Originally, I used a recipe titled, “Mom’s zucchini bread” for this treat. And it was tasty, but lacked a little “je ne sais quoi.” So I messed around a bit and added a bit of flair. No offense to the mom who came up with the original recipe — moms are notoriously safe for good reasons — but she left out all the fruit. Come on. Live a little.
Come to think of it, though, if my idea of living a little is adding dried fruit to zucchini bread, I should probably get out more.
Zucchini-Banana Bread
3 cups all purpose flour (I use gluten-free flour for my sensitive wallflower of a stomach)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp cinnamon (I used 2 Tbsp, because I love cinnamon)
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 or 2 cups brown sugar or coconut sugar, depending on your personal sweet tooth index
2 mashed ripe bananas
Handful or so of raisins, craisins, dried cherries, chocolate chips — or all of them
3 tsp vanilla or almond extract
2 cups grated zucchini
options: chopped walnuts, salted chopped almonds, chopped apples
Heat oven to 325°F. Grease a loaf pan or, if you’re making cupcakes, prepare your cupcake pans.
Stir together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Beat eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla or almond extract in a separate bowl, then mix in with the dry ingredients. Beat well. The dough will probably look crumbly, especially if you are using gluten-free flour.
Stir in mashed bananas and mix. Add in zucchini and fold in well, then add your dried fruit. If you notice that the dough is still a bit dry — gluten-free flour can be on the dry side — add a heaping scoop of sour cream. Pour into your prepared pan or cupcake tins.
Bake in a preheated oven until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean. This is roughly 40 to 60 minutes. Run a knife along the edges to loosen. Set on a wire rack to cool a bit. (Note: If you have a large dog like I do, who can very easily counter-surf, put your bread in your microwave or cupboard to let it cool.)
Slice a piece while it is still warm, make yourself a nice cup of tea or coffee, and sit down and enjoy.
