Chocolate Zucchini Bread

The day my friend Ginny brought me a slice of this bread, I knew we would be friends. And we were. Our mutual love of food provided us with many a conversation while our husbands discussed guns and biking.

I guess this bread is really more like chocolate cake that happens to have zucchini in it than the other way around. But if you take something that already tastes pretty dang good and isn't too bad for you and then add chocolate, you know it just can't go wrong.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Recipe adapted from Ginny Miller
Pictures by Kelly
Makes 2 loaves

2 cups zucchini, grated
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs
1 sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted*
3/4 cups chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 loaf pans.
   
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add sugar, oil, melted chocolate and vanilla. Add applesauce and beat until creamy.
3. Add zucchini and stir together.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Add to zucchini mixture and stir until incorporated. Add chocolate chips.
5. Divide mixture evenly between to loaf pans. Bake 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack.
   

*To melt the chocolate, I added 1/2 tablespoon butter to the bowl in the microwave and set it on short bursts. This will pervent the chocolate from burning.