Coconut Zucchini Blondies

I am fighting the good fight against my backyard full of zucchini, attempting to think up new ways to use it up which brings me to this blondie recipe. I consulted a dozen cookbooks and what I found is that the blondie recipes didn't vary all that much. So with that, I considered how I could incorporate zucchini into them, and then to really jazz things up I threw in ginger, carob chips, toasted coconut and pecans. I was quite proud when I took the pan out of the oven for it smelled wonderful and looked golden brown, flecked with green.

However, once I cut a square for myself I thought, ummm, this is cake. For the rest of the day I referred to them as Faux-Blondies. They were springy, moist, and brimming with all the goodness I put in there - not dense and bar-like. Perhaps part of the problem was that I wasn't judicious in my ingredient additions?

Anyfauxblondie, as the day went on the cake morphed into a denser, more blondie/brownie like texture and I would say that they got even better after a day of rest.

For a large pan of Blondies:

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1½ cups White Whole Wheat Flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1½ cups coarsely grated zucchini
• 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• ½ cup carob chips (or chocolate chips)
• 1½ cups unsweetened coconut, toasted

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan or the microwave and then add to the bowl of a mixer. Add the brown sugar and mix thoroughly. With the mixer running, add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla, beating well.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and ginger. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture until just incorporated. Mix in the zucchini, pecans, carob chips and coconut until combined.

Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan. Spread the batter into the pan and bake in the center of the oven for 25-30 minutes. Let cool before slicing.