Courgette Cookies (Zucchini) – Gluten Free

Courgette Cookies are full of goodness. Easy to make for a healthier snack or alternative breakfast. Gluten Free. Optional dairy free.

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Courgette Cookies and the annual ‘zucchini’ glut

These courgette cookies were born out of a need to get inventive due to ‘too many’. Although that begs the question ‘can you have too many courgettes?’

We grow courgette plants every year in our garden. It would seem that they are easy. We haven’t had a failed crop yet. And every year we get excited in the run up to picking the first tender green or yellow ‘fruit’. But three weeks in and we are usually sick of the sight of them. Whether boiled, griddled, roasted or raw, we are ready to eat them differently.

And that’s where baking comes in. Grated courgettes make a perfect addition to anything from cookies and cakes to bread. They add moisture and texture, but surprisingly you cannot taste their ‘vegginess’. Courgettes, also known as ‘zucchini’, are mild and versatile.

And with that proclamation, I present versatility at its finest… Courgette Cookies!

Are Courgette Cookies healthy?

As cookies go, the courgette variety is definitely healthier. Each batch contains about 3 small to medium ‘fruits’ and whether you call them courgette or zucchini, they are good for you. While high in fibre, antioxidants, vitamin C and potassium, they are low calorie, low fat and low sugar… Which must be a good thing in a sweet treat, right?

But courgette cookies also contain plenty of oats and nuts, which are also good sources of fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals. And a lovely spicing of cinnamon and a little ginger for a warming kick too.

Okay… I admit these cookies do contain chocolate. But chocolate isn’t all bad… is it? Although the recipe includes the addition of milk and optional white chocolate, if you opt instead to use high percentage dark chocolate chips and dark chocolate drizzle, there may even be some viable health benefits!

But these cookies don’t need any decoration to be delicious. Drizzling them with a little of the dark stuff however, definitely makes them prettier and more tempting (especially if you are feeding them to the kids).

Zucchini Cookies vs Courgette Biscuits

I use this alternative terminology deliberately. In the UK we have ‘courgettes’ and ‘biscuits’. The US has ‘zucchini’ and ‘cookies’. But is there also a difference in soft cookies vs crisp biscuits depending on which side of the ‘pond’ you live? And which category would these ‘Courgette Cookies’ fall into?

Well… actually both! Baked to the recipe, they make a softer, slightly ‘cakey’ cookie. Leave them in the oven a little longer and dry them with the cooling heat of the oven and you will get a biscuit with a snap. The choice is yours.

So why have I opted to call them ‘cookies’?

The answer to this question is two-fold. Firstly I just liked the alliteration ‘ring’ of ‘courgette cookies’. And secondly, because in the UK, we seem to have adopted the term ‘cookies’ willingly from our American cousins and everyone will know what they are. The same cannot be said for ‘biscuits’ which the Americans think of as our ‘scones’. Courgette or zucchini cookies causes less confusion all round.

How to Store ‘zucchini’ cookies

This recipe makes quite a few cookies, which makes them perfect for sharing. If you are likely to have them last for a few days, they will store well in an airtight container. Beyond that time-frame, they should be frozen and defrosted as and when.

Ways to eat courgette and zucchini (other than courgette cookies)

As straight vegetables

Add lots of your favourite seasoning and make them more interesting by shaving, spiralizing, cubing, fine-cutting into ‘Julienne’ courgette or grating.

• Boiled
• Roasted
• Griddled and grilled
• Fried
• Raw… in salad, with houmous and dips like Baba Ghanoush and Guacamole

In savoury dishes

• Stuffed
• Gratinated (with cheese)
• Curried
• as fritters
• in soups
• on pizza
• with pasta
• in Vegetable Lasagne
• in Buddha Bowls
• as Roll-Ups/ Courgette Sushi appetisers
• on the Barbeque
• in Frittata

In bakes

• Cacao-Courgette (Zucchini) Breakfast Cake
• Courgette & Cherry Cupcakes
• Savoury Summer Upside Down Cake
• Chocolate Courgette Cake

Made these cookies?

Let me know if you make my courgette cookies and tell me what you thought of them. Leave a comment, send me an email or tag me on Social Media (links at the top of the page).

And if you are looking for other recipes (whatever the ingredient or inspiration), check out our Gluten Free Index Recipe Book… It’s full of tempting makes and bakes, sweet and savoury to tempt you into the kitchen…

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5 from 10 votes

Courgette Cookies (Zucchini) – gluten free

Courgette Cookies are full of goodness. You wouldn’t know they contained ‘zucchini’. Easy to make for a healthier snack or alternative breakfast. Optional dairy free.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Course: Biscuits & Cookies, Breakfast, Healthy Treats, picnic, Snack, Sweet Treats

Cuisine: American, British

Keyword: bake with kids, biscuits, chocolate, cookies, courgette, zucchini

Servings: 40

Calories per serving: 127.4kcal

Author: Gluten Free Alchemist – Kate Dowse

Key equipment

• Kitchen scales
• measuring spoons
• grinder/food processor (if making oat flour at home)
• baking sheets
• baking paper
• Oven
• Mixing bowls
• electric whisk
• mixing spoon/spatula
• cake pop scoop (optional)
• spoon
• glass bowl – to melt chocolate for decoration (optional)

Ingredients 

0.33x0.5x0.66x1x1.5x2x

MetricUS Customary

• 150 g plain gluten free flour blend I used GFA Blend A – see NOTES
• 90 g GF oats
• 50 g GF oat flour easy to grind at home – see NOTES
• 60 g tapioca starch
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp GF baking powder
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• 180 g unsalted butter or DF alternative softened
• 150 g light soft brown sugar
• 1 large egg UK large
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 260 g finely grated courgette (approx grated weight) – drained but NOT squeezed
• 45 g roasted hazelnuts chopped
• 200 g chocolate chunks (DF if required) 100g milk & 100g white, or dark for a healthier cookie
• 100 g dark chocolate (DF if required) melted for decoration (optional)
• extra chopped nuts to decorate (optional)

Instructions

• Line a couple of baking sheets with baking paper.
• Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4.
• Mix together the flours, oats, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, making sure any lumps are broken down. TIP: weigh into an airtight container and shake vigorously to blend. Set aside.
• Using an electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
• Add the egg and vanilla and beat thoroughly.
• Add and fold in the flour mix, grated courgette, nuts and chocolate chunks until the batter is even and well blended.
• Spoon the batter into small mounds on the baking sheets with gaps between for slight spreading. TIP: For even-sized cookies, use a cake pop scoop to make mounds.
• Bake for 20 minutes, until golden and beginning to firm well. For a softer cookie, you may choose to remove from the oven at this stage (leaving on the trays to cool). For a dryer, crisp cookie, turn off the oven and let out a little of the heat, but leave the cookies in there, allowing to cool as the oven cools.

To decorate

• Once cool, melt a little chocolate and drizzle across the tops of the cookies (optional).

Notes

* Note: nutritional information is an estimate & may vary according to portion size/ingredient variants.

Gluten Free Alchemist Flour Blend A and instructions on how to grind oats to oat flour can be found on the GFA Flours & Flour Blending Page. If using an alternative flour, the texture may be slightly different.

Nutrition

Calories: 127.4kcal | Carbohydrates: 14.5g | Protein: 1.7g | Fat: 7.6g | Saturated Fat: 2.5g | Cholesterol: 4.7mg | Sodium: 77.9mg | Potassium: 91mg | Fiber: 1.4g | Sugar: 7.2g | Vitamin A: 180.7IU | Vitamin C: 1.2mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 0.9mg

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© 2019-2023 Kate Dowse All Rights Reserved – Do not copy or re-publish this recipe or any part of this recipe on any other blog, on social media or in a publication without the express permission of Gluten Free Alchemist

Courgette Cookies shared with :

• Fiesta Friday #339 with Angie
• The Great Cookie Exchange with The Lazy Gastronome
• What’s For Dinner #265 with The Lazy Gastronome
• Full Plate Thursday #498 with Miz Helen’s Country Cottage