Zucchini Bread Recipe: Plus Video Tutorial & $500 Giveaway

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SplendaHoliday #CollectiveBias Zucchini Bread Recipe: Plus Video Tutorial

Did you know that the average person consumes more than 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day? That’s more than TRIPLE the recommended amount for women and more than DOUBLE the recommended amount for men! I’ve been making all the traditional holiday treats and cookies and breads. I was a little surprised when several friends declined some of my favorite treats. It makes sense, though. They’re watching their sugar. I still want to feed them yummy Holiday treats! So, I decided to try a zucchini bread recipe, swapping out the sugar for SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener. This zucchini bread came out moist and delicious. By swapping one cup of sugar with one cup of SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated, I saved more than 600 calories! So whether a friend has a specific reason for watching their sugar or is just trying to get a head start on watching their calories, this zucchini bread is a winner!

There’s even an initiative to use less sugar. The SWEET SWAPS™ Initiative, by the SPLENDA® Brand is helping people make smarter choices for a more balanced lifestyle, by sharing creative ways to swap full sugar for SPLENDA® Sweetener Products in order to save calories. It’s easy to swap out sugar for SPLENDA® whether you’re using the sweetener, sugar-blends, or packets. I used this conversion chart to decide how much to use.

You can pick some up at Walmart while you’re out getting those last-minute gifts!

I was a little worried about whether or not the kids would like this, so I made two variations. First, I made zucchini bread muffins with a hidden cocoa middle. I also made traditional zucchini bread mini loaves with walnuts. The kids were already asleep, so I had to wait to get their reactions. Let me show you how I did it, so you can decide for yourself.

Zucchini Bread Ingredients

• 3 cups of flour
• 1 cup of SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener
• 1 cup of vegetable oil
• 2 eggs (slightly beaten)
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla
• 2 zucchinis (shredded)
• walnuts *optional*
• dark cocoa candy melts *optional*

Zucchini Bread Instructions

• gather your ingredients
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• mix the wet ingredients together and set aside (minus the zucchini, you’ll do that last)
• mix the dry ingredients together
• mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients (minus the zucchini, you’ll do that next)
• NOW, you can fold in the zucchini until the batter is smooth. This is a little backwards but I like to do it this way, because the moisture from the zucchini helps to finish off the batter without any dry spots or clumping.

• Fill your baking cups 1/3 of the way with your batter. Add a dark cocoa candy melt to the middle, then fill another 1/3 of your baking cup with the batter. Leave the last 1/3 of the cup for rising. I used 1/2 of the batter for the muffins and the other 1/2 for the loaves.

Add walnuts into the batter now, if you chose to use them. Stir them well into the batter, and fill your baking dish for loaves. I used a large handful. Bake your muffins and loaves at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

*Browning Tip*

In the baking process, sugar caramelizes to produce the familiar golden brown color of baked goods. Baked goods made with little or no sugar do not brown like recipes made with sugar. To help achieve a more golden brown color when baking with SPLENDA^® Granulated Sweetener, lightly spray the batter or dough with cooking spray just before placing in the oven.

In the morning, I tried to give some muffins to the kids with their breakfast. They approved! These also make great treats for gifting.

Be sure to check out my video below and join the SWEET SWAPS™ Initiative.

J&J Holiday Baking with Splenda

Want more ideas for using less sugar in 2016? Follow SPLENDA® on PINTEREST, TWITTER, YOU TUBE, and LIKE them on FACEBOOK!  Encourage your friends to use less sugar, too. Let’s make smarter choices. Maybe you can even pick some up for them while you’re at Walmart, picking up yours!

By: Alicia Gonzalez