I had never heard of zucchini bread before moving to Utah. It was one of those things that everyone seemed to know how to make or had at least had before, and all I could think was Seriously? Zucchini? What could possibly be sweet and scrumptious that’s made from a vegetable? But then my next thought was carrot cake, you dork and then I was thankful that all of those thoughts had been kept to myself and I hadn’t said anything out loud. My student teacher, Lyndsey, brought some to work to share with me and that same week Matthew and Lindsay’s babysitter had made some for them for snack time that I was able to try. Well, I was sold. When I searched to find my own recipe I read a ton of reviews, one of which suggested adding a crumb topping on it. I gotta say, the crumb topping takes an already good recipe over the top. My own changes were to substitute half the granulated white sugar for brown and half the oil for applesauce. I’ve tried using only applesauce and Mike noticed and commented, “Does it seem a little drier to you?” So naturally, in order to keep my husband happy I only tried that once. Matthew and Lindsay ask for this on a regular basis. It’s also something that I consistently make whenever we go camping or on vacation, so they associate it with tents and hotel rooms. We are actually on a trip now. So while you’re reading this, I should be eating a piece of zucchini bread in one hand while pushing a stroller in the other heading into the Magic Kingdom! My kids don’t know yet, but they’re sick of being in the car on day two. Hopefully when they see Mickey Mouse and realize where we’ve brought them they’ll forgive us. Hooray for road trips!

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini (about two large zucchini)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Crumb Topping

• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup melted salted butter

Directions

1. Grease two 8X4 inch bread pans. Line them with parchment paper leaving enough to pull out the bread like handles. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Use a fork to beat eggs, oil, vanilla, applesauce and sugar together in a large bowl.
4. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix with fork. Don’t over mix as that can cause the middle of your bread to fall while baking. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
5. Bake for 30 minutes and then sprinkle the crumb topping on top of each. Continue to bake 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. Remove bread from pans and completely cool.

By Life’s Sweet Seasons