From the roundup: 24 Zucchini Cookies Recipes Easy Enough for Any Home Baker
These zucchini white chocolate macadamia shortbread cookies are not what the name suggests, and that is actually a good thing. What you get is a soft, caramel-forward drop cookie built on a brown sugar base, loaded with butterscotch chips, and kept genuinely moist by a cup of shredded zucchini folded into the dough. The zucchini disappears completely once baked. Nobody will know it is there unless you tell them.
The total time runs about 40 minutes, with most of that being cooling time on the pan. Active work is maybe 20 minutes: grating and squeezing the zucchini, mixing the dough, scooping. One thing worth saying upfront: squeezing the zucchini as dry as you possibly can is the step that decides whether these cookies hold their shape or spread into puddles. Wrap it in a clean kitchen towel and wring it hard over the sink. Do it twice if you have a watery zucchini.
The recipe makes 28 cookies, which sounds like a lot until you realize they disappear fast. I usually get about two days out of a batch before they are gone, and they are actually a little better on day two once the brown sugar has had time to settle into the crumb.
How this one came together
My neighbor dropped off a bag of zucchini from her garden in late August, the way neighbors do when the plants get out of hand. I already had zucchini bread going and I did not want another loaf. I had butterscotch chips in the pantry from a batch of blondies I never got around to making, and I figured a drop cookie was faster than any bar recipe. The first batch spread too much because I did not squeeze the zucchini dry enough. Second batch I wrung it out like I meant it, and they came out exactly right.
My youngest picked out two butterscotch chips and ate those separately, then ate the rest of the cookie, so I am counting that as a win.
Why you will love this
- Butterscotch chips with brown sugar dough gives these a deep caramel flavor you do not get from a standard chocolate chip cookie
- The zucchini keeps the texture soft for days without any special storage, no plastic wrap trick needed
- 28 cookies from one batch, which is enough for a school week or a potluck with some left over
- The dough comes together in one bowl after you cream the butter, no chilling required before baking
- Cinnamon in the dough is subtle but it rounds out the butterscotch in a way that plain vanilla alone does not
Tips for success
- Squeeze the zucchini as dry as you can get it. Use a clean kitchen towel, not paper towels, and wring it hard. Wet zucchini is the main reason these cookies spread flat.
- Pull the cookies when the edges just turn golden, even if the centers look underdone. They firm up on the pan during the 5-minute rest. Overbaking dries them out fast.
- Scoop the dough about 2 inches apart. This dough is soft and sticky, which is normal, but crowding the pan means the edges do not set properly before the centers puff.
- Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack. Two sheets at once in most home ovens means uneven browning on the bottom sheet and pale tops on the upper one.
If your cookies spread too much
- The zucchini was not dry enough: next time wring it out twice and let it sit on the towel for a minute before adding it to the dough
- Butter was too warm: if your kitchen is hot and the butter looks greasy rather than creamy after mixing, chill the finished dough for 20 minutes before scooping
- Baking sheet was still warm from a previous batch: always let the pan cool completely or use a second lined sheet
- If they spread and you catch it early, pull the pan, let it cool 2 minutes, and use a spoon to nudge the edges back toward the center before they set
Substitutions
White chocolate chips or peanut butter chips can replace the butterscotch chips if that is what you have. Dark brown sugar works in place of light brown sugar and makes the cookie a little richer and chewier. Gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour swaps in directly with no other changes needed.
For dairy-free, melted and cooled coconut oil can replace the butter, though the texture will be slightly less tender and the flavor more neutral. Dairy-free butterscotch chips exist but can be harder to find, so white chocolate chips are the easier dairy-free swap at most grocery stores.
Make-ahead and storage
To freeze the dough, scoop it onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until the balls are solid, then transfer to a zip-top freezer bag. Bake from frozen at 350 degrees F and add 2 to 3 minutes to the bake time. The dough keeps frozen for up to 2 months, which is useful when zucchini season hits and you want to get ahead of it.
Baked cookies store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. They soften slightly by day two, which is honestly the best version of them. To freeze baked cookies, let them cool completely, freeze in a single layer first, then bag them. Thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.
Zucchini White Chocolate Macadamia Shortbread
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat your oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Grate the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel and squeeze it firmly over the sink, wringing out as much liquid as you can. You need it very dry or the cookies will spread too much. Set the dry zucchini shreds aside.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. The cinnamon is subtle but it rounds out the butterscotch flavor in a nice way.
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed for about 2 minutes until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Mix in the vanilla extract.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Fold in the squeezed zucchini and then the butterscotch chips. The dough will be soft and a little sticky, which is normal for a zucchini cookie.
- Scoop the dough using a 1 1/2 tablespoon cookie scoop, placing the mounds about 2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time on the center oven rack for 11 to 13 minutes. You are looking for edges that are just golden and set. The centers may look soft, and that is exactly what you want. Pull them when the edges color up, even if the middle still looks a tiny bit underdone.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack. They need that rest time to firm up enough to lift without breaking. Cool completely before storing.
Notes
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