From the roundup: 24 Zucchini Cookies Recipes Easy Enough for Any Home Baker
These zucchini fudge swirl brownie cookies are really a s’mores slab bar in disguise, and that is exactly what makes them worth making when you have a zucchini on the counter and no plan for it. The base is a thick, chewy cookie dough pressed into a 9×13 pan, topped with mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, and crushed graham crackers before it goes in the oven. Twenty-two minutes later you have something that looks and smells like a campfire dessert but required zero campfire.
Active time is about 15 minutes, and most of that is squeezing the water out of the zucchini. The rest is stirring, pressing, and scattering toppings. The hard part is the one-hour cool before you cut them. Skip that step and the bars crumble, which I learned the first time I made these when my kids were hovering and I caved too early.
Why I started hiding zucchini in dessert
My neighbor drops off zucchini every August without warning. Last summer I had four of them sitting on the counter and a church potluck the next morning. I had already made zucchini bread twice that week and nobody was excited about a third loaf. I wanted something that would actually disappear from the table, so I went the s’mores route and pressed the whole thing into a sheet pan.
I brought the full 24-bar slab and came home with an empty pan. Three people asked for the recipe before I even got to the dessert table. Nobody asked if there was zucchini in them, which is honestly the highest compliment these bars can get.
Why you will love this
- One pan, one layer of dough: no cookie scooping, no rotating trays, no babysitting
- The squeezed zucchini keeps the base chewy without making the bars taste like a vegetable
- Toppings go on raw dough and bake together, so there is no layering or second bake step
- Cuts into 24 bars that hold together well for potlucks, lunchboxes, or wrapping individually
- A good use for garden zucchini that does not require anyone to be excited about eating a vegetable
Tips for success
- Squeeze the zucchini harder than you think you need to. Wrap it in a kitchen towel and twist both ends in opposite directions over the sink until almost nothing drips out. Too much moisture left in will make the center of the bars gummy and slow to set.
- Press the dough with dampened fingertips, not dry hands. The dough is sticky, and dry hands just pull it up instead of spreading it. Wetting your fingers every few passes makes it much easier to get an even layer to the edges.
- Press the marshmallows and chips gently into the surface before baking so they do not roll off when you lift the slab out. A light press with the palm of your hand is enough.
- Do not cut the bars until the pan is fully cool, at least one hour on a wire rack. The center looks set in the oven but it finishes firming up as it cools. Cutting too early is the main reason these fall apart.
If your bars come out too soft or gummy
- The most common cause is zucchini that was not squeezed dry enough. More liquid in the dough means the center takes longer to set and may stay soft even after cooling.
- If the edges are golden but the center still jiggles at 22 minutes, give it 2 to 3 more minutes and check again. Ovens vary and a glass pan runs cooler than metal.
- Let the bars cool the full hour before cutting. They will feel underdone when warm and firm up considerably as they cool completely.
Substitutions
Semi-sweet chocolate chips are what the recipe calls for, but dark chocolate or milk chocolate both work fine depending on what your family prefers. Honey grahams, cinnamon grahams, or chocolate grahams all work for the topping. If you only have full-size marshmallows, cut them into quarters with kitchen scissors and they will toast up about the same way.
For a dairy-free version, a plant-based butter like Miyoko’s works in place of the unsalted butter. The bars will be slightly less rich but still hold together. The recipe is already nut-free as written, so no changes needed there.
Make-ahead and storage
The zucchini can be shredded and squeezed dry up to one day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. You can also press the dough into the prepared pan, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Add the toppings right before baking the next day. Once baked and fully cooled, store cut bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you need to stack them, put a sheet of parchment between layers so the marshmallow topping does not stick.
For longer storage, wrap individual bars in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 6 weeks. Thaw at room temperature for about an hour before serving. The marshmallow texture softens a bit after freezing, but the flavor holds up well.
Zucchini Fudge Swirl Brownie Cookies
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a couple inches of overhang on the long sides so you can lift the whole slab out later. Spray the parchment lightly with cooking spray.
- Grate the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater. Wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze hard over the sink to remove as much liquid as possible. Measure 1 1/4 cups of the squeezed zucchini and set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter with both sugars until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes of vigorous stirring. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
- Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined, then fold in the squeezed zucchini and half of the chocolate chips (1/2 cup). The dough will be thick and a little sticky.
- Scoop the dough into the prepared pan and press it into an even layer using lightly dampened fingertips or the back of a spoon. Get it as level as you can all the way to the edges.
- Scatter the mini marshmallows evenly over the top of the dough, then sprinkle on the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, followed by the crushed graham crackers. Press the toppings very gently into the surface so they stick.
- Bake on the center rack for 20 to 22 minutes, until the edges are golden brown, the marshmallows are toasted and puffed, and the center feels set when you gently press it. The bars should not jiggle in the center.
- Let the pan cool completely on a wire rack before lifting the slab out using the parchment overhang. This takes at least 1 hour. Do not rush this step or the bars will fall apart when cut. Once fully cooled, slice into 24 bars with a sharp knife.
Notes
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