This time of year it is all about the zucchini. How to use up the surplus of the lovely, green vegetable that grows so prolifically. I think people actually avoid me when they see me coming at them with bags of squash!

Today we decided to just go for the tried and true zucchini bread. We have made several different recipes, but I love the lemon zest in this one and also the cinnamon and nutmeg. Mmmmm, the house smells so good right now – I can’t wait for it to come out of the oven.

The original recipe from The Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook only makes one loaf. I figure if I am going to get everything dirty, I may as well make at least two loaves, so I doubled the recipe and modified it slightly.

Preheat oven to 350*. In mixing bowl beat together sugar, zucchini, and egg.

Add oil and lemon zest and mix well.

Add in the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and baking powder…

and mix well.

Gently fold in chopped nuts. Turn batter into a greased loaf pan, I sprinkle a bit of cinnamon sugar into the pan after spaying in a bit of oil.

I also sprinkle a bit more of the cinnamon sugar onto the batter before putting it into the oven. Bake at 350* for 50 to 60 minutes or till a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool on a rack.

Psych is definitely going to be an “Obsessions”  post sometime in the near future- we love that show! In fact, we just finished watching the Season 7 finale- it’s a sad day in our household.

Zucchini Nut Bread

(makes two loaves)

Preheat oven to 350*
3 cups flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

In mixing bowl beat together sugar, zucchini, and egg. Add oil and lemon zest and mix well. Add in the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and baking powder, and mix well. Gently fold in chopped nuts. Turn batter into a greased loaf pan, i sprinkle a bit of cinnamon sugar into the pan after spaying in a it of oil. I also sprinkle a bit more of the cinnamon sugar onto the batter before putting it into the oven. Bake at 350* for 50 to 60 minutes or till a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool on a rack.

tags: zucchini, bread, walnuts, lemon, citrus, dessert, sweets, breakfast, garden

We love cookies. We bake cookies all the time! Snickerdoodles have to be one of our favorites. Who came up with the name Snickerdoodles? Seriously, what does that even mean?

I have a rule – no appliances as gifts. We have been married for over 20 years and I can only think of two times Donald has broken the no appliance rule.

The first time was over 20 years ago- Donald gave me a bread maker. That was our very first Christmas as a married couple, and from the get go, I was very clear that appliances were not to be given as gifts. Unfortunately, from the get go wasn’t soon enough- he’d already bought the bread maker. For good reason, he was a little afraid when Christmas morning rolled around- luckily, I loved it. We have enjoyed many loaves of bread from that appliance.

The second time he broke the rule was a couple of years ago, when he bought me the KitchenAid. I love it – even more than my bread maker. I use it practically everyday. I guess some rules are just meant to be broken. One of my kids came in and noticed the KitchenAid on the counter and said, “You know it’s going to be a good day when you see the mixer out.” So true, right?

When cooking or baking, the correct tool makes all the difference. Many years ago there was a gal who worked in the same office as I did and she made the best chocolate chip cookies. Each one was perfect in size and shape and when I asked her about it, she told me that she had a special cookie scooper. I thought to myself, do they even make such a thing? I was so impressed by that – and now even I own a special cookie scooper.

So back to the Snickerdoodles-

Preheat oven to 400*
In a large mixing bowl beat together butter, sugar and eggs until creamy and fluffy.

In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients (flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt).

Gradually stir dry ingredients into the butter mixture. I use the stir setting on my mixer, being careful not to overmix.

In small bowl prepare the cinnamon sugar mix. Mix 2 tablespoons sugar with 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Using your handy-dandy cookie scooper, scoop and roll cookie dough into 1 1/2 balls…

and then roll the dough balls around in the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Place on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 7-9 minutes.

Cool on a rack.

Yum!!

Best afternoon snack ever!

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

2 1/2 T sugar
1 T cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400*
In a large mixing bowl beat together butter, sugar and eggs until creamy and fluffy. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients (flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt). Gradually stir dry ingredients into the butter mixture. I use the stir setting on my mixer, being careful not to overmix.

In small bowl prepare the cinnamon sugar mix. Mix 2 tablespoons sugar with 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Roll cookie dough into 1 1/2 balls and then roll the dough balls around in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 7-9 minutes. Cool on a rack.