Did someone say... chocolate?!

I love chocolate. But, it has to be just the right kind of chocolate -- dark chocolate (and, of course, without nuts!). Of late, my two dark chocolate indulgences have been Dark Chocolate M&Ms and Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Baking Chips. I love taking the chocolate chips and mixing them with dried cranberries. Heavenly.

Baking with chocolate, that's a whole different story. No chocolate cake for me; that is, unless it's my grandma's chocolate chip zucchini cake using dark chocolate chips, of course (recipe below). Mostly, I prefer chocolate in the form of brownies,


OR...baked fudge,


OR, in delicious goodies like cookies.



Grandma's Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake - Grandma VS

1/2 C butter (or 1/4 C applesauce, 1/4 C butter)
1/3 C oil
1 3/4 C sugar
2 eggs (or 1 egg + 1 egg white)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 C sour milk (1/2 C milk + 1 T vinegar)
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 1/3 C flour
4 T cocoa powder
2 C shredded zucchini
Dark chocolate chips, to taste

Cream together butter, oil and sugar. Add eggs and sour milk. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients and mix well. Then, add dry ingredients to wet ones and stir to combine. Stir in zucchini.

Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle dark chocolate chips on top. Bake at 325 for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

*The next time I make this one, I'm going to try more applesauce and less butter/oil, and also adding in some whole wheat flour.

For more delicious chocolate recipes, visit Joy who's hosting a chocolate round-up today!