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Zucchini Bars with Brown Butter Frosting

A super soft and moist zucchini bars recipe, with a heap of spice, and a thick layer of nutty, fragrant brown butter frosting. You’d never know there’s a veggie hidden in these Zucchini Bars with Brown Butter Frosting!
To easily view all the blog recipes, follow along on Pinterest! Zucchini Bars with Brown Butter Frosting recipe image thegoldlininggirl.com 10
I had a recipe idea, I’d brainstormed it all by myself (as I always try to do!), Googled it, and the exact recipe idea had already been done. Obviously, it was these Zucchini Bars with Brown Butter Frosting. Leave it to Betty Crocker.
I wanted to do a lot of zucchini recipes this summer. I just feel really inspired by green squash the last few years. Zucchini is like the pumpkin of summer. Everyone goes bananas for pumpkin in the fall, myself included, and I feel like zucchini is the vogue ingredient of summertime.
I wanted to make a recipe for Zucchini Bars, I don’t know why, I just liked the idea of them. I envisioned something like a cross between a sheet cake and a really really soft, moist, cakey blondie. With cinnamon and pecans and a Brown Butter Frosting. I specifically wanted a Brown Butter Frosting for these.
They’d been done before. Exactly. Zucchini Bars with Brown Butter Frosting exactly. It’s very disappointing because it’s always nice to be the first to come up with something, but it’s also nice because there’s no need to reinvent the wheel! I tweaked the recipe a little, but not much. I’ll be adding it to my list of favorite zucchini recipes.
Interestingly, the flavors in these Zucchini Bars with Brown Butter Frosting remind me a bit of French toast! The strong blast of cinnamon in the bars, combined with the caramel-y, maple-y notes of the brown butter frosting, these are slightly reminiscent of French toast. The pecans are lovely for adding texture and nuttiness.
The Zucchini Bars themselves are super cakey and moist. A bit denser than cake though, and more like a bar or blondie, but still very soft and cakey. Flavor-wise, you’d never know there is a veggie hiding out in these…. but for the great qualities that zucchini contributes, like moisture, and a light sweetness.
They are just how I wanted them to be: like a sheet cake crossed with a soft blondie.
I’ve waxed on about my love for brown butter, and there are loads of other brown butter-based recipes on the blog. I even created a separate post dedicated to Brown Butter Frosting because it’s that special. There are few things I love more in the whole entire world. Brown butter is kinda nutty, toasty, caramel-y, and super aromatic.
Brown butter is straight-up magical. For further evidence, see this Brown Butter Bourbon Pecan Pie, these Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing, or these Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes with Brown Butter Buttercream.
A very thick layer of Brown Butter Frosting is the ultimate topping to these sweet, soft, moist Zucchini Bars!
These Zucchini Bars with Brown Butter Frosting are actually a pretty great dessert to transition to fall too. 🙂
Want to check out other zucchini things? How about these:
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Zucchini Bars with Brown Butter Frosting

Super soft and moist zucchini bars, with a heap of spice, and a thick layer of nutty, fragrant brown butter buttercream. You'd never know there's a veggie hidden in these Zucchini Bars with Brown Butter Frosting!

Course Bars
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 24 bars
Author Sarah

Ingredients

For zucchini bars:

  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 2 cups grated zucchini about 2 medium
  • 2 cups chopped pecans divided

For brown butter frosting:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter no substitutes
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 4-5 cups powdered sugar
  • 2-3 tbsp. heavy cream

Instructions

For zucchini bars:

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla.

  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

  3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined.

  4. Fold in grated zucchini and 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans.

  5. Spread into the bottom of a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking pan.

  6. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until top and edges are golden, and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

  7. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

  8. Meanwhile, prepare brown butter frosting.

For brown butter frosting:

  1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, and cook til it foams, bubbles, turns golden brown, and has brown specks, about 5-7 minutes.

  2. Remove from heat, and whisk in vanilla.

  3. Carefully transfer to a large mixing bowl.

  4. Beat in 4 cups powdered sugar and 2 tbsp. heavy cream, and add additional powdered sugar and cream as needed to achieve medium consistency - thick, but spreadable.

  5. Spread evenly over cooled zucchini bars. 

  6. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup chopped pecans, and allow at least 20-30 minutes for the frosting to set.

  7. Cut into bars.

 

Zucchini Bars with Brown Butter Frosting recipe image thegoldlininggirl.com pin 1

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Lovely comments

  1. These look so good. I love anything with brown butter. Do you think leftovers need to be stored in the fridge? I’m thinking of making them for a bake sale, but it wouldn’t work if they need to be refrigerated. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Hi there! I’m the same way – I loooooove brown butter!! These are really delish. They don’t need to be stored in the fridge, no! I usually store most things in the fridge to keep for longer, but they don’t need to be. 🙂

      Reply

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The Gold Lining Girl
but first, dessert!