Guiltless, Flourless Zucchini Brownies (Vegan/Gluten Free)

Here is a riddle for you: What do you do when you have 80 cups of shredded zucchini in the freezer??

You make lots of zucchini relish, raw zucchini pasta, zucchini bread, zucchini brownies, and anything else you can add zucchini to!

You might be wondering why in the world we have 80 cups of zucchini in our freezer! Well, I am so glad you asked. :) Last summer our garden was overtaken with zucchini! It was great, but as fast as I could use them and give them away, we still had more! So, I cut it up and threw it in my trusty food processor, and measured out into ziplock bags and then put those in ziplock bags, and then labeled them. So, now I have plenty of zucchini to use throughout the year.

Yesterday was our Yoga Teacher Training Potluck Celebration and I knew exactly what I was going to make!

Flourless Zucchini Brownies! They are vegan and gluten free, and even Paleo approved...and the best part...they are AMAZING!! Good thing I made extra because I certainly ate more batter than I needed! YUM! :)

Here is what you will need:

• 1 cup sunflower seed butter or cashew butter (you can use almond or peanut butter, but I prefer a butter with less of a nutty flavor)
• 2 cups shredded zucchini (thawed if you are like me and have it in the freezer)
• 1/2 cup agave (or honey if you don't care if it is vegan or not)
• 1 tbsp ground flax seed + 3 tbsp water (mix together and set aside for a little bit to gel up) - this is an egg substitute so if you are not going for the vegan option, use 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips (use gluten free chips if you are going for the gluten free option)

I know, lots of options! But, that is one thing that I love! You can practically customize this recipe to meet your needs.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and mix together.
3. Pour batter into a greased 8x8 baking pan.
4. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

         

These little babies almost didn't make it to the potluck...but good thing they did because they were a hit! And what I love most...I don't even feel guilty eating all of them! :)