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Hi!  Welcome to the blog: Best Blogs, Books and Bites.  

October 14th the Olympus 5th Ward is having a Relief Society event called "Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun!"  This blog is a tie-in to a food class that I will be teaching that night.   The evening begins at 4:30 p.m. and my class will start at 6:30.

I am getting excited about sharing some of my favorite food blogs that have yummy recipes, tutorials and tips.  I will also be sharing my best-loved cookbooks and lots of favorite recipes.   I hope you will come!

I just wanted to share a recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread that was posted on Our Best Bites, a food blog.  If you got a zucchini from Carol Knight the other Sunday then this recipe is for you!  Or if your garden is over producing.  It is the best zucchini bread and has a yummy cinnamon sugar crust on top.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread 

Makes 2 loaves

2 cup flour
2 t. cinnamon
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
6 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate
        chips
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 t. vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
3 cups grated zucchini

Topping:
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. white sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 2 loaf pans and set aside.  You should get 2 very full 8″ pans or slightly less full 9″.  Or an 8” and two mini pans.

Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Place flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a small bowl and whisk to combine.  Stir in the mini chips. If you only have regular chocolate chips, or a chocolate bar, just give it a chop so it’s the size of mini chocolate chips.  Set aside.

With a mixer beat oil, white sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until combined and slightly fluffy, 1-2 minutes.  Add vanilla and sour cream and mix until combined.  Gently stir in the grated zucchini.  Add the flour mixture to the batter and stir until just combined. Divide the batter between the two pans or three and sprinkle topping over each. Place pans on a cookie sheet for easy moving.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes. I set my timer for 45 minutes and then keep an eye on it for the remainder of the time.  When it is done a toothpick or skewer should come out clean and the top will be gorgeous and cracked with sugar.  Let it cool on a rack for 10 minutes and then carefully remove from pans.   If you are going to freeze them, cool completely before putting in a plastic bag.  

Tip: Do you ever cook quick breads and get a rim around the edge? Where the part right next to the pan edge kind of sinks down and then the middle of the bread puffs up? After you grease your pans take a paper towel and wipe down about one inch all along the top.

What that does is give the bread something to latch on to. When it’s all greased up, the edges have a tendency to slip down and wiping down the top will prevent that. You’ll get a perfectly crowned loaf of bread every time.  It really works!

Also, if you put parchment paper in the pan before the batter, it is simple to remove and the sugar/cinnamon doesn't fall off.