having to double anything.
Tips for success
- Squeeze the zucchini until it feels almost dry. If you leave too much moisture in, the dough gets loose and the cookies spread unevenly. A clean kitchen towel works better than paper towels here.
- Flatten each dough mound before baking. Use the back of a spoon or your fingertips, just enough to press them slightly. This is the difference between a cookie you can sandwich neatly and one that tips over.
- Pull the cookies when the edges look set and the tops are no longer shiny, even if the centers feel soft. They firm up on the pan during those 4 minutes of resting, and overbaking makes them dry and hard to bite through.
- Match cookie pairs by size before you start filling. It takes an extra two minutes and makes the finished sandwiches look much more even.
Common questions
- Can you taste the zucchini? No. Once it’s squeezed dry and mixed into chocolate dough, it disappears completely into the texture.
- What if my buttercream is too stiff to spread? Add cream or milk a tiny bit at a time, half a teaspoon at a go, and beat again. It loosens up quickly.
- Do the cookies need to be completely cool before filling? Yes. Even slightly warm cookies will melt the buttercream and you’ll end up with a greasy, sliding mess.
- Can I use a piping bag instead of spreading? Either works. A piping bag with a plain round tip gives you more control and a cleaner edge, but a small offset spatula is faster if you’re filling 16 at once.
Substitutions
Dutch-process cocoa gives the cookies a deeper color, but natural unsweetened cocoa works fine if that’s what’s in your pantry. The cookies will be a little lighter and slightly less intense in flavor, but still good. For the buttercream, heavy cream makes it a bit richer, but whole milk gets you to the same spreadable consistency. If you want a tangier filling, a chocolate cream cheese frosting swaps in without changing anything else about the recipe.
Dairy-free butter works in both the cookie dough and the buttercream. Use a plant-based milk in the dough and the filling in the same amounts. The texture stays close to the original. These are already nut-free as written, so no adjustments needed there.
Make-ahead and storage
You can bake the cookies up to two days ahead and store them unfilled in an airtight container at room temperature. The buttercream can be made at the same time and kept in the fridge in a covered bowl. When you’re ready to assemble, let the buttercream sit out for 15 minutes and give it a quick stir before spreading. Assembled sandwiches keep at room temperature for up to two days or in the fridge for up to five days. Take them out of the fridge about 15 minutes before serving so the buttercream softens back up.
Unfilled cookies freeze well for up to two months. Thaw them at room temperature, then fill as usual. I wouldn’t freeze the assembled sandwiches since the buttercream can get grainy after thawing.
Zucchini Chocolate Cookie Sandwiches with Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat your oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment. Grate the zucchini and squeeze it tightly in a clean kitchen towel until very dry. Set aside.
- Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on medium speed for about 2 minutes until creamy. Add the egg, vanilla, and milk. Mix until smooth.
- Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined, then fold in the squeezed zucchini. The dough will be soft but should hold its shape when scooped.
- Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough. Space mounds about 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets. Use the back of a spoon or your fingertips to gently flatten each mound slightly so the cookies bake up thin and flat. Flat cookies are much easier to sandwich.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges look set and the tops are no longer shiny. Do not overbake. They will feel a little soft in the center when you pull them, and they firm up completely on the rack. Cool on the pan for 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.
- While the cookies cool, make the buttercream. Beat 1/2 cup softened butter on medium speed for 1 minute until smooth. Add the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low so it does not cloud up. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon of cream or milk and beat on medium-high for about 2 minutes until fluffy and spreadable. Add a tiny bit more cream if it feels too stiff to pipe.
- Match up the cooled cookies into pairs of similar size. Spread or pipe a generous layer of buttercream onto the flat side of one cookie in each pair, then press the flat side of the second cookie on top. Press gently until the filling just reaches the edges. Repeat with the remaining cookies and let the sandwiches sit for about 10 minutes before serving so the buttercream can settle.
Notes
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