Frosted Zucchini Bars are flavorful bars made with plenty of zucchini, nuts, and cream cheese frosting!
Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Zucchini is really a baking wonder. It’s amazing how a simple vegetable can make baked goods so moist and tender! When I have zucchini for baking, I tend to gravitate toward Pineapple Zucchini Bread and Chocolate Zucchini Bread, but I also like variety, too. So that leads us to these Frosted Zucchini Bars!
These bars exist somewhere between a quick bread and a sturdy cake. They’re dense like a good, solid quick bread, yet they’re also nicely soft. They’re easily eaten from a plate with a fork or just out of hand.
And they’re made even better with cream cheese frosting. I’m a sucker for cream cheese frosting, and it’s really a perfect companion to these zucchini bars. I use a no-frills cream cheese frosting with wonderful flavor. I tend to make it so the flavor focus is more on the cream cheese than the sugar, but I’ve given you a range for the sugar so you can make it to your liking.
These bars are really easy to make once you get all of that zucchini grated. The grating takes a bit of time, but a sturdy box grater will help you get it done without too much time and trouble. Once you’ve grated the zucchini, don’t forget to let it drain. Otherwise, you may end up with a soggy mess. Of course, not all zucchini are created equally, so you may find varying amounts of moisture in them.
I like to top these with chopped nuts in addition to the nuts mixed into the bars. I am not likely ever to omit nuts in a recipe because I just love their flavor and crunch. With these bars, that sprinkling of nuts also gives these bars a little more visual interest. I’m most likely to use pecans, but any nut will do. Just go with your preference or omit them if you’d rather skip them.
These Frosted Zucchini Bars are pretty perfect in my book. The flavor, the texture, the frosting… it all just works so well! They’re great for dessert or for a sweet snack. Plus, they’ll keep for several days tightly covered in the refrigerator so you can enjoy them over and over!
Frosted Zucchini Bars
Frosted Zucchini Bars are a quick bread-cake hybrid with wonderful flavor and texture!
Ingredients
For the bars:
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup (150g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups shredded zucchini, well drained (about 2 medium zucchini)
- 1 cup chopped nuts
For the frosting:
- 4 ounces (113g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 5 tablespoons (70g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 to 3 cups (220g to 330g) confectioners’ sugar
- chopped nuts, for garnish
Instructions
To make the bars:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9"x 13"x 2" baking pan.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
- Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined. Stir in the zucchini and nuts.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and spread evenly.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until the bars are golden brown and a pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack.
To make the frosting:
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until thoroughly combined.
- Gradually add the sugar, and mix until smooth.
- Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled bars. Sprinkle chopped nuts over the top if you like.
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4 Comments on “Frosted Zucchini Bars”
Step to add flour has been overlooked.
Thanks for pointing out my omission, Sue! The recipe has been updated.
This cake is delicious!! Such lovely flavor and so nice and moist (and the icing is a perfect match for cake). The only tiny thing I did differently was to toast the pecans first. I find that toasting brings out the the flavor so you can really taste the nuts; just my personal preference. This is definitely a keeper (and a delicious way to use all the zucchini from the garden)!!
I’m glad you liked it, Edie!