Holy zucchini

Summer is in full swing and the garden is dishing out zucchini faster then we can use them. Which of course means zucchini bread to help use it up.

I’ve only made zucchini bread once before. I like baking but I don’t consider myself an expert however everyone else seems to think I’m amazing. If I had a dollar for every time someone said “you should just open a bakery”, I’d have that bakery open.

I did the usual blueberry, chocolate chip, raspberry and pineapple zucchini breads but thought why always sweet breads why not something savory instead. So I started thinking of cheddar bread and then looked up a recipe for that. Then I thought what adding some spice and throwing some jalapeño in this. With my new idea in mine I created a cheddar jalapeño zucchini bread recipe.

Weird fact though. I actually have never tried zucchini. I’m not big on vegetables so odds are I wouldn’t like it. I’m such a picky eater that most of the things I bake I actually don’t eat. I love baking for others though so it’s perfect and really don’t need all these baked goods! So far I haven’t had a mishap from this but I’m not gonna hold out that it’ll never happen.

Back to the cheddar jalapeño zucchini bread. I made this experimental bread and it turned out amazing! My parents were the first to try it and they absolutely loved it. I sent some slices to family members and they too thought it was delicious. This bread has become the most asked for so just prepare for that when you make it.

Now the name says jalapeño however I don’t like spicy food and don’t know the difference between most peppers. The first time around making this bread I sent my daughter to the garden to get some peppers. She had no idea the difference either and picked whatever looked ripe. With this batch I probably mixed 3 or 4 different kinds of peppers that ranged differently on the hot scale. One family member described the bread as a game a Russian roulette but still delicious. You just had to gamble if the bite would be mild or hot. There’s no set pepper you need to use. If you want mild use a mild pepper or hot use the hot ones. Or be like me and do a mix. Keep them on their toes guessing what they’re gonna get. Hey maybe this can be a new game Russian roulette zucchini bread!

I really hope you enjoy this as much as everyone around here has! You’ll probably be making it a bunch. I’ve made it 3 times so far this week and I have a feeling I’ll be making it at least one more time.

Jalapeño cheddar zucchini bread

3 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup melted butter cooled

1/2 cup honey

2 eggs

3 cups zucchini shredded

Splash of milk

2 cups cheddar cheese

3-5 peppers of your choosing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8x4 inch loaf pans with whatever spray you’d like or use butter if you prefer.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.

In a mixing bowl mix together cooled melted butter and honey until combined. Whisk in eggs and then add zucchini. Now add the dry ingredients to the wet. Here’s where I added a splash of milk because the batter is super thick and I couldn’t get all mixed. Make sure not to add too much so it doesn’t get runny.

Fold in the cheese and jalapeño.

Divide batter evenly between the two pans. I added pepper sliced down the middle just for the added look. That’s completely optional.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool and enjoy!