Chewy cookies full of cozy spices, sweet zucchini & lots of melty chocolate. They’re absolutely irresistible & don’t taste healthy at all—even though they’re just 98 calories!
Two weeks ago, I flew to Arizona with my mom and brother to celebrate Christmas at my grandparents’ house. Although they’ve traveled to see us in California for the holidays every year except two, we thought that seeing Grandma’s cacti decked out in twinkling lights and festive ornaments would be a fun change of pace.
We also decided to downsize this season and skip almost all presents, with the exception of a few heartfelt ones, like a calendar with family photos above every month or the collection of 20+ stories written by my grandpa about his life growing up on their Colorado farm. Instead, we focused on spending time together.
For most of Christmas afternoon, I filled out portions of my new “adult” coloring book containing meticulous patterns with crayons while listening to Grandpa recount even more memories than he had printed in the pages of his childhood autobiography for us. My brother sat in a chair across the room, scribbling notes in the margins of his copy, while instrumental Christmas carols softly played in the background.
Even though we agreed on minimal gifts, I knew it wouldn’t quite feel like Christmas without a visit from Santa, so I volunteered to put together our stockings this year. Always the chocoholic (it’s why I wrote a chocolate cookbook!), I bought plenty of gourmet treats, including dark chocolate Ghirardelli squares, a few flavors of Ferrero Rocher, small pieces of peppermint bark, and even dark chocolate peppermint brownie Santas! Oh, and don’t forget the dark chocolate hot cocoa mix or cocoa roasted almonds either…
(If you follow my @AmyBakesHealthy Snapchat, then you saw everything else I stuffed our stockings with, too!)
After everyone opened their gifts from our aunt and cousins, my brother and I passed out the stockings. I watched as Mom and Grandpa excitedly removed each item and looked at all of the contents before deciding which chocolate treat to try first… But Grandma just started nibbling on each piece as she pulled them out. Within an hour, all 17 wrappers sat on the table in front of her.
Although she’s normally very health-conscious and always eats her fruit and vegetables, apparently Grandma has developed quite the sweet tooth in the past two months!
With that funny Christmas memory in mind when we returned home after the holidays, I baked a batch of these Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Oatmeal Cookies. They’re soft, chewy, and full of melty chocolate (so you know Grandma would approve!), but they also sneak in some healthy veggies… All for only 98 calories!
This easy recipe is the next installment in my clean eating oatmeal cookies series. Have you tried any of the others yet? They’re the most popular recipes on my blog—and for a good reason! They’re incredibly soft and chewy, yet the recipes contain NO butter, refined flour or sugar and still taste indulgent! After you try this version, I highly recommend checking out the carrot cake, apple pie, and almond joy ones, too.
Just like the others, these cookies start with whole wheat flour and instant oats. Instant oats are also known as quick-cooking or one-minute oats, and they’re sold in large canisters on the cereal aisle right next to the regular old-fashioned oats. (They’re not the same thing as those flavored small brown paper pouches!)
It’s incredibly important to measure the oats correctly using a light hand with the spoon-and-level method or a kitchen scale. Oats act like little sponges and soak up the moisture in the cookie dough, so too many will dry out your cookies, turn them cakey, or completely prevent them from spreading. I highly recommend a kitchen scale so your cookies turn out perfectly! This is the inexpensive one that I own, and I use it for every recipe that I post on my blog because it ensures that my treats have the proper taste and texture every time.
These cookies are sweetened with pure maple syrup. Make sure you use the good stuff! Avoid pancake syrup or faux sugar-free syrups because both of these contain refined sugar, corn syrup or artificial ingredients, which we’re avoiding in this healthier recipe. Pure maple syrup is generally sold in glass bottles or large squat jugs, and the only ingredient on the label should be “maple syrup.”
And now for the most important part… The mix-ins! You’ll need one small zucchini that’s been freshly grated. A regular box grater works just fine, but I like to use my food processor with the grater attachment to make the process go faster! To round out the classic zucchini bread flavors, you’ll add in some cinnamon and nutmeg as well.
Don’t forget the chocolate! I like to use mini chocolate chips because their smaller size ensures that every bite contains at least a morsel of chocolate. I almost always buy Ghirardelli’s mini chips since they melt much better than the kind sold in those bright yellow bags. (And they taste better, too!)
Just one last quick tip… I highly recommend that you watch this recipe’s video below before baking. In it, I show you the texture of the cookie dough before and after chilling. The texture of your cookie dough after removing it from the refrigerator will determine how much your cookies spread while baking.
wet and sticky cookie dough = cookies spread a lot
really stiff cookie dough = cookies barely spread, if at all
In testing this recipe, I had both cookie dough textures happen on different days, even though I measured and mixed together the ingredients in exactly the same way! Which means… The amount of moisture in your zucchini will be the biggest determining factor in the texture of your cookie dough. Use your best judgment, and when in doubt, flatten your cookie dough a little bit more rather than a little bit less before baking.
Now… Who’s got the milk??
| Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Oatmeal Cookies | 4.0 from 3 reviews |
Yields: 15 cookies
These chewy cookies are absolutely irresistible! They’re full of cozy spices, sweet zucchini, and lots of melty chocolate. Leftovers will stay fresh for at least a week if stored in an airtight container—if they last that long!
- 1 cup (100g) instant oats (measured like this and gluten-free if necessary)
- ¾ cup (90g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120mL) pure maple syrup
- 1 cup (110g) freshly shredded zucchini
- 2 tbsp (28g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
- Whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the zucchini and 1 ½ tablespoons of the chocolate chips. Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared sheet, and flatten slightly using a spatula. Gently press the remaining miniature chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 325°F for 10-12 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes: It’s extremely important to measure both the oats and flour correctly using the spoon and level method or a kitchen scale. Too much of either will dry out the cookies and leave them crumbly instead of chewy.
Instant oats are also known as quick-cooking or minute oats. They come in large canisters, just like old-fashioned oats. They are not the ones in the small flavored packets of oatmeal. To make your own, add the same amount of old-fashioned oats to a food processor, and pulse 10-12 times.
For a gluten-free version, use gluten-free instant oats and the following gluten-free flour blend: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, 2 tablespoons (17g) brown rice flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum.
The amount of moisture in your zucchini will be the biggest determining factor in the texture of your cookie dough. If the cookie dough is fairly wet and sticky, the cookies will spread while baking. If the cookie dough is stiff, the cookies will barely spread, if at all, so you’ll need to flatten the cookie dough before baking.
For more tips and answers to all other questions, including substitutions, see my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ page.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
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