One of our favorite things about writing the Healthy Kids Running Series blog is to find great ways to ‘sneak’ in fruits and veggies into unexpected treats for our families. While scouring Pinterest, we came across this Carrot, Zucchini, Apple bread and couldn’t help but share! This is the perfect way to use up some of the zucchini from your garden.
Author: Trish – Mom On Timeout
Recipe type: bread
Serves: 24 servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- ¼ cup fresh orange juice
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- pinch of ground cloves
- pinch of ground nutmeg
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
- 1 cup diced, peeled apple (Granny Smith, Fuji, whatever you have on hand)
- ½ cup pecans, chopped
Cream Cheese Glaze/Frosting
- ½ cup cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- 2 – 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1-3 tbsp orange juice as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans. Line with parchment paper and set aside. (I use the baking spray with flour in it.)
- Place zucchini in a large kitchen towel. Bring up the four corners and twist. Squeeze the towel to extract all the liquid from the zucchini, or as much as you can. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg together. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the butter and sugar.
- Add eggs, orange juice, and vanilla and whisk until combined.
- Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients along with the shredded carrots, shredded zucchini, apples, and pecans.
- Pour into prepared pans.
- Bake until golden brown, 55 to 60 minutes, or until loaves spring back when gently pressed with fingers.
- Let cool completely before icing.
Cream Cheese Glaze/Frosting
- Cream together cream cheese and butter with a hand mixer.
- Add in 2 cups of powdered sugar and continue mixing. Drizzle in orange juice until desired consistency is achieved.
- Frost bread and enjoy!
