zucchini brownies

my mom made zucchini brownies last week.  i was working on consuming the entire pan, but then she gave some away to a neighbor (without my consent)!  they were so good i had to make another pan.  don't worry, i already told myself i have to share these with someone.  my waist thanks me in advance.

the recipe is from a small town newspaper that my mom clipped this summer.  the newspaper actually has a column titled "recipe corner".  an  (probably cute) old lady submitted it.  you know it'll be good if that's the case.  women in small towns only share the best of the best of their recipes. 

here's the recipe. 
(with a few adaptations i made marked by *)

zucchini brownies

ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

2 cups all-purpose flour *i used whole wheat flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder *i used dark chocolate cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups shredded zucchini *i peeled mine first

1/2 cup chopped walnuts *i skipped on the walnuts and added some peanut butter chips because i had some leftover and i have a serious peanut butter addiction

frosting

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 

1/4 cup margarine

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

directions

preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.  in a large bowl mix together the oil, sugar, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla until well blended.

combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture.  the mixture will be really dry as pictured below.

fold in the zucchini and walnuts *in my case, pb chips.  spread evenly into the prepared pan.

bake for 25-30 minutes until brownies spring back when gently touched.  *i used the trusty toothpick method.  

to make the frosting, melt together 6 tablespoons of cocoa and margarine; set aside to cool.  in a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners' sugar, milk, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.  stir in the cocoa mixture.  spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

confession time: so... we ate these so fast, i forgot to snap any pictures.  furthermore, i didn't even bother to frost them.  i don't really love frosting so i just left them plain.  the frosting is good, but i enjoyed them just as much without it.

try them!