Streusel Topped Zucchini Bread

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Do you have those foods that symbolize an aspect of your life? A food item that every time you eat it it magically transports you back to a different time of your life? Well, I have a few of those - one of which is zucchini bread. Every time I have zucchini bread I am reminded of my high school tennis days. I played tennis all 4 years of high school, mostly playing doubles because high school singles was much too boring and slow for me. I loved being right up at the net, aggressively putting the ball away to beat my opponents. When we played in the summer and into the fall the weather was, on average, over 100F on the court during our practices. So those long matches certainly required a lot of energy. Thankfully that’s where the snack table comes into play. If we weren’t on the court, we were at the snacks table because our families spoiled us with lots of goodies to reenergize ourselves. The one item that was alwaysss at the snack table was – yup, you guessed it – zucchini bread. I don’t know how the tradition started, but once we became accustomed to its presence, everyone always looked forward to it.

This particular recipe is actually a family recipe of mine. (I added the streusel topping because, well, can you ever go wrong with adding streusel topping??) The bread is classic and moist in flavor, while the streusel adds a nice hint of sweetness. The best part about this recipe is how easy it is to make. There are only a few non-fussy steps before it bakes in the oven for an hour. Prepare for heavenly aromas to come from your kitchen in that hour as it bakes to perfection! Pair a slice of the bread with some warm tea or chai, cuddle under a blanket on one of these rainy spring afternoons, and enjoy!

Streusel Topped Zucchini Bread

Prep time:

Bake time:

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour, divided
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup grated zucchini (1 small zucchini)
  • 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup uncooked oats

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325F. Spray a 10"x5" loaf pan with nonstick spray. Additionally, line the pan with parchment paper so that the paper folds over the sides (these will be used to lift the bread out of the loaf pan). Set aside.
  2. Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, baking powder, and nutmeg into a a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until light in color (~2 minutes).
  4. Whisk in the oil, brown sugar, vanilla, and grated zucchini.
  5. Add the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.
  6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and make the streusel topping.
  7. In a separate bowl, combine the softened butter, 1/2 cup flour, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, oats, and 1/2 cinnamon. It's easiest to mix the streusel with your hands. Top the batter with the streusel. Bake for 1 hour, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  8. Transfer to a cooling rack.