Lemon Zucchini Bread - SRC

This month I had the pleasure of getting introduced to Lea Ann from Cooking...On the Ranch for my Secret Recipe Club assignment. Lea Ann lives in Colorado and has seriously one of the best views in the entire world from her little town.  You HAVE to click over to her About page to see it.  Go ahead....I'll wait.

Didn't I tell you???  Looks like a little piece of heaven to me. I need to go on vacation there.

So I was tempted by so many recipes on her blog - from Chicken Macaroni Salad (definitely making that one soon - I bought the ingredients for it, just haven't gotten to it yet) to this mouth-watering Baked Zucchini and Tomato side dish.....but I had some organic zucchini that was desperately calling to me from the bottom drawer of the fridge to be used soon, and I had never tried Lemon Zucchini Bread before, so that was the big winner.

I was the designated "snack-bringer" to my ladies' Bible study that week, so I decided to double the recipe and share this treat with friends.  And I must say, it was a HUGE hit.  I got loads of compliments from the ladies and kids alike.....and everyone was super surprised that the bread had zucchini in it.

That's mostly because of an error I made.

See, I just got my first food processor a few weeks ago and was super excited to use it to shred the zucchini. Sooooo much faster than hand-grating it, right?
But silly me, I neglected to take the blade out of the bottom of the processor, so the zucchini got not only grated, but basically pureed.  It was a nice, fine pulp.

I just tossed it in the bread anyways and it essentially disappeared.  I don't think anyone would have guessed that there was zucchini in the bread - but it definitely did its magic of adding moisture to the bread.

The best part was the glaze - the tangy, vibrant lemon glaze.  It just made the bread explode with flavor.

You really have to try it - Lea Ann swore it was amazing and she was Oh. So. Right.
Definitely double the recipe - you'll be so glad you did.

Next year I am totally planting some zucchini in my yard so I can make this bread all summer long.


Lemon Zucchini Bread
Adapted slightly from Cooking...On the Ranch
(makes one 9x5" loaf)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil (I used expeller-pressed coconut oil)
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 Tbsp. lemon juice)
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup grated zucchini

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
Juice of half a lemon (or 1 Tbsp. lemon juice)

Preheat oven to 350°.
In a large bowl, blend flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat 2 eggs well, then add oil and sugar and blend well.  Add the buttermilk, lemon juice and lemon zest and stir to combine.  Fold in the zucchini.
Add wet mixture to dry mixture and blend gently; don't over mix.
Pour batter into a greased 9x5" loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Combine glaze ingredients in a small bowl - add more juice or sugar if necessary to make a good drizzling consistency.  You don't want it really thick, but super liquidy isn't good either!  Spoon glaze over bread evenly and let set before serving.