Zucchini Cake Bars

It has been feeling like fall around here.

I know technically there are still a few days left of summer. But I really think Mother Nature has other ideas. Leaves are changing and falling. The dry heat of the summer has bee replaced with the cool wet that I associate with fall. It feels like fall here.

Which means we’ve been craving fall foods.  Come cooler weather, I crave the wonderful aroma of fall spices, cinnamon and nutmeg and ginger and cloves. Add a wood burning stove and it smells exactly how Gran’s kitchen would smell this time of year.

So when Kristen from Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker chose zucchini and brown sugar as ingredients for this month’s Improv Challenge, I knew I wanted to do something with lots of those spices, and full of comfort.

What I came up with were these moist bars, that before they were even gone, my mom and sister were requesting again.

Zucchini  Cake Bars

makes 12 bars or 1 8×8 pan, adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Ultimate Cookie Book

For the Bars:

• 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed dry.
• 1/4 cup cinnamon chips
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

For the Cinnamon Frosting:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2-3 tsp milk to thin as needed

1. Preheat your oven to 350° F. Grease and lightly flour an 8×8 in square pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and spices. Set aside for later.
3. In a medium sauce pan, melt together the butter, brown sugar and honey. Remove from heat, let cool a little, then beat in the egg and the vanilla.
4. Add the butter mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon just to combine. Add the shredded and squeezed dry zucchini, pecans and cinnamon chips.
5. Pour into the prepared pan and  bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for about then ten minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6. In a small bowl, beat together the butter, icing sugar and cinnamon, adding the milk as needed to get the right consistency. Spread the frosting onto the completely cooled bars. Cut into bars and serve.

Don’t forget to check out the other great recipes using zucchini and brown sugar!

-Mel

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I’ve also linked this post to The Weekend Potluck,   On the Menu Monday, and Strut Your Stuff Saturdays! Click the links to check out more great recipes!